Newsletter

Solution Set: Fab fundraising tips from folks who know how it’s done 💰

Insights from the 2026 News Philanthropy Sumimt

August 5, 2026

As more news outlets turn to philanthropic fundraising to help support their work with donations, grants, and events, there’s also been a surge of advice and training. But sometimes the best advice runs counter to traditional wisdom. At the 2026 Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit, one of the more popular talks was from Jake Hylton, executive director of LOOKOUT News, entitled “Engineering Serendipity.”

His core argument is that the reporting instincts that journalists use every day, such as building sources, doing pre-interview research, earning trust, and reading a room, are the exact same skills fundraising requires. “Nobody told you that you, the journalism professional reading this, already know how to fundraise,” he wrote in an essay for The Lenfest Institute. “The skills that make you good at your job as a journalist are the same skills that make someone great at fundraising.”

Hylton also writes that the fundraising world has trained journalists to perform a stiffer, more polished version of themselves, and to put funders on a pedestal. He pushes back on that dynamic directly, describing the funder hierarchy in blunt terms and arguing that funders are people who chose philanthropy because they believe in something — not judges waiting for a performance. (And these strategies are working for Hylton and LOOKOUT: Just this week they announced major funding from MacArthur Foundation.)

Direct encounters with journalism

Similarly, consultant Ruby Jones noted that newsrooms need to get past a scarcity mentality, or “lifeboat logic” as she put it, and don’t need to make a fundraising pitch about saving a struggling industry. Instead, news leaders should invite people to experience journalism’s value directly through participatory storytelling and community engagement.

“When communities are invited into storytelling, listening sessions, and public-facing engagement, local news becomes less extractive and more relational,” she wrote in a special essay for The Institute. “Instead of being convinced of its value, people encounter it directly.”

Bonus: Check out this upcoming virtual workshop on August 26 about how AI’s limitations are a fundraising opportunity.

Grants & Fellowships: bring in the 💰

SPJ Foundation Grants

The SPJ Foundation is now accepting grant proposals for projects that strengthen journalism and protect the public’s right to know. This cycle, priority will be given to initiatives that advocate for journalists and journalism, defend press freedom, promote media literacy, and help build public trust in credible news. Apply by August 13.

California Civic Media Program

Grants of up to $250,000 for California-based newsrooms, determined by a pro rata formula based on journalist headcount and a needs-based set-aside to adjust awards for organizations whose impact exceeds what headcount alone reflects. Organizations with less than one full-time employee can still apply for the program and are eligible for up to $40,000 in funding through the needs-based adjustment. Apply by August 21.

Ian Parry Photojournalism Grants

The program is an international photographic competition for young photographers who are 24 years of age or under, or anyone who is studying in a full-time photographic course. Recipients receive £10,000 towards their chosen project, along with a loan of Canon equipment and publication of images by The Guardian. Apply by August 31.

Local News Reporting Grants from Pulitzer Center

You decide what underreported stories your community needs to engage with, and Pulitzer Center will support that reporting and champion it, including creating educational materials and organizing events to expand the reach of your stories and the conversation about them. The Center values data, investigative, and accountability journalism projects that tackle systemic issues and hold to account powerful local figures. Applications accepted on a rolling basis.

Collaborative Operating Models Program from the Public Media Bridge Fund

The first open call under the Sustainability Program focuses on advancing collaborative operating models across the public media system. The purpose of this initiative is to implement new operating and collaborative structures that strengthen the long-term sustainability of public media organizations. Investments up to $500,000 include grants, low-interest loans, and advisory services. Applications accepted on a rolling basis.

Special opportunity

Media Accelerator Program from Start.coop

Runs from October 13, 2026 to January 28, 2027

The Start.coop Accelerator for Worker-Friendly Media exists to address a critical gap in the media ecosystem: the lack of accessible support, capital pathways, and proven infrastructure for building worker-owned media companies. Thanks to the Harnisch Foundation, selected organizations are eligible to share in a $60,000 total pool of matching marketing dollars to help those organizations add donors and subscribers. Apply by August 6 (today!).

