(May 29, 2024) — Colorado Media Project and Local Media Association are pleased to announce a new partnership that will bring the proven, in-depth training and coaching program of the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding to local newsrooms across Colorado.
Community-based, locally controlled Colorado news organizations are invited to apply to join this state-centered cohort to learn how to develop local journalism projects that are responsive to community priorities and can be funded through philanthropy. Applicants must be producing original, local news for Colorado audiences at least weekly; priority will be given to newsrooms with philanthropic giving programs that are less than five years old. Local news partnerships or coalitions are also encouraged to apply, particularly if they have a joint initiative that they are seeking to fund via philanthropy.
“With so many Colorado newsrooms interested in pursuing philanthropic funding from foundations, major donors and individuals, it’s both timely and important to understand what inspires mission-driven support for local journalism,” said Melissa Milios Davis, Colorado Media Project director. “As the local home of Press Forward — a national movement to strengthen communities by reinvigorating local news — we’re excited to partner with LMA and also the Colorado Gives Foundation to help Colorado newsrooms navigate Colorado’s philanthropic sector and position themselves both for community impact and for sustainability.”
“Going through the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding has been a transformative experience for so many local newsrooms across the U.S., helping them better serve their communities and sustain their civic journalism,” said Frank Mungeam, who leads the lab as LMA’s chief innovation officer. “We are thrilled to partner with CMP to offer this in-depth experience to publishers across Colorado.”
Applications to join the Colorado News Philanthropy Lab are now open and will be accepted through June 19 at 5 p.m. Mountain time.
Up to 12 Colorado newsrooms, partnerships or coalitions will be invited to participate in the program, which will start in July and run through the end of 2024.
The LMA Lab for Journalism Funding, made possible with continuing support from Google News Initiative, has helped more than 100 news organizations across the U.S. raise more than $22 million to support local journalism since 2020.
Since 2018, Colorado Media Project has worked to build philanthropic support for local public-service journalism via the annual #newsCOneeds matching challenge, and in February CMP became a state affiliate of the Press Forward campaign. Nationwide, Press Forward aims to raise at least $1 billion over the next five years to strengthen local newsrooms across the U.S.
The Colorado News Philanthropy Lab is made possible with support to LMA from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and contributors to CMP’s general fund, including Gates Family Foundation, The Colorado Health Foundation, Democracy Fund, and Bohemian Foundation. In May, LMA launched another state-focused cohort in Pennsylvania in partnership with the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.
Newsrooms in the new state-based cohorts will learn best practices documented in LMA’s industry report, Pathways to Philanthropy, and the just-released report, Sustaining Philanthropy for Journalism.
The Colorado cohort will be led by Liz White, former publisher of the Record-Journal (Meriden, Connecticut) and a graduate of the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding and LMA Advanced Fundraising Lab. LMA staff and a team of coaches, including former Knight Foundation director of journalism Jennifer Preston, will also provide one-on-one coaching support to newsrooms.
Each newsroom in the cohort will work with LMA coaches and CMP staff to:
- Set a fundraising goal, in consultation with the coaches, that is in line with that publisher’s market size.
- Develop a list of fundraising prospects, and develop a pitch deck and campaign materials to promote their newsroom and their project.
- Meet with funders and other lab participants in person at the CMP Summit on August 22.
- Participate in the end-of-year #newsCOneeds fundraising campaign with support from CMP and the Colorado Gives Foundation.
- Contribute best practices and lessons learned for case studies and an industry playbook published in 2025.
Preference will be given to Colorado news organizations that:
- Have strong local leadership with deep ties to the community.
- Are focused on high-quality local journalism.
- Have leadership-level buy-in to participate in this lab and an organizational commitment to dedicate staff time and resources.
- Value staff and leadership diversity.
- Are relatively new to raising philanthropic support for local news (membership and/or grant programs of less than five years OR new staff members who could benefit from this training and cohort).
For interested local news leaders seeking additional details, CMP and LMA will hold a special information webinar from Noon to 1 p.m. MT on Thursday, June 6. Click HERE to register for the webinar.
For more information, please contact Sam Moody, CMP Associate Director, at sam@coloradomediaproject.com.