A practical guide to grants for nonprofit news organizations, investigative reporting, local journalism, and how journalism nonprofits can win foundation funding.

2025–2026 STATUS UPDATE: NEA, NEH, and IMLS — the three primary federal cultural-funding agencies — were all subject to mass grant cancellations and proposed elimination in 2025. Courts have blocked the most extreme dismantling efforts, and grants are being progressively restored as of 2026, but cycles and priorities have been materially disrupted. Verify program status at the relevant agency website before applying.

The funder ecosystem for nonprofit journalism has grown substantially as local news has declined. Foundations now fund newsrooms, investigative reporting, and journalism infrastructure at significant scale, complementing corporate and reader-supported revenue.

TL;DR: Quick Answers

Who funds journalism? Knight Foundation, MacArthur, Ford, Lenfest, Local Media Association funders, community foundations, corporate funders.
Who can apply? Nonprofit newsrooms, fiscally sponsored journalism projects, journalism schools, intermediaries.
What gets funded? Local newsrooms, investigative reporting, beat reporting (climate, education, criminal justice), training, infrastructure, sustainability.
What’s the biggest opportunity? Knight Foundation, local journalism initiatives, and beat-specific funder collaboratives.

Major Foundation Funders

Knight Foundation (largest U.S. journalism funder).
MacArthur Foundation Journalism and Media.
Ford Foundation JustFilms and Civic Engagement.
Lenfest Institute (Philadelphia and broader).
Democracy Fund.
Press Forward (collaborative funder, recent multi-funder initiative).
American Journalism Project (catalytic funding for local nonprofit news).
Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund.
Wyncote Foundation.
Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Public Welfare Foundation (criminal justice journalism).
Solutions Journalism Network (regranting).
Investigative Reporting Workshop, ProPublica Local Reporting Network (collaborations and re-granting).

Beat-Specific Funders

Climate Solutions Journalism Network (climate beat).
Education Writers Association (education).
Solutions Journalism Network (solutions framing).
International Women’s Media Foundation (gender-focused).
Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting (international and crisis coverage).

Local Community Foundations

Many community foundations now fund local journalism as a civic-infrastructure investment. Local foundations in Detroit, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Denver, and others have launched journalism initiatives.

Federal Funders

Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for public-broadcasting newsrooms.

NEH for historical and humanities journalism.

What Gets Funded

Local newsroom operations.
Investigative reporting.
Beat reporting (climate, education, criminal justice, immigration, health).
Journalism training and education.
Audience engagement and community-rooted journalism.
Sustainability infrastructure (membership, philanthropy, business systems).
Newsroom diversification and pipeline.

Tips for a Competitive Application

Demonstrate impact, not just outputs. Stories produced is an output; civic, policy, or community impact is what funders want.
Show editorial independence. Funders fund mission-driven journalism but expect editorial independence; explain how it’s protected.
Diversify revenue. Funders prefer to support newsrooms with credible plans for non-grant revenue.
Center community engagement authentically.
Plan sustainability, see sustainability plan.
Address equity in coverage and staffing.

How Grantboost Helps

Journalism funding spans foundations, community foundations, and federal sources. Grantboost continuously surfaces scored, mission-matched opportunities and drafts in your newsroom’s voice (see training AI on your past proposals).

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Grants for Nonprofit Journalism and Newsrooms