[11] In 2023, 48% of newsrooms that applied to become members were accepted, with others not meeting membership standards like editorial independence, quality of journalism and transparency around who funds their work.

[17] As a 501(c)3 non-profit education organization, INN provides coordination, training, support services and financial sponsorship to its membership.

It has published educational resources and training materials, including a whitepaper, "Audience Development and Distribution Strategies",[18][better source needed] In 2011, INN joined the Thomson Reuters media platform.

[24] Since 2016, INN has partnered with NewsMatch, an initiative supported by several national foundations that match donations from individuals to nonprofit news organizations.

[25] In 2021, The New York Times highlighted how communities where local newspapers were shuttering followed INN's playbook for how to start a nonprofit news organization, which it found were becoming more prevalent.