To make journalism entrepreneurship more accessible, equitable, and inclusive by supporting new and early-stage local news founders so communities have relevant, accurate, and culturally-conscious local news and information.
The Tiny News Collective Inc uses fellowship roles, micro-grants, and regranting to help new and early-stage local news founders build community-driven outlets. Its recent grantmaking shows a clear preference for supporting journalism entrepreneurship rather than underwriting a single newsroom model: the largest awards in the data went to The Optimist LLC in Saint Michael, Minnesota, and BLCK Press Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, both for journalism projects. The foundation also backs outlets serving specific communities and places, including Harvey World Herald LLC in Harvey, Illinois; The Pulp in Missoula, Montana; and Atlantic City Focus LLC in Pleasantville, New Jersey. Across the record, it funds journalism projects, scholarship awards, and support tied to startup needs, leadership development, and operational capacity. The grant list includes both one-time and repeated support, with several recipients appearing in multiple years and at different award levels. That pattern aligns with its stated aim of making journalism entrepreneurship more accessible, equitable, and inclusive for small local news founders and the communities they serve.
A central theme is support for local news entrepreneurship. The foundation awarded $34,855 to The Millennial Black Professor LLC in Wichita, Kansas, for support for journalism projects, and it has also used place-based funding through the Wichita Info Challenge to back new and early-stage local news and information projects in the Wichita area. It also funds newsroom capacity and stabilization. Black by God LLC in Morgantown, West Virginia, received $57,953 for support for journalism projects, following an earlier $37,856 grant in 2024. Another thread is community-centered and identity-specific journalism. The Trans Journalists Association in New York, New York, received $111,257 for journalism projects, showing support for organizations serving journalists and audiences with distinct needs. Technical and business support also appears in the grant record through small grants and professional development-oriented programs.
Typical awards cluster in the tens of thousands: the p25 is $14,888, the median is $28,046, and the p75 is $39,288. The record also shows a wide spread, from small grants such as $29,821 to The SHOUT in Wichita to six-figure awards like $235,540 to The Optimist LLC. Recipients often appear across multiple years, including Five Wards Media LLC, AC Joseph Media LLC, The Pulp, Black by God LLC, and BLCK Press Center, which points to recurring support rather than isolated one-off giving. The foundation is a regular funder, not a DAF, and it does not fund individuals. Its active programs include unsolicited options in some cases, such as Spark Fund and the Wichita Info Challenge, while the Immediate Needs Fund does not accept unsolicited requests.
$1.6M
$5.7M
$6.6M
$2.7M
Most grants fall between $15K and $39K, with a median of $28K.
25th Percentile
$15K
Median
$28K
75th Percentile
$39K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in NJ.
Heather Bryant
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Giving is national, and every grant in the recipient-country data went to U.S. organizations. The highest-frequency state for recipients is West Virginia, while the grant list also shows repeated awards in New Jersey, Minnesota, and Kansas. City-level activity includes Newark, Princeton, Pleasantville, Millville, and Bloomfield in New Jersey; Saint Paul and Saint Michael in Minnesota; and Wichita, Kansas. West Virginia appears through Morgantown, where Black by God LLC received multiple grants. The data also includes single awards in places such as Harvey, Illinois; Missoula, Montana; and Aspen, Colorado.
It supports journalists, news organizations and media outlets, journalism students or aspiring journalists, and early-career reporters. The listed focus areas include local news and hyperlocal journalism, founder support, capacity building, technical infrastructure, data literacy, audience metrics and responsible AI, and micro-grants or rapid-response funding.
The grant profile is built around project-specific and restricted-purpose funding. Typical awards are modest rather than large institutional grants, with a median of $28,046 and a p75 of $39,288. The record also shows repeated support to the same recipients across multiple years.
Some programs do. Spark Fund and the Wichita Info Challenge both accept unsolicited requests, while the Immediate Needs Fund does not. The foundation also operates fellowship and regranting programs tied to member newsrooms and startup support.
