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About Us
We’re changing the face of local journalism by providing an innovative model for delivering independent news to the nation’s 10th largest city.
Publisher of the Year 2020, Local Independent Online News Publishers
“The writing is crisp, love the diversity of coverage, translation of English into Spanish and Vietnamese to reach their readers… that two-way conversation with their community is so very important, something that a lot of publications have lost sight of.”
Our Mission
San José Spotlight is the city’s first nonprofit news organization dedicated to independent political and business reporting. Our mission is to change the face of local journalism by building a community-supported newsroom that ignites civic engagement, educates citizens and strengthens our democracy.
Our community needs another voice, an alternate source for high-quality, independent local news. Our stories will search for truth, shed light on wrongdoing and hold the powerful accountable. We are the community’s newsroom and we’re powered by your support and donations.
San José Spotlight is a project of the San José News Bureau, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization | Tax ID: 82-5355128. All donations are tax deductible.
Awards
San José Spotlight nets 8 wins in annual California Journalism Awards from the California News Publishers Association.
San José Spotlight wins James Madison Freedom of Information award from the Society of Professional Journalists – Northern California
San José Spotlight wins national Publisher of the Year award from the Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers.
Finalist for two national journalism awards from the Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers, including Publisher of the Year.
Four California Journalism Awards in the 2019 competition sponsored by the California News Publishers Association.
Editorial Independence Policy
We adhere to the editorial independence policy adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News.
San José Spotlight relies on donations and memberships to power our nonprofit newsroom, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. Donors and sponsors have no influence over our content. Donors have no involvement in news decisions and we do not give supporters the rights to assign, review or edit content.
News judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Your trust is the cornerstone of San José Spotlight’s success. We’ll always maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue.
Donor Transparency
We are committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our organization. That’s why we disclose every penny donated to San José Spotlight.
We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals, organizations and foundations to support our work. Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions.
We will not accept donations from sources who, deemed by our Board of Directors, present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.
San José Spotlight Donors
More than $100,000
American Journalism Project
California Waste Solutions
Facebook Journalism Project
$99,999-$25,000
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Knight Foundation
Phil Koen
The Davidson Family Foundation
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers
The Miami Foundation
Google News Initiative
LIUNA Laborers Local 270
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 332
Heising-Simons Foundation
$24,999-$10,000
Willco Property Management
UA Local 393
Pacific Gas & Electric Company
County of Santa Clara
Jackson and Main
Voler Strategic Advisors
Destination: Home
eBay Foundation
IFPTE Local 21
Republic Urban
AFSCME Local 1587
Comcast
Sheet Metal Workers Local 104
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265
The GroundTruth Project
AARP California
Jenny Wolfes
MEPS Silicon Valley
AFSCME Local 101
Santa Clara County Association of Realtors
McManis-Wigh Chinese Foundation
Eddie D. Truong
Sean and Nicole Morley
$9,999-$5,000
Kaiser Permanente
Nunez Family Foundation
Excite Credit Union
San Jose Water Company
Sprinkler Fitters Local 483
Urban Catalyst
Working Partnerships USA
Gary Kremen
Rod Diridon, Sr.
The Schoennauer Company
Pat Waite
Marquis Advisory Group
David E. and Barbara Cohen
Society of Professional Journalists
Google News Initiative
San Jose Police Officers Association
Sobrato Family Foundation
$4,999-$1,000
Ron Gonzales and Guisselle Nunez
McManis Faulkner
IUPAT District Council 16
Brian Bumb
Larry Stone
Sam Singer
Allan and Judy Thompson
San Jose Firefighters Local 230
SWENSON
Ted Smith and Amanda Hawes
Meri Maben
Dominic and Suzanne Cortese
Santa Clara County Building Trades Council
San Jose/Silicon Valley NAACP
Vijay Sammeta
Bill Roth
Carpenters Local 405
Housing Authority of Santa Clara County
SPUR
Gail Bautista
Rob Bettencourt
Law Foundation of Silicon Valley
Norm Kline
John Morgridge
United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 5
Renaissance Journalism
Tom Saggau
Art Amirkhas
Sprinkler Fitters Local 480
Registered Nurses Professionals Association
Stephen Wright
Cisco Systems
Dustin DeRollo
Rich Robinson
Rick Callender
Jesus Flores
Al and Carmen Castellano
Geoff and Andrea Ralston
CEMA
Abode Services
Karla Albright
Jamshid Mahdavi and Karen Fabrizius
Cafe Stritch
PATH
Maria Fuentes
Terry Christensen
Housing Trust Silicon Valley
John and Barbara Comiskey
Ash and Bianca Pirayou
The Lenfest Institute for Journalism
Bob Staedler
San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce
Ro Khanna
Reginald Swilley
Sacred Heart Community Service
Minority Business Consortium
The Core Companies
Gloria Hoo
Nuria Fernandez
Harmeet Dhillon
Shiloh Ballard
Erik Schoennauer
Joe Head
June Tran
David and Elisa Ginsborg
Patricia Gardner
Rich De La Rosa
Thao Tran
Castellano Family Foundation
Richard Lowenthal
Chris Platten
Roofers and Water Proofers Local 95
San Jose Sharks
Nhan Nguyen
[email protected] Action Fund
Sand Hill Property Company
Kevin Jensen
Bob Nunez
Chris Hickstein
Walter Wilson
Anne Marie Sconberg
Louis Rocha
Christopher Thompson
Privacy Policy
We will not release your name, email address or any other personal information to anyone outside San José Spotlight without your consent, unless we are under a legal order to do so, or there is an emergency involving danger to a person or property.
