About Local Media Foundation
Leads innovative programs that promote the sustainability of journalism and news media.
Focus Areas
Local journalismInvestigative reportingNews media sustainabilityPublishers of colorBlack, Indigenous, Latinx, and other communities of colorCivic journalismCommunity news
Who They Fund
individual journalists and freelance reportersnonprofit news organizations / new 501(c)(3) news startupsdigital newsrooms and online media projects
Funding Style
direct project stipends/fellowships
About Local Media Foundation
Local Media Foundation’s recent giving centers on a small set of repeat journalistic infrastructure grants that combine project stipends with technology upgrades. In 2025, The Columbian Publishing Company received $394,720 for stipends for journalism projects and technology upgrades for digital journalism, while Word In Black Pbc received $349,950 for journalism project stipends. Those awards sit inside a broader pattern of funding local news organizations, digital newsrooms, and nonprofit journalism projects through grantmaking, fiscal sponsorship, and program support. The foundation is a public charity with annual grants of $6,775,916 and total assets of $6,345,849, and its latest 990 on file is for 2025. Its grantmaking is national, with recipients across many states and a recurring presence among organizations serving local communities. Recent awards also show support for program development and for transferring funds to a new 501(c)(3) organization, indicating that the foundation backs both ongoing newsroom work and the organizational structures behind it.
What Local Media Foundation Funds
A major thread in the foundation’s work is digital newsroom support. It gave $155,631 to Amnews Corpdba New York Amsterdam News for stipends for journalism projects and technology upgrades for digital journalism, and $129,839 to Lee Publishing Company Inc for the same purpose. Another recurring area is project-based reporting support: New York News Publishers Association received $150,480 for program stipends for journalism projects, and The Washington Informer received $133,305 for the same kind of support plus technology upgrades. The foundation also funds organizational transitions and newsroom development. In 2024, Oklahoma Media Center received $157,000 for transfer of funds to the program’s new 501(c)(3) organization. Capacity building appears in awards such as $125,683 to The Atlanta Voice - Voice News Network for journalism project stipends and technology upgrades for digital journalism.
How Local Media Foundation Gives
Typical awards cluster in the mid-five-figure range, with p25 at $13,950, a median grant of $41,173, and p75 at $73,215. The recent list shows both repeated support and one-off awards: Michigan Chronicle Publishing Co appears in 2024 and 2025, Seattle Medium - Tiloben Publishing Co Inc appears in 2024 and 2025, and Afro American Co Baltimore City appears in 2023 and 2025. The foundation is a public charity, not a private operating foundation, and it does not make program-related investments or grants to individuals. Its active Local News Fund is tied to U.S. local news work and does not accept unsolicited applications.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$4.2M
Total Assets
$6.1M
Total Revenue
$6.7M
Total Expenses
$7.8M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $14K and $73K, with a median of $41K.
25th Percentile
$14K
Median
$41K
75th Percentile
$73K
Geographic Reach
National31 states funded
About 5% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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