The Badger Project is a nonprofit funded mainly through reader donations and grants from foundations. While the vast majority of our major funders are listed here, in rare circumstances, we do accept anonymous donations. Funders have no influence over our work.
In March 2020, we received a matching grant of $7,713 from NewsMatch 2019 in coordination with our end-of-the-year fundraising drive.
In April 2020, the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation awarded The Badger Project a $600 grant from the Wirtanen Family Fund.
In March 2021, we received a matching grant of $12,500 from NewsMatch 2020 and $2,500 from the Google News Initiative in coordination with our end-of-the-year fundraising drive.
In November 2021, we received a $5,000 grant from the Evjue Foundation in Madison, WI.
In February 2022, we received a $5,000 grant from the La Crosse Community Foundation.
In March 2022, we received a matching grant of $14,000 from NewsMatch 2021 in coordination with our end-of-the-year fundraising drive. We also received a matching grant of $22,390.37 from the Loud Hound Foundation in San Francisco in coordination with NewsMatch.
In May 2022, we received a $10,000 grant from the Western Wind Foundation in Chicago.
In November 2022, we received a $1,400 grant from the Mount Horeb Community Foundation.
In November 2022, we received a $5,000 grant from the Evjue Foundation in Madison, WI.
In March 2023, we received a matching grant of $15,000 from NewsMatch 2022 in coordination with our end-of-the-year fundraising drive. We also received a matching grant of $16,700 from the Loud Hound Foundation in San Francisco in coordination with NewsMatch.
In April 2023, we received a $2,500 grant from the Jon and Martha Hove Donor Advised Fund at the Community Foundation of Dunn County.
In June 2023, we received a $4,000 grant from the Wirtanen Family Fund at the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation.
In November 2023, we received a $1,400 grant from the Mount Horeb Community Foundation.
In December 2023, we received a $5,000 grant from the Evjue Foundation in Madison.
In January 2024, we received a $2,500 grant from the B.A. & Esther Greenheck Foundation.
In March 2024, we received a $15,000 matching grant from NewsMatch 2023. We also received a matching grant of $16,824 from the Loud Hound Foundation in San Francisco in coordination with NewsMatch.
In 2024, we received $2,000 from the Mary Bethke Fund and the Todd and Kerri Olson Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin.
In September 2024, we received a $20,000 sustainability grant from the Google News Initiative through the Institute of Nonprofit News (INN).
In September 2024, we received a 2-year, $100,000 grant from Press Forward.
In October 2024, we received a $3,000 grant from Microsoft to do some political stories before the election.
In October 2024, we received a $20,000 sustainability grant from the Google News Initiative through the Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers.
In December 2024, we received a $3,500 grant from the Google News Initiative through INN’s Rural News Network to do some campaign finance stories in rural communities before the election.
In December 2024, we received a $5,000 grant from the Evjue Foundation in Madison.
In March 2025, we received $20,525 in grants from NewsMatch 2024.
In June 2025, we received a grant of $5,000 from the La Crosse Community Foundation.
In November 2025, we received a grant of $1,400 from the Mount Horeb Community Foundation.
Donors who have given more than $1,000.
- The Candace Koehn Watt Trust of Murphysboro, IL, has given $20,000.
- Chris Hong, of Jacksonville, FL, has given $8,000.
- The James Lodas Donor Advised Fund has given $5,500.
- Thomas and Patricia Cameron of Waunakee, WI, have given $5,500.
- Nick Watt of Madison, WI, has given $4,250.
- Nick and Shawn Fawell of Chicago, IL, have given $4,000.
- Jessica Lischka of Aspen, CO, has given $3,200.
- John Cameron of Woodland, CA, has given $3,000.
- Robert McPherson of Waunakee, WI, has given $2,750.
- Megan Hull of Washington, D.C., has given $2,000.
