The Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange

The Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange is a community-grounded accelerator program supporting BIPOC media entrepreneurs through training, one-on-one coaching, and grantmaking.

The 2022 Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange fellows

Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange Creators Network

Running from January to April 2026, the Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange News Creators Network will serve as a four-month collaborative incubator for Philadelphia-based news media founders and content creators.

The deadline to apply is Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. EST. The program will select four teamsof media founders and news-focused creators.

The Founders Exchange program will:

  • Support innovative partnerships that connect traditional journalism with new-media storytelling.
  • Build capacity, sustainability, and leadership among independent news media innovators.
  • Provide training and support on the use of new AI technologies and practices for news.
  • Deepen public understanding of civic issues through creative, community-rooted storytelling.
  • Expand The Lenfest Institute’s commitment to equity and inclusivity in local media.
Learn more and apply Learn more and apply

About the Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange

The Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange, launched in 2022, focuses on the urgent need and opportunity to support and advance more media entrepreneurs of color to ensure communities prosper and news businesses thrive and grow sustainably on their own terms.

The Founders Exchange entrepreneurs receive grant funding, the opportunity to apply for additional follow-on support, and professional coaching in addition to participating the program curriculum. In 2024, the Founders Exchanged welcomed its first advanced program, which consisted of program alumni whose businesses are poised for the next stage of growth.

Learn more about the 2024-2025 alumni cohort Learn more about the 2024-2025 alumni cohort

The Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange is supported by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, The Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund, Comcast NBCUniversal, and the Independence Public Media Foundation. The project lead is Jos Duncan Asé, founder, executive producer, and publisher of Love Now Media. Black & Brown Founders, which supports entrepreneurs of color, delivered the training curriculum.

The 2023 Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange fellows
Entrepreneurs from the 2022 and 2023 Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange cohorts. (Photo by Zamani Feelings)

2023 PMFE Revenue Summit

The Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange Revenue Summit gathered coaches, mentors, and fellows with a focus on money, revenue generation, and enhancing personal relationships with finances. The Summit prioritized culturally relevant discussions about financial relationships and fostered profound connections and vulnerability.

Lessons from the Founders Exchange

Solutions & Resources
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