Grants

The Lenfest Institute offers grant funding to help local news publishers and journalism professionals develop sustainable solutions for local journalism in service of our communities and democracy.

The Lenfest Institute funds projects that align with our mission in the Philadelphia News Ecosystem, in Pennsylvania, and across the United States. 

In Philadelphia, our grants support three interdependent tiers: Individual media makers, organizations, and ecosystem-wide efforts. We employ an evidence-based approach to our grantmaking and programming utilizing key metrics to determine the efficacy of our efforts

Nationally, we fund programs that support media ecosystem-building, research and community listening projects, and projects that directly implement lessons from The Lenfest Institute’s Communities of Practice, with a specific emphasis on experimentation.

The Institute’s work is entirely supported by private philanthropy, and these donors help fund the Institute’s investments. A list of current Institute donors is available here

2022 Grants

2021 Grants

Fiscal Sponsorships

The Lenfest Institute offers a temporary fiscal sponsorship to select for-profit and startup publishers that align with its mission and priorities. Fiscal sponsorships allow them to receive charitable donations as they transition to nonprofit status.