Funding & Transparency
As a non-profit organization, we are committed to transparency. Please find below the details about what we are doing, where our financial means come from, how we spend them and who is involved in the decision-making process. For any further questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at hello@unbiasthenews.org.
Unbias the News is a feminist cross-border newsroom by Hostwriter, a Berlin-based non-profit organization that helps journalists to easily collaborate across borders. We currently connect more than 6,000 registered journalists in 150+ countries.
Hostwriter gUG (limited liability)
Karl-Marx-Str. 166
12043 Berlin
Hostwriter was founded in Hamburg in 2013.
In 2021, Hostwriter launched Unbias the News as a feminist cross-border newsroom to pursue inclusive public interest reporting. We send a signal against the lack of diverse perspectives in the media industry, in which Journalists of Color, colleagues with immigrant roots or disabilities are dramatically underrepresented.
Here’s a scan of our omplete founding documents.
Hostwriter is recognized as a charitable organization for providing occupational training for journalists and strengthening international understanding and tolerance. Our most recent notice from the German tax authorities concerning the recognition as a tax-privileged (non-profit) corporation dates back to February 8th, 2021.
Here’s a scan of our latest fiscal notice.
Editorial team
- Editor-in-chief: Tina Lee
- Editors: Mercy Abang, Ankita Anand, Wafaa Albadry (contributing editor), Gabriela Ramírez (multimedia content), Purple Romero, Zahra Salah Uddin
- Art Director: Andy Wilke
Management team
- Managing Directors: Mercy Abang & Julia Vernersson. CTO: Katja Heitmann
Supervisory Board
- Jutta Freifrau von Falkenhausen – Lawyer and Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board
- Maren Heltsche – Web developer and Vice-Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board
- Aline Abboud – TV anchor and journalist
- Eva-Maria McCormack – Executive Director, Strategic Communications, European Climate Foundation
- Tabea Grzeszyk – Entrepreneurial Journalist and Co-Founder of Hostwriter
- Merve Kayikci – Journalist and innovation manager
- Michael Weber – Financial expert and founder
Unbias the News was launched as a project of Hostwriter with the aim of contributing to more diversity in international reporting. By publishing underrepresented voices, we want to increase international understanding across borders and contribute to the elimination of prejudice and discrimination. Find below our narrative reports since 2018, including previous projects by Hostwriter:
Hostwriter has five part-time employees:
- Mercy Abang (Managing Director), Julia Vernersson (Managing Director), Tina Lee (Editor-in-chief), Zahra Salah Uddin (Social Media) and Gabriela Ramírez (Multimedia).
Freelance contributors:
- Our international editors Ankita Anand, Wafaa Albadry and Purple Romero as well as lead designer Andy Wilke, CTO Katja Heitmann and all commissioned journalists work on a freelance basis.
Honorary support:
- We are supported by the voluntary work of 30 Hostwriter Ambassadors, who act as local representatives in their respective regions, and our honorary supervisory board members Jutta Freifrau v. Falkenhausen, Maren Heltsche, Aline Abboud, Eva-Maria McCormack, Merve Kayikci, Tabea Grzeszyk and Michael Weber.
We don’t work with any marginally employed persons.
Our 2021 accounting is currently going through the yearly auditing process, and will be published in full in May 2022.
Main sources of funding in 2021:
- Adessium Foundation: 75.000 EUR
- Luminate: 92.126 EUR
- European Cultural Foubndation: 7.496 EUR
- EU Erasmus+ program: 11.182 EUR
These were our sources of funding in 2020:
Philanthropy
- Robert Bosch Foundation: 100.000 EUR
- European Cultural Foundation: 17.500 EUR
- Otto Sprenger Foundation: 6.500 EUR
- Next Media Hamburg: 3.000 EUR
Charitable activities
- Journalism trainings, etc.: 17.874 EUR
Other sources of income
- Donations: 10.140 EUR
- Shared office space: 10.050 EUR
- National Corona aid package (short time work) : 49.568 EUR
For previous years, please refer to our audited financial records accessible below (“8. Application of Funds”).
This is how we spent our funds in 2020:
Project costs
- Hostwriter network, Agora Europe, etc.: 35.989 EUR
Salaries and Wages
- Personnel costs (including project staff): 158.081 EUR
- Social security costs: 46.070 EUR
Others (office, server costs, admin)
- 27.639 EUR
Please refer to our audited financial records for details:
We don’t have any legal organizational involvements with third parties, no for-profit activities („outsourced service providers“) and no legal ties to any other partner organizations.
Financial year 2021
- Luminate: 83.728 EUR ($100,000)
- Adessium Foundation: 75.000 EUR
We certify that all decision-makers meet on a regular basis and that these meetings are protocoled. Questions submitted to our organization are answered within a reasonable time. Our yearly financial records are signed by a Hostwriter decision-maker. In case of examination of our yearly report, compliance with this commitment is checked by our internal test committees, a chartered accountant or financial auditor.
Unbias the News is a project of Hostwriter, a Berlin-based non-profit organization that helps journalists to easily collaborate across borders. Hostwriter was confirmed as equivalent to a U.S. public charity by NGOsource. Our Equivalency Determination certification is valid through December 31, 2021, see here.
We are supported by
Do you have any questions about Unbias the News or Hostwriter?
Please get in touch.