Fellowships

Local Business Journalism Fellowship from the National Press Foundation

To help journalists covering business in their communities, the National Press Foundation is hosting its third in a series of exclusive four-day briefings with economists, small business owners, and other top experts to dive into business infrastructure across America. This is tuition-free training from October 8-10 in Chicago, and NPF will cover airfare, hotel costs, and some meals. Apply by August 10.

Chauncey Bailey Journalist of Color Investigative Reporting Fellowship from IRE

Over the course of the year, fellows receive IRE training, mentorship, data services, and support — with the goal of producing an investigative reporting project to help their community. The program also provides an opportunity for the fellow’s news outlet to benefit from their investigative skill-building. Apply by September 1.

Karsh Journalism Fellowship

The fellowship offers specialized training in Jewish issues to professional journalists and recent journalism school graduates. Fellows participate in three intensive all-expense-paid retreats — in Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C. — engaging with leading journalists, scholars, policymakers, and innovators across arts, media, and business.

Fellows receive a $4,000 stipend and all travel expenses paid. Apply by September 1.

Brain Health Reporting Fellowship from Poynter

A year-long fellowship designed to help journalists strengthen their reporting on brain health, neuroscience, and scientific research. It will bring together 30 journalists from across the country for advanced training, personalized coaching, and direct access to leading journalists, researchers, and medical experts. The program begins in December 2026 with a three-day convening at Poynter’s campus followed by monthly virtual workshops and individualized coaching throughout 2027. Fellows receive a $3,000 stipend. Apply by September 22.

Berlin Prize Fellowship from the American Academy in Berlin

The Academy welcomes applications from a broad range of disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, law, journalism, and various areas of public policy. They encourage projects that address pressing issues of the day, such as democracy, security, technology and society (especially AI). Fellows receive monthly stipends of $5,000, round-trip airfare, and accommodation at or near the Hans Arnhold Center. Apply by September 25.

🧠 Brain food: insights from the field

Speedy Morman (left) and Ally Love host the Time 100 Sports Gala livestream on YouTube

Creator-style content helps Time deliver seven-fold increase on YouTube views by Charlotte Tobitt at Press Gazette

“Time editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs told the Press Gazette that [creator-style content] has helped the brand’s video views on YouTube grow by 773% in Q2 2026, while LinkedIn video views were up 756% in the first half of the year…He said around half of the traditional text editors and reporters in the Time newsroom have contributed meaningfully to social video this year.”

LION Publishers launches new Sustainability Audit Dashboard by Andrew Rockway at LION Publishers

“We’re proud to introduce the Sustainability Audit Dashboard, an interactive, quarterly updated tool that displays powerful data from the Audit, which evaluates the overall business health of local, independent online newsrooms…Currently, it showcases information from the nearly 450 newsrooms that have completed an Audit since 2025, when we launched the self-service version of the assessment. This includes data from the 205 news providers that received a Closing Coverage Gaps grant from Press Forward in 2024.”

As AI reshapes newsrooms, leading media outlets are charting different paths for its use by Erik P. Bucy and Milad Jalalian Ebrahimi in The Conversation

“In our recent research, we examined how three different media outlets – Reuters, the BBC, and The Guardian – were deploying AI in their workflows…In the future, we think the most influential and successful newsrooms will not necessarily be the fastest or have the best AI tools. Instead, they will be those that use the technology wisely, balancing speed with accuracy, treating workers fairly, and protecting the trust and integrity that make journalism a valuable resource.”

How tiny newsrooms are using AI — and their tips on effective use by Mark Glaser at Tiny News Collective

“Lost amid the contentious conversations about the use of AI tools in news are the experiences of tiny startup newsrooms — those led by a solopreneur or small team. This group faces extreme time and capacity limitations during the fragile startup phase, as they wear all the hats for their small news businesses. That’s where AI can offer tangible benefits: automating tasks, doing structured copy-editing, helping with research, creating systems such as lightweight fundraising pitches, and creating data-based products and tools.”

