The Institute for Nonprofit News distributed more than $1 million in INNovation Fund grants of up to $35,000 to nearly 40 nonprofit news organizations from 2014 to 2017. Funded by Knight Foundation, with Democracy Fund joining in the latest round, the grants were designed to cover initial costs for a news organization trying an innovative project to build revenue, audience or both.
The stories below illustrate what can happen when public service newsrooms have access to seed funding to try new things. Not all succeeded, to be sure. These were experiments and some failed. But the overall finding is clear: giving seed funding to public service newsrooms to try new things can bring reliable news coverage to more citizens, deepen community ties, give more people a public voice, and generate money to support strong reporting.
Story Map geolocated news
The Austin Monitor
Award Amount: $10,000
Scaling the Listening Post
The Listening Post
Award Amount: $35,000
Leveraging community relationships
San Francisco Public Press
Award Amount: $35,000
Facebook Instant Articles for nonprofits
Mother Jones
Award Amount: $35,000
Direct community contact
New Mexico In-Depth
Award Amount: $30,000
Citizen journalism around data
New England Center for Investigative Reporting
Award Amount: $35,000
Data app with freemium model
Midwest Center for Investigative Journalism
Award Amount: $35,000
Crowdfunding for student-based media
Arizona State University/Cronkite News
Award Amount: $10,000
Testing audience engagement tools
Bitch Media
Award Amount: $15,000
How a health fair raised revenue and grew audience
Connecticut Health Investigative Team
Award Amount: $20,000
Symposium for NJ Cities
New Jersey Spotlight
Award Amount: $35,000
Event series journalism
Carolina Public Press
Award Amount: $25,000
Training writers to cover their community
Seattle Globalist
Award Amount: $17,210
Speakers Bureau events
The Lens
Award Amount: $7,500
Investigative film festival
100Reporters
Award Amount: $35,000
FERN Talks & Eats
Food & Environment Reporting Network
Award Amount: $35,000