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CalMatters is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization bringing Californians stories that probe, explain and explore solutions to quality-of-life issues while holding our leaders accountable. We are the only journalism outlet dedicated to covering America’s biggest state, 39 million Californians and the world’s fifth - soon to be fourth- largest economy.
CalMatters was founded in 2015 to fill the gap left by a shrinking press corps: to empower people to engage on key issues, hold the powerful accountable and create a better California.
We are now the trusted source for information and analysis on complex statewide policies and politics.
Our office is in Sacramento, but our team is spread out across the state. Our diverse team includes more than 45 experienced journalists along with product and revenue professionals.
Our reporters regularly appear on CapRadio's CPRN distribution network as well as KQED's The California Report. We reach 1 in 10 people across the state by distributing our work, at no cost, to more than 250 media partners. We have readers and listeners in every major metropolitan area and throughout the state’s nearly 500 cities.
Our team has been recognized and honored with top state, regional and national awards from the National Press Club, the Online News Association, the Society of Environmental Journalists, the Public Media Journalists Association, the Institute for Nonprofit News, the Edward R. Murrow Award, the Society of Professional Journalists, Best of the West and California News Publishers.
We’re supported by a diverse and growing group of members, major donors, media, foundations, and institutional supporters.
Our work has inspired changes across the spectrum of issues we cover including housing, public health, education, environment, public safety, governance, natural disaster response, campaign finance, jobs and more.
To improve California’s democracy by making its government more transparent and accountable and giving Californians the information they need to understand and engage with their government.
Sacramento is where decisions about California are made. It’s our goal to make sure that those decisions are made transparently and in a way that empowers our readers to make their voices heard on the issues that matter most to them. That’s why we have our headquarters in Sacramento and a team of reporters that cover everything that goes on at the Capitol. From health equity and transportation, to education and the housing crisis we work hard to make sure everyone has the information they need to make informed decisions.
CalMatters doesn’t charge for access to our stories because we believe Californians deserve a robust source of news that explains the complex issues in their state. But keeping this important coverage free for millions of people isn’t easy. Or cheap.
Our mission to improve democracy requires support from generous Californians who value our work. We sustain our operation with revenue from major donors, grants from foundations, sponsorships for our events, advertising in our newsletters and individual donations of any size.
Our mission to improve California’s democracy by providing Californians with nonpartisan information can only be fully accomplished when our staff, leadership, content and audiences reflect the people of the state we serve, and when our website is fully accessible.
The complex issues we face as a society require respect for different viewpoints. Race and ethnicity, class, generation, geography and other factors all affect point of view. Reflecting these differences across our organization leads to better, more nuanced stories and a better-informed community.
Staff: We believe that a more diverse news team helps us to better accomplish our mission and serve people across the state. We are actively working to build a team of people who represent the community across race and ethnicity, ideology, socioeconomic status and gender. We are also actively committed to building an inclusive workplace where various viewpoints are included and welcomed in order to improve our work. We also work on maintaining equity across our staff.
Leadership: We are firmly committed to diversity among our board of directors and internal leadership. Organizational leadership positions matter, as these people have greater influence over the work that we do and how we do it.
Content: Our journalists are committed to diversifying our sources along with carefully considering the words, phrases and labels we use in our writing.
Audiences: We can only truly serve the people of California by focusing on reaching many communities across racial and ethnic backgrounds, language preferences, socioeconomic status, and other factors.
Accessibility: We are committed to making our organization accessible to people with a variety of mental and physical capabilities internally and externally. We maintain an office in Sacramento that is physically accessible. We understand that hiring people across the accessibility spectrum can help improve the work that we do. And we understand that improving the ways in which people use our content includes careful consideration of people with different physical abilities.
Organization name
CalMatters
2015
Tax id (EIN)
47-2474086
Mission Category
Education
Operating Budget
$10,000,001-$100 million
Organization Need
Funding: Unrestricted
Demographics Served
General population
Local Counties Served
El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Yolo
Equity Statement
Equity Statement
Address
1017 L STREET #261Sacramento, CA, US
Placer County, CA, US
Yuba County, CA, US
El Dorado County, CA, US
Yolo County, CA, US