We are mobilizing a movement to support the local news our democracy deserves.

The American Journalism Project is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to local news.

Our work is grounded in an understanding of the severity, urgency and scope of the crisis as communities across the U.S. lose their newspapers and call for a new approach to local news.

By providing transformative investments and close support to nonprofit, nonpartisan news organizations, we are building a new public service media that is governed by, sustained by and looks like the public it serves.

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2,100

communities in the U.S. have lost their newspaper since 2004

Source: The Expanding News Desert

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What is most needed is investment in organizations’ capacity to sustain themselves, and to grow.

Elizabeth Green, American Journalism Project co-founder, and Chalkbeat Co-Founder, CEO & Editor-in-Chief Read blog

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What We Do

In just one year, with the help of generous supporters, we’ve begun investing in exceptional leaders with newsrooms that hold the powerful accountable, combat disinformation, and deepen civic participation. Our three core functions:

Financial Investment

Course-altering grants to enterprising civic news organizations

Venture Support

Sustained coaching, operational support and strategic guidance focused on sustainability.

Movement Building

Catalyzing financial support for independent local news

$50M

Our initial fund will invest in a portfolio of Civic News Organizations across the U.S.

What is a Civic News Organization?

A civic news organization is a local news organization that has a public service mission and commitment to meeting the critical information needs of the community — in areas such as government, environment, education, social and criminal justice, or public health. It is supported by a mix of commercial media tactics and sophisticated charitable fundraising.

Get Involved

We’ve set an audacious goal: to raise $50M from a visionary set of champions to support social entrepreneurs in building sustainable civic news organizations where they live — leaders who can serve as exemplars for a new generation of local news outlets.

Ecosystem Leaders

Critical to leading and lifting the whole field

High Potential Newsrooms

Ready to evolve into robust nonprofit enterprises

Promising Startups

Have replicable or scalable models

We welcome support from philanthropists, family foundations, institutional funders, and corporate partners who understand the urgency of the decline in local news and the threat to our democracy.

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