American Journalism Project invests $1.5 million in Mission Local to accelerate neighborhood-first reporting across San Francisco

WASHINGTON — Jan. 27, 2026 — The American Journalism Project today announced $1.5 million in new support for Mission Local, fueling the nonprofit newsroom’s continued growth and expansion of neighborhood-first, multilingual reporting across San Francisco.

Founded in 2008 as a project of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Mission Local became independent in 2014 and a nonprofit in 2022. It has become a trusted source of free, community-centered accountability journalism in a city where local reporting capacity has declined sharply. The newsroom’s neighborhood-first model — embedding reporters in communities and prioritizing resident listening and language access — is already reaching several neighborhoods across the city, particularly those long underserved by local media.

American Journalism Project support will help Mission Local strengthen its business and audience capacity, including hiring its first publisher. The investment will also support roles focused on audience growth, development, operations, and engagement, building the foundation needed to sustain increased reporting across San Francisco.

“Mission Local has built a powerful approach to neighborhood-centered journalism in a city where local reporting has been hollowed out,” said Sarabeth Berman, CEO of the American Journalism Project. “We’re excited to support their growth and to invest in models, like this, that are helping chart a stronger future for local news.”

Mission Local’s reporting has led to tangible civic outcomes across San Francisco. Its BigMoneySF investigation, featured in a collaboration with The Guardian, was the first to map $72 million in local election spending and the networks behind it, earning multiple national and state awards. A two-year accountability series on conditions in Potrero Hill public housing prompted the removal of a private property manager and multiple city hearings; related reporting in Bayview spurred a mayoral site visit and broader scrutiny of housing conditions. The newsroom’s 2024 voter guides and election dashboards became go-to resources for voters, and its courts and immigration reporting has surfaced previously unreported enforcement tactics and traced arrest-to-deportation journeys through on-the-record reporting.

“We’re thrilled to get AJP’s support. It not only creates a dynamic for sustaining Mission Local, but it will mean substantial growth for our on-the-ground reporting model,” said Lydia Chávez, founder and executive editor of Mission Local. “We plan to build a business team as formidable as our reporting crew, one that also values being in — and reflecting — the communities we cover.”

The American Journalism Project’s venture support focuses on strengthening the business, audience, and operational capacity of nonprofit local news organizations. Since its launch in 2019, the American Journalism Project has raised more than $250 million and invested in 54 nonprofit local news organizations operating in 37 states and more than 100 communities, expanding access to trusted, independent local reporting nationwide. In 2024, across its portfolio, median organization revenue grew 23% year over year, reflecting increased sustainability among supported newsrooms.

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Media Contact: Roshni Neslage, Head of Communications, American Journalism Project, 954-526-1565

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About the American Journalism Project

The American Journalism Project is the first venture philanthropy organization dedicated to local news. We make catalytic investments in nonprofit news organizations and partner with communities to launch new outlets. Since 2019, we’ve invested in dozens of local news outlets, providing them with capital, strategic guidance and operational expertise to grow their reach and impact. By strengthening and scaling a sustainable field of local news organizations, we are working to ensure that people have access to the trusted, independent local journalism they need to participate in civic life.

About Mission Local

Mission Local is San Francisco’s largest nonprofit newsroom focused exclusively on San Francisco. It started in 2008 as a news lab of UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and became independent in 2014. We focused on telling city-wide stories from the Mission District, but also very local stories about the Mission.

Now, we cover much of San Francisco with a similar intent — finding in each neighborhood the local and citywide stories contained in the same place. We’re known for our street reporting, follow-up, and political analysis.

To do this, we have long trained a cadre of young reporters who reflect the city’s diversity. We’re a destination for news interns across the country and offer many reporters their first full-time job.

In the last four years, Mission Local was twice named the best local site by the Online News Association, and has national awards as well as dozens of local and state prizes.