Donors who have contributed to The Badger Project
| Adam Paul | Griffin Bianchi | Nancy Dale | ||
| Adams Publishing Group | Haley Smith | Nancy Lindsay | ||
| Adrienne Bell | Harold M Scholl | Nathan Crowder | ||
| Agnes Breunig | Hayley Kleyman | Nathan Jung | ||
| Alan Ferguson | Helene Georgalan | Nick & Shawn Fawell | ||
| Aleksandra Tauchen | Howard Hardee | Nicholas Helser | ||
| Alex Lotorto | Ian Johanson | Nick Fatsis | ||
| Alexander Brah | Isabeau Dasho | Nick Topitzes | ||
| Alice Beneker | J Michael Loganbill | Nick Watt | ||
| Allen Arthur | Jack & Bonnie Mitchell | Nicole Chavas | ||
| Amanda Eggleston | Jack Mitchell | Nikki & Scott Storck | ||
| Amanda Mansour | Jacob Stampen | Pam Peacock | ||
| Amanda Russell | James Custer | Patricia Cameron | ||
| Amos Posner | James Force | Patrick Molzahn | ||
| Amy Maggio | Jeff Payton | Paul and Dolores Gohdes | ||
| Angela Janis | Jeffrey A Barrett | Peder & Laurene Bach | ||
| Ann Cameron | Jeffrey Johnson | Peter Nordby | ||
| Ann Lewandowski | Jennifer Schulz-Johnston | Peter Power | ||
| Anna Morrow | Jeremy Marshall | Phoebe Lee | ||
| Antje Gamble | Jeremy Schellin | Phongphon Gunnara | ||
| Antonia Van Twisk | Jerilyn Dahmen | R. A. Leedle | ||
| Anuj Dhingra | Jessica Lischka | Raina & Art Haralampopoulos | ||
| Arvind Gopalratnam | Jim Lodas | Renae Troup | ||
| Ashley Toy | JoAnn Pedersen | Rick Cveykus | ||
| Athena Daniolos & David Dowell | Joe & Helene Tzougros | Rob Kidd | ||
| Atticus Rust | Joe Anderson | Robert Beets | ||
| Barbara & Christian Karavolas | John & Sue Soloninka | Robert Klostermann | ||
| Becky McCoy | John Cameron | Robert McPherson | ||
| Ben Holt | John Dahmen | Robert Sarwark | ||
| Benjamin Cameron | John Gockman | Rochelle Bernstein | ||
| Benjamin Dahl | John Hollister | Ronald Noe | ||
| Beth Charpentier | John McLoone | Roseanne Olson | ||
| Beth Denzin | John Payette | Russ Bauer | ||
| Beverly Pestel | John Zwadzich | Ryan Ashton | ||
| Bill Quinn | Jonah Burns | Ryan Christoph | ||
| Bill Wellock | Jordan Taylor | Ryan Goes | ||
| Bob McLaughlin | Jorien Campbell | Ryan Mosher | ||
| Brandon Rowley | Josef Lindner | Ryan Ramquist | ||
| Brendan Gibbons | Joseph & Jane Schirmer | Ryan Urban | ||
| Brian E. Fish | Joseph Kim | S. Todd Stevens | ||
| Bruce Moffat | Judith Lee | Sage Weil | ||
| Bryn Shank | Justin Ramquist | Sai Lui | ||
| Cameron Smith | Kate Thornbery | Sam & Anna Fatsis | ||
| Carolyn Grede | Katherine Fafalios | Sam Blue | ||
| Carrie Brown | Katherine Gardner | Sam Hoisington | ||
| Catherine River | Kathleen Yale | Samuel Berns | ||
| Chad Yunk | Kathryn Schierl | Sarah Barron | ||
| Charles Peterson | Kathy Anderson | Sarah Mueller | ||
| Chris Lorenz | Kathy Gile | Scott Krueger | ||
| Chris Thomas | Kathy Schleicher | Scott Spevacek | ||
| Christine Chappell Belkin | Kellen O’Brien | Seth Lakso | ||
| Christine Gonzalez | Kelley Embree | Sharon Gaskill | ||
| Christopher Carlson | Kevin Busch | Sharon Mylrea | ||
| Clare Zaiman-Keen | Kevin Damask | Shelley Weiss | ||
