Fellow IRE Members —



You are at the center of every decision this organization makes. That’s especially important in a year of change, as we welcome new leadership, shape our next strategic plan and work through financial challenges. At our recent board retreat, we spent time talking about how IRE can best serve this community now and in the years ahead.

Here are a few highlights from that work:

• FY2027 Budget: We approved a budget that protects the core services members depend on while working to keep membership affordable. It also increases our investment in fundraising and takes a measured approach to using our endowment as we navigate the financial issues experienced in the past year.
• Board Onboarding: We launched IRE’s first comprehensive board onboarding process, including our first our first board handbook. Good governance shouldn’t depend on institutional memory. The goal is to give every board member a clear understanding of IRE’s finances, policies, responsibilities and history – and to make the board more effective in serving members.
• Fundraising: The board participated in fundraising coaching to strengthen our ability to support IRE’s mission. A more sustainable fundraising program is important to ensuring IRE can continue investing in training and serving members as the needs of investigative journalists change.
• Strategic Plan: We are making progress on IRE’s next strategic plan, informed by input from members, staff, past presidents and other stakeholders. Training remains at the center of our mission, while the plan will also address affordability, diversity and innovation. We’ll share more as that work takes shape.
• Revised Code of Conduct: A volunteer task force spent months reviewing and revising IRE’s Code of Conduct. I was honored to chair that group. The Governance Committee and board carefully considered the proposed changes, with legal review, before approving the new code. The result is a clearer framework for addressing conduct concerns, accountability and due process.
• Race & Culture Task Force: We also received an update following the launch of a new Race & Culture Task Force. Its work will help us examine how IRE can continue building a community where journalists from different backgrounds feel welcome, supported and able to participate fully.

Remembering Diana

We continue to feel the loss of our former executive director, Diana Fuentes, who died unexpectedly last spring. Diana believed deeply in IRE – not just as an organization, but as a community of journalists who help one another do difficult, important work. Members honored her with IRE’s Ring of Honor this summer and supported an ongoing training initiative in her name.

We recently learned that Diana also left $25,000 to IRE in her will. Her decision to share that gift with IRE is a remarkable final expression of her belief in this organization. We are deeply grateful to Diana and her family, and we will make sure her commitment to investigative journalism continues to have an impact. We miss her.

Learn more about our planned giving program, the IRE Legacy Society, here.

NICAR27 is next

Thanks to those of you who took part in AccessFest26 last week. Our next major gathering is already on the calendar: NICAR27, March 11-14, 2027, in downtown Denver. Whether you’re just getting started with data journalism or working on advanced coding and AI, NICAR will offer training for a wide range of experience levels and beats. There will also be opportunities to connect with other journalists through networking events, receptions and more.

To attend NICAR27, your IRE membership must be current through April 1, 2027. If your membership has expired, please renew before registering.

Join our board office hour

And if you want to talk about NICAR, the strategic plan, IRE’s finances or anything else, please join new Executive Director Jonathan Kealing, Deputy Director Lauren Grandestaff and me for our monthly virtual office hour this Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT/10 a.m. PT. Register here.

If you have questions or want to share your thoughts about where IRE is headed, please reach out to me at president@ire.org.

Thank you for being part of IRE – and for continuing to make this organization what it is.

Sincerely,