Donate to IRE: Shine a light. Fund the fight.

(October 1, 2025) —  Journalism has the power to shine a light on the truth no matter how dark it gets. 

That’s what our membership at Investigative Reporters and Editors, nearly 5,000 journalists strong, prove day after day around the world. From local newspapers and TV stations, to global nonprofit newsrooms, they tirelessly follow leads, question politicians, examine corporations and dig into documents to get to the facts.

They do so in increasingly tough conditions. Press freedom and free speech are under attack. Reporters Without Borders classified the global state of press freedom as a “difficult situation” for the first time in their World Press Freedom Index. Another report found that global press freedom has suffered its sharpest fall in 50 years.

The darkness is spreading, but we aren’t giving up. We need your help. Today, we start a campaign to fund our unified fight to shine the light.

Because it’s not just journalists facing these challenges — it’s all of us. Democracy is at stake. 

60 Minutes Correspondent Scott Pelley said it best at IRE’s 50th Anniversary Gala last month: “There is no democracy without journalism.”

“IRE was formed at a time when modern investigative journalism was exposing serious problems in our government,” said IRE Executive Director Diana R. Fuentes. “Our founders saw a need to support each other in those efforts, and to promote that kind of high-quality journalism in local communities across the country. That need has never been greater than today. Help us continue the fight.”

For 50 years, IRE has been training journalists on how to be effective watchdogs in their communities — and we’ve evolved over the years to keep up with the changing media landscape and the needs of our members.

This year, we launched a new committee to help us put out more training and resources on press freedom and journalist safety. We’ve joined forces with organizations also dedicated to protecting a free press, including Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, Freedom of the Press Foundation and others to speak out against attacks on journalists. The IRE Board of Directors released this statement recently, condemning the Pentagon's new restrictions on journalists.

Despite the increasing challenges, IRE members continue to show up for their communities. If you attend one of our conferences or read our weekly “Local Matters” newsletter, you’ll find passionate, hard-working journalists who continue to go to the darkest corners to expose injustice and hold power to account.

They need your support.

As we approach the end of 2025, we invite you to stand with us in our mission to protect the truth-tellers and ensure their independent work of verified reporting continues to keep the people informed. Make a donation today. 

Your generous contributions will directly support IRE training programs, so we can continue equipping journalists with the skills and resources they need. Every dollar counts. Join us in this fight for truth.

Learn more about IRE and make a contribution online, via mail or text.