The South Berwick Reporter has officially become its own nonprofit organization with the approval of the federal government.
After three years operating as a program under the umbrella of SoBo Central, the town’s community non-profit, the Reporter has formed its own 501c3 as defined by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service
“We are very grateful to SoBo Central for its years of fiscal sponsorship,” said Karen Eger, a reporter and president of the Reporter’s new board of directors. “At this point, the community appreciates and understands the role of local news we provide, and we are ready to branch out on our own.”
The new designation means the Reporter, the town’s online news source, will be able to raise funds as a charitable organization and will be responsible for handling its own accounting.
The Reporter includes an all-volunteer staff of eight people in the editorial department, but it depends on donations to fund its insurance premiums as well as the cost of hosting and maintaining its website.
“Creating a 501c3 gives us the ability to fundraise with an eye to the long- term stability of the South Berwick Reporter, as well as to manage our own bookkeeping,” said Patti Mitchem, volunteer admin. “It also is a reflection of our faith in the future of this effort.”
The Reporter was recently accepted into the Institute for Nonprofit News, a national consortium of nonprofit journalism organizations that promotes nonprofit investigative and public service journalism.
In 2025, the Reporter published 200 stories while volunteers donated an estimated 2,700 hours in total, according to Eger. The state approved the Reporter’s nonprofit status in 2025.
