The Latino Newsletter Secures First Funder Partner

The Latino Newsletter, a new nonprofit media site founded by award-winning journalist Julio Ricardo Varela, announced today that the Latino Community Foundation (LCF) is the organization’s first funder partner, providing support for an initial Phase 1 $20,000 editorial plan that will primarily cover the rest of the 2024 election cycle through a strong Latino lens.

“I cannot thank LCF CEO Julián Castro and the entire LCF team enough for understanding the urgent need to fill the daily void of Latino-focused stories that will help to inform and educate voters in the United States and Puerto Rico during a very important election season,” Varela said. “LCF’s support is instrumental in starting up a community newsroom plan that will provide premium journalism, commentary and audio interviews of the highest quality.”

“Representation in journalism is about ensuring that stories about the full American experience are told,” Secretary Julián Castro, CEO of the Latino Community Foundation, said. “The Latino Community Foundation is proud to invest in The Latino Newsletter and the power of Latino journalists at such a critical time for our democracy.” 

The initial funds will be used to produce daily posts for The Latino Newsletter’s growing subscriber base, the outlet’s main website and a new political audio podcast offering that will launch the week of July 22. 

Since May 28, when Varela shared the pre-launch idea of creating a new nonprofit daily outlet that is “about us, all the time,” The Latino Newsletter has achieved close to 500 subscribers, over 1,000 social media followers and 50% monthly growth in organic traffic. The outlet has also been featured in stories by CBS News and GBH News. Currently, The Latino Newsletter is publishing a daily story, five times a week, from Monday through Friday.

“Our plan at this stage is to use the election cycle work as a proof of concept that we strongly believe will lead to more interest and funding,” Varela said. During this phase, he will be tasked as the outlet’s Interim Publisher/Executive Director and is a member of the organization’s initial four-person Board, which includes journalism leader Michelle Morgante Del Rio, communications leader Antonio Caban and higher education leader William Lopez.

“The key is to lay the groundwork for a successful newsroom that will serve Latino communities for years,” Varela added. “I am thankful to my fellow Board members for entrusting me to do some heavy lifting for Phase 1. Our goal is to form a foundational organization. We want to open up new lanes and opportunities for Latino and Latina journalists, opinion writers and audio producers.”

Those interested in connecting with The Latino Newsletter can email Varela directly at [email protected]. 

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