How do you pay for important journalism in an era of diminishing funding and shrinking budgets? Ask 2013 Nieman-Berkman Fellow Laura Amico and her husband Chris, the founders of Homicide Watch D.C. who have successfully turned to Kickstarter to back their work. The couple have developed a new business model for their site and are just two of the many independent journalists now turning to new funding options to stay afloat. On Sept. 9, with pledges from more than 1,000 people, Homicide Watch reached its $40,000 goal to pay for a reporting lab of interns who will keep the site running for the next year.

Read David Carr’s New York Times article on the Amicos’ work and fundraising efforts