The number of those who contributed through donations to the Recorder last year is the equivalent of a full National Arena. The figure was revealed by the investigative website in the annual report published at the end of May, with 2025 being the year with the highest revenues in the history of Recorder, founded in 2017 by Cristian Delcea, Mihai Voinea, Răzvan Ionescu and Andrei Crăciun.
“At a time when the funding of non-governmental organizations is transformed by politicians into a topic of national debate, we continue to do what we have done since the first year of the Recorder project: to publish this editorial and financial-accounting report”, say two founders of the site, Mihai Voinea and Cristian Delcea, who presented the data on people's donations and how the money was spent in 2025.
In the editorial and financial report published by the newsroom, the journalists say that more than 50,000 people financially supported the project through direct donations or by redirecting 3.5% of income tax, and about 90% of the revenue collected last year came from such contributions. The remaining 10% is income from advertising, grants and interest from bank deposits.
“Without them, Recorder journalists would not have had the peace and freedom to work for tens or hundreds of days on materials that touch the most opaque layers of corruption in Romanian society. And without their virtual presence, as a protective shield around the newsroom, we would not have had the strength to resist the attacks and pressure of recent years,” said the founders of Recoder, referring to the people who chose to donate, emphasizing the importance of an independent press.
In 2025, Recoder had revenues of 3.62 million euros and expenses of 1.55 million euros, according to the balance sheet published on the website.
Recorder reiterated that it has never received money from political parties and that it has not accepted electoral advertising, specifying that it operates as a non-profit organization, and any financial surpluses are fully reinvested in journalistic activity.
“No one goes home with money at the end of the year, even if there is a surplus. All the money is reinvested in journalism,” says the editorial office.
The financial surplus obtained in 2025 was mainly used to expand the team and ensure long-term financial stability, according to the Recorder report.
The Recorder claims it has secured its budget for more than two years in advance, arguing that an investigative newsroom needs financial protection amid political and institutional pressures.
The investigation site was also accused of “attacking the constitutional order” after the documentary “Captured Justice” and of “destabilizing state institutions” after the latest Recoder investigation, Enslaved Police, while on some televisions, such as Romania TV, there were proposals regarding the elimination of the tax facility through which taxpayers can redirect part of the tax to NGOs.
The Recorder increased its team and the newsroom reached 2026, having 32 full-time employees, plus collaborators.
The documentary “Captured Justice”, broadcast including by TVR and quoted in the international press, generated “the most extensive debate about the judicial system in the last decade”.
“Also last year, the Recorder's investigations about conflicts of interest and abuses of power by the mayor of District 3, Robert Negoiță, led to the initiation of investigations by anti-corruption prosecutors, and an investigation into the marketing practices of large pharmacy chains forced a reevaluation of the way in which this market is regulated,” says the editorial office, which also made a video summary of the activity of the last year.
