Program

Save the date: The 2026 Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit

Hosted by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism and Press Forward

October 21, 2025

The 2025 Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit. Photo by Hannah Yoon

Join hundreds of local news fundraising professionals from around the world for the fourth Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit, hosted in partnership with Press Forward, taking place May 18–20, 2026 at the Loews Hotel in Philadelphia.

Held in person for the second time, the Summit offers journalism development professionals the chance to connect with peers, participate in hands-on workshops to sharpen their fundraising skills, and gain insights from inspiring keynote speakers.

The 2026 Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit will open our call for participation on Thursday Dec. 11, 2025 at noon EST / 9 a.m. PST. Anyone interested in attending the Summit or proposing a session should fill out the call for participation form.

Subscribe to the Lenfest News Philanthropy Network newsletter for future updates on the Summit. We’ll send an email once the call for participation is live, and you can also add a reminder to your Google calendar by clicking here.

Because space is limited and we aim to create an equitable gathering, we ask that you complete the short call for participation to tell us about yourself and why you’d like to attend. The form will close once we reach capacity. After we review submissions, we’ll notify selected attendees and session presenters. If you are invited to attend the Summit, we’ll send you a registration form.

Here are more details about the Summit:

Session pitches

We want to ensure that Summit sessions are responsive to the needs of attendees. If you’re planning to submit a session proposal, here are a few topics that we know will generate interest:

The use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to support fundraising.
Communications strategies to articulate the importance of local journalism and core values to funders, individual donors, and the broader community.
The nuts-and-bolts basics of news fundraising: individual giving, institutional funding, and membership.

This is by no means a complete list of topic areas, and we’d encourage you to submit a session proposal that speaks to your expertise and interest areas. Some of the most popular sessions at the last Summit were case studies where experienced fundraisers shared insights into their own work and hands-on workshops that helped participants develop strategies and frameworks.

If you have any questions about submitting a session, please don’t hesitate to email [email protected].

Cost

The Summit is free to attend.

Accommodation support for attendees

The Lenfest Institute will be able to offer complimentary hotel accommodation for a limited number of general summit attendees. We will be able to cover a two-night stay at the host hotel from May 18-20, 2026. Please note that we can offer rooms only at the conference hotel and only for those two dates.

You’ll be able to request hotel support on the call for participation form. If you’re invited to attend the Summit, we’ll confirm whether we can provide the support requested.

Press Forward grantees and confirmed session presenters will be able to request support for both hotel accommodations and travel expenses.

Schedule

Programming will begin mid-day on Monday, May 18 and continue all day Tuesday, May 19. The Summit will wrap up mid-day on Wednesday, May 20. Summit attendees will be invited to attend a reception on the evening of Tuesday, May 19.

The full program and schedule will be released in March 2026.

Get ready

We’ll release the call for participation on Thursday, December 11. Please mark your calendar! Space is limited, and the application form will close once we reach capacity.