Training: upskill FTW 🎓

How to Spread Solutions Journalism on Social Media from Solutions Journalism Network

August 12 at 11 am EDT

Join SJN for the second of a two-part webinar series designed to help journalists create compelling social-first content that expands the reach and impact of their solutions reporting. This webinar will be led by Jonathan Woodward, a multimedia producer and creative strategist who previously served as writer, producer, and co-host of SJN’s Tell Me Something Good partnership with Google Creative Labs.

Building Civic Partnerships as a Revenue Strategy for Community Media from the Center for Community Media at CUNY

August 13 at 2 pm EDT

Learn from Madeleine Bair, founder of El Tímpano, about their novel way to sustain and even expand public-service journalism: civic partnerships. Through this model, nonprofits, government agencies, and other mission-aligned organizations contract El Tímpano to distribute vital information to “hard to reach” communities. El Tímpano began this work in 2020 with a $6,000 grant to support census outreach. In 2025, civic partnerships brought in approximately $350,000.

Leading AI in the newsroom from Poynter

October 26 to December 3

Learn how to lead AI initiatives with confidence, build trust, drive adoption, and guide your newsroom through change while upholding journalistic values. The program includes a free two-day workshop in Los Angeles plus four live virtual sessions. Designed for journalists leading AI adoption in small and medium-sized newsrooms. Apply by August 14.

Covering “Teen Takeovers” from Poynter

August 18 at 1 pm EDT

Go beyond police reports and breaking-news narratives. Learn to cover so-called “teen takeovers” with context, accuracy, and care in this free webinar. Examine research on youth curfews, arrests, and crime rates, as well as law enforcement responses and community-based alternatives. Learn from journalists and youth justice experts.

AI Isn’t a Journalist! Its Limits Are a Fundraising and Engagement Opportunity from Lenfest News Philanthropy Network

August 26 at 2 pm EDT

In this conversation led by Lynn Walsh of Trusting News (pictured above), the focus will be on technological limitations of AI and how that may actually be one of the strongest fundraising and engagement opportunities currently available to local news. Could the answer be as simple as leaning into the human elements of reporting: building relationships, making ethical decisions, understanding communities, and producing original reporting?

Beat Academy: Reporting the 2030 Census from Poynter

August 26

Prepare your reporting for the 2030 Census with expert guidance on policy changes, methodology, and local story opportunities. See how decisions taken today could systematically shape Census outcomes in 2030. Understand the debate around Census practices and historic problems with undercounts. Identify story opportunities tied to census policy changes.

Bringing readers back: Real-world tactics for combating news fatigue from ONA

September 2 at noon EDT

Timely case studies from the Globe and Mail’s Angela Pacienza and consultant Jennifer Kho will address news avoidance in an era of unending content, offering attendees tactics and strategies to make their offerings more friendly and relatable, including creating entire new beats, broadening the scope of alerts, and re-thinking what makes an audience-first story mix.

Understanding U.S. indie info providers from CNTI and ONA

September 10 at noon EDT

Drawing on in-depth interviews with 26 indie info providers, the discussion will focus on two of the most actionable areas: how indie info providers approach multiplatform distribution and audience reach, and how they’re working — often struggling — to build sustainable revenue.

Support: Get the help you need ☎️

Evidence-based election coverage: A guide for journalists from SciLine

SciLine offers reporting resources to help journalists step back from political back-and-forth and show voters what evidence-based research can tell us about the biggest issues at stake in the midterm elections. They will be adding more resources throughout the 2026 midterm election season.

Emergency Mode for News from OpenNews, Newspack, and NC Local

The resource equips local journalists and their newsrooms with the tools they need to respond to climate disasters. With a disaster reporting action pack, software, and a learning community, Emergency Mode is designed to help journalists act nimbly and creatively to serve their communities when the unexpected happens.

