Lay It Out Foundation

Central Oregon needs strong local journalism.

The Lay It Out Foundation helps make more of it possible.

Our Mission

Our mission is to strengthen Central Oregon through independent journalism, community connection and civic action.

The Lay It Out Foundation is a nonprofit organization investing in the reporting and resources our region needs to stay informed, engaged and connected.

We support journalists in producing investigative and feature-length reporting that takes time, asks difficult questions and examines the issues shaping life in Central Oregon.

Become a Sponsor Today!

Join us in keeping Central Oregon informed, inspired, and connected. By sponsoring the Lay It Out Foundation, you’re supporting independent journalism and investing in stories that shape our community’s future. Align your brand with a cause that matters — together, we can make a difference!

Community Partner – $500/year
Support local journalism and enjoy:
• ¼-page ad in The Source
• Digital ad on bendsource.com
• Linked logo on the Lay It Out Foundation website
• Thank-you highlight in the member newsletter

Champion Partner – $750/year
Amplify your impact with:
• Instagram Story + Facebook post
• ¼-page ad in The Source
• Digital ad on bendsource.com
• Cascades Reader inline ad (1 week)
• Linked logo + newsletter thank-you

Alliance Partner – $1,500/year
Show your full commitment to independent media with:
• Instagram Reel (2x) + Story + Facebook post
• ½-page ad in The Source
• Digital ad + Cascades Reader inline ad
• Linked logo + newsletter thank-you
• White paper or promotional item in all new member welcome bags

Local Journalism Matters

Central Oregon is growing and changing quickly.

Questions about housing, growth, public lands, water, wildfire, local government, education, public spending and the future of our communities are becoming increasingly complex.

At the same time, the traditional business model that supported local journalism for generations has changed dramatically.

The result is a growing need for deeply reported local journalism — and fewer resources available to produce it.

The Lay It Out Foundation exists to help close that gap.

Support Independent Journalism

The future of local journalism requires new ways of funding ambitious reporting.

Your tax-deductible contribution to the Lay It Out Foundation helps give journalists the time and resources to investigate complicated issues, uncover important information and tell stories that matter to Central Oregon.

When you become a Source Member, your membership supports the Lay It Out Foundation and helps fund independent journalism across Central Oregon.

Your support helps fund:

Investigative and accountability reporting
In-depth feature journalism
Public records and research
Expanded reporting capacity
Journalism collaborations and partnerships

Help make the next important Central Oregon story possible.

Journalism That Goes Deeper

Important stories take time.

They require journalists to attend meetings, examine public records, analyze data, develop sources, conduct interviews and sometimes spend weeks or months pursuing a single question.

The Lay It Out Foundation provides resources for journalists to do that work.

Our journalism focuses on issues of public importance throughout Central Oregon, with an emphasis on investigative reporting, accountability journalism and deeply reported features.

Our goal isn’t simply to produce more stories.

It’s to produce journalism that otherwise might not get done.

Our Journalism Is Made to Be Shared

Great local journalism has more impact when more people can read it.

Reporting produced with support from the Lay It Out Foundation is published in The Source and may also be syndicated, republished or developed in collaboration with other news organizations.

We welcome partnerships with newspapers, digital publications, radio stations and other news organizations interested in bringing this reporting to their audiences.

Want to publish our work?

We welcome inquiries about syndication, republication, co-publishing and other editorial partnerships.

Contact: support@layitoutfoundation.org