The Lenfest News Philanthropy Network is pleased to announce the inaugural News Philanthropy Summit, a new conference completely dedicated to fundraising in news. 

The Summit will be fully virtual this year, and we hope you’ll join us for three days of learning and networking from November 3-5, 2021.

Like all News Philanthropy Network events, the Summit will be free to attend and is open to all — regardless of where you live and whether you work for a nonprofit or for-profit news organization.

The Summit will include four primary tracks: 

• Why Local News Matters: A Philanthropist’s Perspective — discussions with funders and philanthropists about why they support journalism
• Disrupting the Business Model: Philanthropy and News — a look at the innovative ways news organizations are building revenue models around fundraising
• Equity in Journalism and Philanthropy — how to ensure that the field of fundraising is diverse, equitable, and representative of all communities
• Research and National Trends — dig into data and best practices to discuss key benchmarks and how to optimize your fundraising apparatus 

The incredible Network community is what makes this group so special, and we hope you can help to make the Summit a success. Here are some ways you can get involved: 

• Pitch a session: What should we discuss at the Summit? Is there a topic you’d like to present on or learn about? Do you have a particular experience you want to share? Are there any speakers that we must include? Let us know by filling out this form. You can pitch your own sessions or nominate others that you’re interested in learning from. The deadline to submit session proposals is Friday Sept. 10 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.  (We’re no longer accepting session pitches, but you can still pre-register for the Summit below.)

• Attend the Summit: We’ll be sending out formal Summit registrations later this fall, but if you want to make sure you know when registration is open, you can sign up here and we’ll send you updates as we get closer to the event. 

• Share the news: The News Philanthropy Summit is free and open to all, so please feel free to pass along this information to friends and colleagues who may be interested in joining the Network and attending the Summit. 

You can register your interest to either pitch your own session, propose a topic you’d like to learn about, or indicate your interest in attending, by filling out this form.

We can’t wait to gather together for the News Philanthropy Summit this fall, and please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or feedback.