Trusting News AI worksheet: Create an AI use policy

This worksheet is designed to encourage newsrooms to more quickly get on the record about if and how they use AI, without waiting months to share this information publicly with their community. If creating a new policy is a daunting task for you, this worksheet will suggest other ways to share your approach.

Local News Research Hub from Rebuild Local News and Syracuse University

Access a curated collection of studies that show how the decline of local news affects communities and the solutions emerging across the country. Building on Democracy Fund’s literature review, the Hub collates and regularly updates the evidence base to guide more targeted investments and policy interventions that support the local news ecosystem.

The Lenfest Expert Network from The Lenfest Institute

The Expert Network connects local news organizations with experienced consultants who provide pro bono hands-on support to strengthen sustainability, audience engagement, and digital transformation for short-term consulting engagements lasting one to six months. Interested in joining an upcoming consulting round? Sign up for office hours here.

Events: learn and network 📅

National Association of Black Journalists Conference

August 12–16 in Atlanta

Attendees go to hundreds of training sessions, workshops, entertainment, and networking events. Among thousands of attendees, everyone leaves with new professional contacts, inspired to enhance the journalism industry.

Local Media Fest from Local Media Association

August 18–20 in Chicago

The event is focused on revenue growth, digital innovation, and sustainability for local news organizations.

AI x Visual Journalism Forum from Hacks/Hackers

August 25-26 in Phoenix

Join Hacks/Hackers and Arizona State University’s Narrative and Emerging Media program for a full day of hands-on learning with visual journalists, technologists, artists, and ethics experts.

Near + Now Event Series from Public Media Journalists Association

August 26 in Indianapolis; September 9 in New York

Near + Now is designed for everyone on the public media team — reporters, producers, hosts, editors, podcasters, digital leads, audience specialists, and every role that’s emerged in the last five years. Four one-day events in four different cities.

Independent News Sustainability Summit from LION Publishers

September 9–11 in San Diego

Brings together local independent online news leaders to share knowledge, hard-won lessons, and actionable advice on running a sustainable news business.

NLGJA’s National Convention

September 10–13 in San Francisco

The country’s leading event for LGBTQ+ journalists, media professionals, students, and educators. The community spans every corner of the industry, from broadcast and print to digital and radio.

International Symposium on Journalism (ISOJ)

September 17-18 in Austin

A global gathering that convenes leading journalists, media executives, and scholars to explore emerging innovations and challenges shaping the field.

Mental Health in Journalism Summit from The Self-Investigation

October 6-9 online

An open, collaborative, and global conversation about what care looks like when it’s built into the structures of journalism work.

Local News Camp from Blue Engine Collaborative

October 14–16 in Durham, NC

The event is for leaders who get things done: publishers, editors, audience directors, product leaders, and analytics mavens. Attendance is capped to preserve depth, connection, and meaningful exchange.

Ask a Bot 🤖

Prompt: I am a wealthy major donor. Explain to me in one brief paragraph why I should donate to my local nonprofit news outlet.

Answer via Gemini: Investing in your local nonprofit newsroom is the single most efficient way to protect your community’s vitality, preserve real estate values, and safeguard the civic institutions that underpin your wealth. By funding independent journalism, you fill the critical void left by dying commercial newspapers and position yourself as the ultimate civic hero. Your philanthropic support acts as a high-leverage defense mechanism against local corruption, ensuring city officials and school boards remain accountable while empowering your neighbors to make informed decisions at the ballot box. Ultimately, your tax-deductible contribution delivers measurable, transparent social-emotional returns by transforming your financial resources into a thriving, safe, and well-informed community.

Human analysis: Nice pitch. Not very brief (are they ever?) but makes excellent points about safeguarding civic institutions and countering local corruption. “Preserving real estate values” is something a bit unexpected, and likely a stretch. “Social-emotional returns” is also somewhat unique and hard to measure, but definitely plays to those who want more than a return on investment from their donations. Definitely thought-provoking.