Giving is national, with all recipient-country records in the U.S. The most frequent recipient state is West Virginia, and the recent grant list also includes organizations in New Jersey, Minnesota, Kansas, Illinois, Montana, South Carolina, and Colorado.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Optimist LLC | Saint Michael, MN | $235,540 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Harvey World Herald LLC | Harvey, IL | $139,687 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| The Pulp | Missoula, MT | $135,131 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Atlantic City Focus LLC | Pleasantville, NJ | $127,483 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Five Wards Media LLC | Newark, NJ | $119,624 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Trans Journalists Association | New York, NY | $111,257 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| AC Joseph Media LLC | Millville, NJ | $105,118 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Global Investigative Journalism Net | Carrabelle, FL | $100,000 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| The Jersey Vindicator | Princeton, NJ | $67,754 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Black by God LLC | Morgantown, WV | $57,953 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Kevco Media LLC | Morristown, NJ | $51,929 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| BLCK Press Center | Saint Paul, MN | $50,441 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Silver News LLC | Aspen, CO | $38,607 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| The Millennial Black Professor LLC | Wichita, KS | $34,855 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| AB&C Bilingual Resources LLC | Wichita, KS | $29,884 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| The SHOUT | Wichita, KS | $29,821 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Kadilak Consulting LLC | Burlington, MA | $28,291 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| The New Jersey Center | Pennington, NJ | $28,000 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Tucson Spotlight | Tucson, AZ | $14,987 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| MatSu Sentinel | Palmer, AK | $12,716 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| The Peoples Beat LLC | Charleston, SC | $11,850 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Cultura Media LLC | Austin, TX | $10,140 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| NJ Pen Media Group | Audubon, NJ | $9,300 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Mercer Media LLC | Pennington, NJ | $9,300 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Beckwill Communications LLC | Fair Lawn, NJ | $8,887 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Spotlight Schools | Seal Beach, CA | $8,099 | 2025 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| BLCK Press Center | Saint Paul, MN | $147,441 | 2024 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Five Wards Media LLC | Newark, NJ | $125,985 | 2024 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| The Optimist LLC | Saint Michael, MN | $101,656 | 2024 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Four Points Media Inc | Crow Agency, MT | $82,225 | 2024 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Harvey World Herald LLC | Harvey, IL | $73,525 | 2024 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| AC Joseph Media LLC | Millville, NJ | $67,845 | 2024 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| The Pulp | Missoula, MT | $40,000 | 2024 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Black by God LLC | Morgantown, WV | $37,856 | 2024 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| The Peoples Beat LLC | Charleston, SC | $35,520 | 2024 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Atlantic City Focus LLC | Pleasantville, NJ | $30,759 | 2024 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| The New Jersey Center | Princeton, NJ | $28,460 | 2024 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| MWP Acquisition LLC | Minneapolis, MN | $27,631 | 2024 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Cultura Media LLC | Austin, TX | $15,250 | 2024 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Miles Media Management and Consulti | Trenton, NJ | $7,550 | 2024 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Lens15 Media LLC | Bloomfield, NJ | $7,449 | 2024 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Kevco Media LLC | Morristown, NJ | $6,276 | 2024 | Support for Journalism Projects |
| Lens15 Media LLC | Bloomfield, NJ | $39,051 | 2023 | ScholarshipAwards |
| AC Joseph Media LLC | Millville, NJ | $37,679 | 2023 | ScholarshipAwards |
| Five Wards Media LLC | Newark, NJ | $32,334 | 2023 | ScholarshipAwards |
| Four Points Media Inc | Crow Agency, MT | $27,400 | 2023 | ScholarshipAwards |
| The Peoples Beat LLC | Charleston, SC | $26,606 | 2023 | ScholarshipAwards |
| Miles Media Management and Consulti | Trenton, NJ | $25,000 | 2023 | ScholarshipAwards |
| Black by God LLC | Morgantown, WV | $24,627 | 2023 | ScholarshipAwards |
| The Optimist LLC | Saint Michael, MN | $16,324 | 2023 | ScholarshipAwards |
The Optimist LLC
$235,540Support for Journalism Projects
Harvey World Herald LLC
$139,687Support for Journalism Projects
The Pulp
$135,131Support for Journalism Projects
Atlantic City Focus LLC
$127,483Support for Journalism Projects
Five Wards Media LLC
$119,624Support for Journalism Projects
Trans Journalists Association
$111,257Support for Journalism Projects
AC Joseph Media LLC
$105,118Support for Journalism Projects
The Jersey Vindicator
$67,754Support for Journalism Projects
Black by God LLC
$57,953Support for Journalism Projects
Kevco Media LLC
$51,929Support for Journalism Projects
BLCK Press Center
$50,441Support for Journalism Projects
Silver News LLC
$38,607Support for Journalism Projects
The Millennial Black Professor LLC
$34,855Support for Journalism Projects
AB&C Bilingual Resources LLC
$29,884Support for Journalism Projects
The SHOUT
$29,821Support for Journalism Projects
Kadilak Consulting LLC
$28,291Support for Journalism Projects
The New Jersey Center
$28,000Support for Journalism Projects
Tucson Spotlight
$14,987Support for Journalism Projects
MatSu Sentinel
$12,716Support for Journalism Projects
The Peoples Beat LLC
$11,850Support for Journalism Projects
Cultura Media LLC
$10,140Support for Journalism Projects
NJ Pen Media Group
$9,300Support for Journalism Projects
Mercer Media LLC
$9,300Support for Journalism Projects
Beckwill Communications LLC
$8,887Support for Journalism Projects
Spotlight Schools
$8,099Support for Journalism Projects
BLCK Press Center
$147,441Support for Journalism Projects
Five Wards Media LLC
$125,985Support for Journalism Projects
The Optimist LLC
$101,656Support for Journalism Projects
Four Points Media Inc
$82,225Support for Journalism Projects
Harvey World Herald LLC
$73,525Support for Journalism Projects
AC Joseph Media LLC
$67,845Support for Journalism Projects
The Pulp
$40,000Support for Journalism Projects
Black by God LLC
$37,856Support for Journalism Projects
The Peoples Beat LLC
$35,520Support for Journalism Projects
Atlantic City Focus LLC
$30,759Support for Journalism Projects
The New Jersey Center
$28,460Support for Journalism Projects
MWP Acquisition LLC
$27,631Support for Journalism Projects
Cultura Media LLC
$15,250Support for Journalism Projects
Miles Media Management and Consulti
$7,550Support for Journalism Projects
Lens15 Media LLC
$7,449Support for Journalism Projects
Kevco Media LLC
$6,276Support for Journalism Projects
Lens15 Media LLC
$39,051ScholarshipAwards
AC Joseph Media LLC
$37,679ScholarshipAwards
Five Wards Media LLC
$32,334ScholarshipAwards
Four Points Media Inc
$27,400ScholarshipAwards
The Peoples Beat LLC
$26,606ScholarshipAwards
Miles Media Management and Consulti
$25,000ScholarshipAwards
Black by God LLC
$24,627ScholarshipAwards
The Optimist LLC
$16,324ScholarshipAwards