Program areas at American Journalism Project
Grantmaking program - the American Journalism Project supports the growth of independent, non-profit news organizations that hold the powerful accountable, combat disinformation, and deepen civic participation in their communities. As of the end of 2021, American Journalism Project has made grant commitments to 32 news organizations, selected through a competitive grantmaking process with oversight from our board of directors.
Startups program - American Journalism Project works with civic leaders, place-based funders, and community foundations to identify and address information gaps in their communities. American Journalism Project provides local philanthropic partners with services such as community listening, information ecosystem research, solution design, and business modeling. Additionally, experience and resources are leveraged to incubate new organizations from the ground up. Incubation support can include organization establishment, team recruitment, visioning and strategic planning, raising seed capital, stakeholder engagement, and equitable organization design.
Grantee support program - American Journalism Project sets grantees up for success through a unique venture support model. Grantees represent a variety of models and stages of development, and American Journalism Project provides each with tailored support based on their needs and biggest strategic challenges. Staff work as a team with grantee leaders, partnering with each organization to help them strengthen and scale through operational and strategic support, curation of best practices from across the sector, and fostering of peer learning across the portfolio.
Fiscally sponsored projects - American Journalism Project serves as the fiscal sponsor to the startup organizations that we launch and incubate, prior to their establishment as independent nonprofits. Our fiscal sponsorship supports include managing legal and compliance requirements, building financial and operational systems, and establishing policies and procedures. Audited financials and irs filings reflect the revenue we steward and expenses we incur on behalf of these startup organizations, as well as the granting of remaining Project funds at the end of the sponsorship period. American Journalism Project does not receive a fiscal sponsor fee for taking on this role.