Dear Readers,

I am pleased to share our annual report for 2023, offering insights into the state of India Currents. Your steadfast support has been the cornerstone of our success, and we are sincerely grateful for your generosity.

In the year 2023, our growth was thriving on multiple fronts: Readership, grassroots donor engagement, institutional backing, and an expansion in our dedicated team. Through heightened reporting efforts, we reached a broader audience, sharing compelling stories and diverse perspectives that resonate within the Indian American community.

Two standout moments of the year deserve special mention. A reader survey conducted by the News Revenue Hub revealed that nearly 20% of our readers cast their votes in an election influenced by our journalism, and an impressive 26% made donations to causes featured in India Currents, showcasing the tangible impact of our work.

Equally significant was the honor of receiving an invitation from the White House to a luncheon with the Prime Minister of India—an experience that marked my inaugural visit.

We are grateful for the privilege of being able to serve as a vital voice for the Indian American community.

We have grown our readership.

Our commitment to providing unrestricted access to our content on the website, social media, and newsletters has resulted in significant engagement. In 2023 alone, our website connected with 514,736 unique readers, reflecting a 5% growth in unique users over the previous year. Specifically, we resonated with 128,000 unique readers in California. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to sign up and stay connected with us.

Furthermore, we’ve started syndication with major platforms such as MSN Start, SmartNews, NewsBreak, and Apple News. Keep an eye out for our stories on these platforms as we continue to broaden our impact with compelling narratives. We have had an additional:

  • 333,000+ pageviews on MSN Start
  • 1,277 monthly active users on Apple News in just two months!
  • 44,450+ pageviews on SmartNews

We have more readers supporting us financially.

Our community of financially supportive readers has grown, marking a crucial step in establishing a sustainable model for our nonprofit news organization.

During our Birthday Fundraising Campaign in April, we welcomed 20 new supporters, with a local match of $3,888, resulting in a total raised amount of $7,200. In August, our Festival Season Fundraising garnered support from 18 new donors, raising $1,225. The pinnacle of our fundraising efforts was the End-of-Year Campaign, where 140 donors contributed a total of $25,830. Remarkably, this amount will be matched by $21,000 from Newsmatch, a collaborative movement championing independent, public-service journalism like ours. The total we raised during this campaign amounted to an impressive $46,830.

In the entirety of 2023, our community’s generosity led to a total donation amount of $61,177. A heartfelt thank you goes out to the 190 donors who stood by us financially, with many of them being first-time contributors to India Currents.

We want to emphasize the invaluable support provided by recurring donations, whether monthly or yearly. These consistent contributions play a pivotal role in helping us plan our budget more effectively, ensuring the continued success of our mission. 

We received more institutional support.

Our institutional support has seen substantial growth. Their commitment has not only bolstered our financial foundation but has also reaffirmed the importance of our work. We extend our gratitude to the major funders who gave over $350,000 in 2023.

  • CA State Library
  • Miami Foundation
  • Valley Health Foundation
  • Ethnic Media Services
  • Google News Initiative
  • Catchlight
  • UC Berkeley Local News 
  • Walton Family Foundation

We Invested in staff & technology.

In 2023, we embarked on a significant expansion of our team, transforming from a small group into a dynamic force for impactful journalism. Vijay Rajvaidya and I continued to provide steady leadership as we grew the team.

Under the capable leadership of Managing Editor Meera Kymal, our editorial team thrived, supported by Contributing Editors Snigdha Sen and Nandita Bose.

Our newsroom proudly hosted a reporter from the UC Berkeley Local News Fellowship, welcoming Tanay Gokhale as a full-time Community Reporter. Adding visual depth to our storytelling, Sree Sripathy, a Catchlight Fellow, served as our full-time staff photographer, capturing the essence of community events.

Completing our editorial ensemble, we welcomed Prachi Singh from the Dow Jones News Fund as Engagement Editor. 

To enhance our sustainability strategies, Anjana Nagarajan-Butaney joined as the Donor Engagement Advisor, spearheading the initiation of a Major Gifts program.

