WNPA Foundation
Investing in Future Journalists
Founded in 1986, the WNPA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on supporting the next generation of journalists through internships and scholarships. It is funded by annual convention auctions, private donations, and named endowments.
Supporting Washington's Newspapers
The Foundation was created as a 501(c)3 with a core mission to help prepare journalists of tomorrow. The Articles of Incorporation give it broad goals, including educational programs in journalism, advertising and business, seminars, workshops, research, public awareness, and a workforce pipeline related to sustaining newspapers in Washington State. The board also made a long-term commitment of Foundation resources to encourage the increased involvement of racial and ethnic minorities in community journalism.
Summer Internships
The WNPA has put on hold its summer internship program in order to raise additional funds and explore opportunities to strengthen the program for student success. Challenges such as finding housing and sufficient pay have made it difficult for interns to do the job. This is an important pipeline for up-and-coming journalists and we're committed to working toward solutions. It's our expectation that the program will open again in 2027.
UW Legislative Reporting Internship
Since the 2011 Legislative Session, the WNPA Foundation has provided scholarships for journalism students to do full-time, supervised reporting on Olympia.
These students file reports on issues of interest to rural or suburban communities. The stories are available to all 100-plus community newspapers in WNPA. The students are mentored both by UW staff and by experienced WNPA editors and publishers who serve as volunteer mentors. Interns receive a stipend to cover housing and other needs.
Two internships are named in honor of Kris Passey and Wallie V. Funk. Passey was a former owner of the Marysville Globe and Arlington Times and a founder of the Washington Coalition for Open Government. Funk, an avid photographer and community activist, was publisher of the Whidbey News-Times, South Whidbey Record and the Anacortes American. Passey and Funk both passed away in 2017. A third internship is named in honor of Jerry Zubrod, WNPA Executive Director for two decades.
Donate to Support Journalism Education
Your donations toward the WNPA Foundation are invested with endowments made early in the WNPA's history. Through these funds and our small live auction, we pool the resources to fund the program. However, the pay for our internships has not risen in some time, and the college students who want to do the work are finding it increasingly difficult to support their housing and transportation. It's our hope to recruit the finest students, and compensate them fairly. Will you help?
DonateSupporting the WNPA
The WNPA Foundation is a 501(c)3, federally-recognized nonprofit organization, with the capacity to accept tax-deductible donations. Its mission includes supporting journalism more broadly, and through the WNPA we are able to support grand-funded work.
Inquire about Internships
If you'd like information on how to receive an internship position or on how to support, please contact us.
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Dave Gauger
Donna Etchey
Paul Archipley
Sean Flaherty
Don Nelson
Board President
Staff
Ellen Hiatt
Executive Director
WNPA Foundation Board of Directors
The WNPA is served by a board of seasoned newspaper publishers, general managers and editors, guiding the organization with their decades of experience.
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