| Cynthia Shumway | Kim Parsons | Stanley Kosek | ||
| D.J. Penza | King Adjei-Frimpong | Stephen Barry | ||
| Dan & Pat Cornwell | Kristin Soltis | Stephen Freskos | ||
| Dan Christoph | Kurt Breunig | Steve and Susan Macejkovic | ||
| Daniel & Maura Dasho | Kyle Zimmer | Steve Hanson | ||
| Daniel Heimann | La Crosse Tribune | Steven & Wendy Trost | ||
| Daniel Kopelson | Larry Hoffman | Steven Delahoyde | ||
| Daniel Line | Laura Etchen | Stu Levitan | ||
| Dave Black | Lauren Joseph | Susan Fredman | ||
| David & Athena Daniolos Dowell | Laurene Bach | Susan Roth | ||
| David & Deborah Christoph | Leanne Jackson | Susan Truitt | ||
| David & Nancy Giffey | Lee Smith | Tammy Frederiksen | ||
| David Lares | Lena Giakoumopoulos | Ted & Adrienne Capas | ||
| David Meixelsperger | Linda & Mike Katz | Ted & Terri Gregory | ||
| Deborah Blum | Linda Degnan | Teresa Duaime | ||
| Deborah Holt | Linda Hitchman | Thanos Tsiolis | ||
| Denise Jordan | Loretta Jellings | Theresa Kyriakopoulos | ||
| Diana Heliotes | Lori Seeke | Thomas & Joan Ensign | ||
| Dick Record | Luba Balch | Thomas Cameron | ||
| Dolores Wasylik | Luther Gette | Thomas H & Carolynn A Thiel | ||
| Donna Kruse | Lynn and Cheryl Binnie | Thomas Krajewski | ||
| Donna Siedschlag | Maggie Hennessy | Thomas Marmet | ||
| Donna Winter | Marge Engleman | Thomas Payton | ||
| Dorit Bergen | Margo Schmidt | Tim & Lisa Montgomery | ||
| Dylan Smith | Maria Heide | Tim Hundt | ||
| Ed Berger | Mark and Catherine Pearce | Toby Mitchell | ||
| Edward Calhan | Mark Bernstein | Tom & Nina Bartell | ||
| Elene Pautenaude | Mark Hetzel | Tom Gregory & Chris Gonzalez | ||
| Elizabeth Ellsworth-Kasch | Mark Hopping | TP Printing | ||
| Emily Grantham | Mark Rahne | Trista Treglowne | ||
| Emily Hoesly | Mark Schmitt | Ty Kurtz | ||
| Emma Steimel | Mark Simon | Valders Journal | ||
| Eric Scholl | Martha G. Munger | Valerie Kazamias | ||
| Eric Townley | Mary Manering | Valerie Murphy | ||
| Erich Schleicher | Mary Murrell | Vicky McSherry | ||
| Erik Johnson | Matina Kyriakopoulos | Victoria Rakowski | ||
| Ethan Mathy | Matthew Maloney | Vince Insalaco | ||
| Ethel C Quisler | Matthew Schleicher | Vincent Filak | ||
| Faith Morgan | Megan Hull | Virginia Choles | ||
| Ferdinando Garcia | Megan Timmons | Virginia Kruse | ||
| Fort Atkinson Online | Melanie Norden | Wausau Pilot & Review | ||
| Gary and Pam Gates | Meredith Bruster | Wayne and Mary Blue | ||
| Gay Burchill | Meredyth Maddox | Wendy Hathaway | ||
| George & Nia Choles | Michael Cavey | Wendy Tauber | ||
| George Hesselberg | Michael Kolb | William & Valerie McCarthy | ||
| Gerald Palmer & Kathleen Jordan | Michael Lehmkuhl | William Quinn | ||
| Greg Jakubczak | Michael Pagedas | William Wellock | ||
| Greg Neumann | Michael Sisak | Yvonne Fawell | ||
| Gregg & Beth Steinhauer | Molly O’Brien | Zayn King-Dollie | ||
| Gregory Strasser | Nancy Anderson | Zhen Wang | ||
| Griffin Bianchi | Zoe Fawell |
Our Editorial Independence Policy and Annual Financial Reports can be found by clicking those links.