Furthermore, Kalpana Sarathy joined to revitalize our Ads and Sponsorship revenue, alongside Priya Lava, who serves as Operations Manager. 

The summer saw us hosting Mizzou and Emma Bowen Fellows, providing enriching opportunities for emerging talents.

Remaining steadfast to our mission, 2023 witnessed collaborations with dozens of writers, resulting in the publication of over 600 stories. Our staff’s commitment to mentorship extended to nurturing youth writers and guiding six student interns, ensuring a continuous cycle of growth and learning.

Technology & Training

These technological and training initiatives represent our efforts to stay at the forefront of industry best practices and navigate the evolving landscape of news dissemination and community engagement. 

  • News Revenue Hub: We invested in the News Revenue Hub, a specialized contribution management platform tailored for newsrooms.
  • Salesforce Implementation: Recognizing the importance of streamlined operations and efficiency, we implemented Salesforce to track and manage all potential opportunities. 
  • Community Engagement via WhatsApp: This initiative aims to foster more direct and meaningful connections with our audience.
  • News Product Alliance: we received comprehensive training for onboarding new candidates into our newsroom. This ensures a seamless integration of fresh talent into our dynamic team.
  • GNI Training for Building Reader Revenue and Advertising/Sponsorships: We underwent dedicated training from the Google News Initiative focused on Building Reader Revenue and Advertising/Sponsorships. 

OUR IMPACT:

Recognition from Peers:

Our dedication to journalistic excellence has been acknowledged through numerous accolades and recognitions from our peers:

  • California Health Equity Impact Fund Fellowship: from the Center for Health Journalism, USC Annenberg School for Journalism, granted to Ritu Marwah, enabled us to delve deeply into the challenges faced by Punjabi farmworkers in the Central Valley, shedding light on their limited access to basic healthcare.
  • California News Publishers Association (CNPA) Awards: We clinched two prestigious awards at the California News Publishers Association Journalism Awards in 2023, highlighting our commitment to top-notch journalism. Read more
  • Ethnic Media Services Awards & Expo: Our impact resonated at the 2023 Ethnic Media Services Awards & Expo, where India Currents secured three awards, recognizing our contribution to ethnic media excellence. Discover more
  • Aging Fellowship Award: Meera Kymal, a cornerstone of our editorial team, earned the Aging Fellowship Award from the Gerontological Society of America, acknowledging her outstanding contributions to aging-related journalism.
  • San Francisco Press Club Awards Night: A moment of pride came as India Currents clinched an impressive tally of 10 awards at the SF Press Club Awards night! Explore our victories

 Building Community:

  • Our reporting on Brown Dolls in Nooses: Racism Jolts Saratoga Schools resulted in several community conversations. This was discussed at an event with Not in Our Town and with the Asian Caucus of the American Leadership Forum. 
  • This story was also republished on Ethnic Media Services Spotlight, DingDingTV, and Peninsula 360.
  • We launched an ambitious “We Belong” campaign. For the first time, we held a month-long photo exhibition of our project “We Belong,” a visual storytelling project together with Catchlight.
  • We participated in a public forum with the Santa Clara County Office of Immigrant Relations and Collaborating Agencies Disaster Relief Effort (CADRE) a leading network of organizations that provide community services that are essential in times of disaster to address bias and lack of diversity in disaster preparedness for immigrants, limited-English speakers and seniors who are most likely to be at risk.
  • We connected with the Santa Clara County Office of Immigrant Relations (SCC OIR) New Immigrants Fellows and held a mentorship session with Mosaic America. We also participated in an Oral history project with the fellows.
  • India Currents, in partnership with Ethnic Media Services and DingDing TV, convened a South Bay Ethnic Media Collective to do outreach on California’s “Stop the Hate” outreach campaign.
  • We met with the community at our booths at the Mosaic Festival, Mexican Heritage Plaza, and an Intel Corp Diwali event.

In the News!

We are thrilled to be featured in various communities:

All in all 2023 was a good year! Thank you again for your support, and we look forward to bringing you the stories and perspectives that matter most to the Indian American community in 2024.

Sincerely,

Vandana Kumar, Publisher & CEO

Fiscal Year 2023 Summary: