November 16, 2021
First the good news: Philanthropy is starting to respond to the demise of local journalism with the urgency it deserves. In the past few years,…
Ideas
Explore insights, lessons, and resources from our work
Democracy Fund staff — alongside grantees, researchers, and other field experts — regularly develops resources and shares lessons on strengthening democracy. Here you will find guides, reports, and insights from our team and network.
March 3, 2021
The new report "Healthy Local News & Information Ecosystems: A Diagnostic Framework,” presents a framework to help local news funders assess whether a community’s information…
December 16, 2020
When you look back at how local news fared in 2020, you might be surprised by how hopeful I am for the future. Things have…
December 4, 2020
News is a public good. What does it mean to treat journalism as a public good? Without an informed citizenry able to access the news…
April 13, 2020
As businesses close, revenue from advertising is drying up and journalists are facing layoffs, furloughs, and the possibility of their newsrooms closing down—just when we…
November 5, 2019
A step-by-step toolkit to help you gather the information you need to fund local news and information in your community.
February 12, 2019
WASHINGTON – NewsMatch raised $7.6 million from individual donors and a coalition of major funders for nonprofit news organizations in two months at the end…
June 27, 2018
As trusted information providers, local and nonprofit journalism organizations play an essential role in providing news that communities rely on to stay informed, make decisions…
February 14, 2018
We launched NewsMatch — a $3 million fund to match donations to nonprofit newsrooms — because we believe that strengthening local and investigative journalism is…
February 7, 2018
Josh Stearns co-authored this piece with Teresa Gorman. Local news is critical to a healthy democracy, and we believe that the future of local news…
December 5, 2017
Democracy Fund’s Public Square Program defines a local news ecosystem as the network of institutions, collaborations, and people that local communities rely on for news,…
November 20, 2017
News Match is already the largest grassroots fundraising campaign for nonprofit journalism ever. More than 100 newsrooms across the United States are working together to…