Register for the 2023 Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit

Registration is now open for the 2023 News Philanthropy Summit, a free virtual gathering focused on the transformative work of fundraising in sustaining essential journalism. Register here.

The News Philanthropy Summit will be held over two days on Tuesday, January 31 and Wednesday, February 1, 2023. It is fully virtual and free to all.  

The theme of the Summit is Transformation. Through hands-on workshops, inspiring keynotes, and peer sharing, we’ll explore how we can transform the ways we sustain news organizations through philanthropic support, how to deepen relationships between development professionals and donors, how to re-imagine the role of institutional funders within the journalism space, and much more.  

Over the two days, we’ll evaluate the current state of news philanthropy, review our successes and challenges from the recently completed year, and lay the groundwork for how we can grow the field. We’ll share strategies for how to leverage data and insights, optimize fundraising for the year ahead in 2023, how to reach and engage new and more diverse funders, and how to utilize philanthropic funding to build a better future for journalism that is in service of our communities.  

We’ll announce the full schedule in the coming weeks, but some of the programming highlights will include: 

• A conversation with Baltimore Beat founder and editor-in-chief Lisa Snowden and Adam Holofcener, of the Lillian Holofcener Foundation, which utilized the vast majority of its holdings to provide $1 million in general operating support to catalyze the re-launch of the Beat. 
• How can news organizations approach fundraising when working with traditionally underserved communities? Documented’s Andrea Bichan, the Prison Journalism Project’s Marcia Maziarz, 100 Days in Appalachia’s Dana Coester, and Enlace Latino NC’s Lupita Ruiz Parra will engage in conversation about the unique challenges they face in  building support. 
• Tamara Bates and Sara Solovitch of Searchlight NM will highlight strategies for how publishers can align their fundraising activities with their values to deepen relationships with major donors. 
• You’ve successfully received hundreds of small-dollar donations. Great! What happens now? Lisa Lepson and Aaron White of The Forward will share strategies for transforming grassroots donors into major donors through stewardship and engagement. 
• State and local governments are increasingly interested in supporting local journalism. Leaders from California, New Mexico, and New Jersey will share how they’ve successfully made public support part of their fundraising strategies.

Summit is a program of the Lenfest News Philanthropy Network, a global community of more than 1,500 journalism and development professionals who raise funds to support independent, public-service news in service of democracy.  

We can’t wait to gather together this winter for the Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit. Please email [email protected] with any questions or feedback.