INNovation Success Stories
For communities across the U.S., finding new ways to support journalism in their towns or state or around a public issue is a critical challenge.
To help address this need, the Institute for Nonprofit News has distributed more than $1 million in INNovation Fund grants of up to $35,000 to nearly 40 nonprofit news organizations over the last three years. Funded by Knight Foundation, with Democracy Fund joining in the latest round, the grants are designed to cover initial costs for a news organization trying an innovative project to build revenue, audience or both.
In each of the communities profiled here, small injections of capital for local nonprofit news media – up to $35,000 each – launched these projects and brought reliable news coverage to more citizens, deepened community ties, gave more people a public voice, and generated money to support strong reporting. These stories illustrate what can happen when public service newsrooms have access to seed funding to try new things.