Scripps Howard Foundation
ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismFunds Individuals
About Scripps Howard Foundation
The Scripps Howard Foundation concentrates its philanthropy on strengthening journalism capacity, training and research—particularly through university-based journalism centers and professional-training organizations that address newsroom resilience and misinformation. Grants are often large, multi-year awards to academic institutions and established journalism nonprofits, with occasional community-facing media relief and local assistance projects. The foundation favors institutional capacity-building (centers, programs, fellowships) over small community grants.
Focus Areas
University-based journalism centers and academic journalism programs (e.g., Howard Centers)Professional journalism training and anti-disinformation initiativesCommunity and community-focused journalism/Roy Howard Community JournalismEnvironmental journalism programming (Ted Scripps Environmental Program)Local media relief and community assistance via broadcast partners
Who They Fund
emerging / early-career journalists and studentsprofessional journalists (beat reporters, environmental/religion reporters)
About Scripps Howard Foundation
The Scripps Howard Foundation’s most distinctive recent funding is its sustained support for university-based journalism infrastructure: Howard Centers, Roy W. Howard Fellowships, and related newsroom-training programs. In 2025, it gave $675,706 to the International Center for Journalists for a Disarming Disinformation Grant, alongside $628,317 to the University of Colorado Foundation for the Ted Scripps Environmental Program, showing a portfolio that combines anti-disinformation work with specialized reporting training. The foundation also backs academic journalism hubs through larger institutional awards, including grants to the University of Southern Mississippi for the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center and to Arizona State University Foundation for a Howard Center. Its giving is not limited to universities. The recent record includes prize funding for journalism awards, open-source investigative reporting support, religion reporting, and local community assistance through broadcast partners. Across those lines, the pattern is consistent: it funds capacity-building, training, and reporting programs that help journalists produce public-interest work, especially in settings tied to colleges, fellowships, and professional networks.
What Scripps Howard Foundation Funds
A major theme is disinformation and media literacy. The foundation gave $675,706 to the International Center for Journalists for a Disarming Disinformation Grant and $560,527 for a Journalism Grant with the same focus in 2025. Environmental reporting is another clear strand: it awarded $628,317 to the University of Colorado Foundation for the Ted Scripps Environmental Program and $501,451 to the University of Colorado Foundation for the Ted Scripps Environmental Fellowship Program in 2023. It also supports open-source investigative reporting through university programs, including $100,000 to the University of Southern California for an open source program and $122,000 to the University of Maryland College Park Fdtn for an AI program. Religion coverage appears in the 2025 grant to The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York for the Covering Religion Program.
How Scripps Howard Foundation Gives
Typical grants are small at the center of the distribution, with p25 at $500, median at $1,250, and p75 at $2,000. The recent grant list also shows a long tail of much larger institutional awards, including six-figure and multi-year university grants. Recipients appear across multiple years and often receive repeated support: University of Maryland College Park Fdtn, Arizona State University Foundation, University of Colorado Foundation, and the International Center for Journalists each show up in both 2023 and 2025. The foundation is a regular funder rather than a DAF, funds individuals, and its portfolio includes operating-style support, fellowships, prizes, and program grants. Some programs accept unsolicited submissions, including the journalism awards and the Ted Scripps Fellowships in Environmental Journalism.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$7.3M
Total Assets
$69.4M
Total Revenue
$19.5M
Total Expenses
$10.3M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $500 and $2K, with a median of $1K.
25th Percentile
$500
Median
$1K
75th Percentile
$2K
Geographic Reach
National44 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Scripps Howard Foundation Funds
Top 2 recipient countries by grant volume for Scripps Howard Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 2,520 | $21M | 100.0% |
| 2 | Denmark |
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