Instagram Story Save

In Poynter, our founder Tracie Powell calls for clarity, coordination, and courage in local-news philanthropy, as small, community-rooted outlets still need clearer pathways to funding and support.⁠
⁠
👉🏾 Read: shorturl.at/W6lbk⁠
⁠
#localnews #philanthropy #mediaequity

In Poynter, our founder Tracie Powell calls for clarity, coordination, and courage in local-news philanthropy, as small, community-rooted outlets still need clearer pathways to funding and support.⁠
⁠
👉🏾 Read: shorturl.at/W6lbk⁠
⁠
#localnews #philanthropy #mediaequity

The Pivot Fund’s strengths start with its people.
Tracie Powell, Jean Marie Brown & Susan Richardson bring decades of journalism leadership and cultural insight.

See the full team on our new website  
👉🏾 https://shorturl.at/nIfKp

The Pivot Fund’s strengths start with its people.
Tracie Powell, Jean Marie Brown & Susan Richardson bring decades of journalism leadership and cultural insight.

See the full team on our new website  
👉🏾 https://shorturl.at/nIfKp

The Pivot Fund’s strengths start with its people.
Tracie Powell, Jean Marie Brown & Susan Richardson bring decades of journalism leadership and cultural insight.

See the full team on our new website  
👉🏾 https://shorturl.at/nIfKp

It's official! With support from incredible partners, The Pivot Fund has secured 501(c)3 status. We extend our deepest gratitude to @esgloballaw, @vancecenternyc, @online_news and Communications Partners.

Learn more about our new status at the link in bio!

Grantee testimony: Pivot’s support for Black By God is “transformational.”

In 2024, The Pivot Fund awarded @blackbygodwv $150K in unrestricted funding—helping stabilize operations, expand capacity, and build toward long-term sustainability.

Recently, the outlet lost $350K in federal funding tied to broader USDA rollbacks of DEI-related programs. The grant supported their agriculture reporting, including a reporter position at approximately $70,000 annually over five years.

Rather than retreat, the organization launched a community campaign anchored by a 24-hour live podcast-a-thon on a houseboat! The Pivot Fund agreed to match $35,000 in donations to sustain the reporter position for another year because losing this reporting capacity would mean the loss of trusted reporting for Black communities in a state where civic information gaps already run deep.

BBG is showing how community media adapts, activates support, and continues showing up for the communities it serves.

What happens when community publishers start planning not just for today — but for the next generation?

After nearly 50 years @theatlantavoice, including more than three decades as publisher, Janis Ware is stepping back and passing leadership to the next generation.

Founded in 1966 during the Civil Rights Movement, The Atlanta Voice has remained rooted in a mission that still resonates today: “A people without a voice cannot be heard.”

For community publishers, her transition offers a reminder: succession planning is an important part of sustainability.

Start early. Mentor future leaders. Create opportunities across roles. Build something that can outlast you.

Ask yourself:
➡️ Who are you bringing along?
➡️ Who are you making space for?
➡️ What will this look like without you?

Read more: https://shorturl.at/3kLxu

#CommunityJournalism #LocalNews #Leadership #NewsSustainability #CommunityMedia

For many hyperlocal publishers, traditional local news revenue models built around advertising, affluent audiences, and memberships simply don’t reflect the realities of the communities they serve.

@eltimpano_bayarea is offering another approach.

The Bay Area outlet recently released its Civic Partnerships Playbook, showing how publishers can generate revenue through partnerships with nonprofits, government agencies, and mission-aligned organizations seeking to reach “hard-to-reach” communities.

The model generated roughly $300K through 18 civic partnerships in 2024 and $350K in 2025—making it El Tímpano’s second-largest source of revenue.

View the playbook and takeaways at: https://shorturl.at/zIH7D

For many hyperlocal publishers, traditional local news revenue models built around advertising, affluent audiences, and memberships simply don’t reflect the realities of the communities they serve.

@eltimpano_bayarea is offering another approach.

The Bay Area outlet recently released its Civic Partnerships Playbook, showing how publishers can generate revenue through partnerships with nonprofits, government agencies, and mission-aligned organizations seeking to reach “hard-to-reach” communities.

The model generated roughly $300K through 18 civic partnerships in 2024 and $350K in 2025—making it El Tímpano’s second-largest source of revenue.

View the playbook and takeaways at: https://shorturl.at/zIH7D

For many hyperlocal publishers, traditional local news revenue models built around advertising, affluent audiences, and memberships simply don’t reflect the realities of the communities they serve.

@eltimpano_bayarea is offering another approach.

The Bay Area outlet recently released its Civic Partnerships Playbook, showing how publishers can generate revenue through partnerships with nonprofits, government agencies, and mission-aligned organizations seeking to reach “hard-to-reach” communities.

The model generated roughly $300K through 18 civic partnerships in 2024 and $350K in 2025—making it El Tímpano’s second-largest source of revenue.

View the playbook and takeaways at: https://shorturl.at/zIH7D

For many hyperlocal publishers, traditional local news revenue models built around advertising, affluent audiences, and memberships simply don’t reflect the realities of the communities they serve.

@eltimpano_bayarea is offering another approach.

The Bay Area outlet recently released its Civic Partnerships Playbook, showing how publishers can generate revenue through partnerships with nonprofits, government agencies, and mission-aligned organizations seeking to reach “hard-to-reach” communities.

The model generated roughly $300K through 18 civic partnerships in 2024 and $350K in 2025—making it El Tímpano’s second-largest source of revenue.

View the playbook and takeaways at: https://shorturl.at/zIH7D

After unknowingly publishing an AI-generated column under a fake author, Mississippi Free Press responded with transparency—removing the piece, acknowledging the mistake, and strengthening internal safeguards.

For community publishers, the lesson is in how the newsroom responded, but it also highlights a growing issue with how AI is reshaping trust, verification, and accountability under limited capacity.

👉🏾Resources for publishers include Poynter’s AI policy starter kit. Plus, Indiegraf is hosting a May 28 webinar on building newsroom AI policies that strengthen audience trust.

For funders, the lesson is clear: supporting local news now also means investing in trust infrastructure, training, and operational capacity.

What’s working in local news?

The Medill State of Local News report is now collecting nominations for its 2026 “Bright Spots,” highlighting innovative and sustainable local news models.

Many of the trends Medill identifies mirror findings from Pivot’s own landscape research: outlets that prioritize audience needs, build strong community relationships, and meet people where they are are seeing stronger engagement and sustainability outcomes.

Explore the 2025 Bright Spots report for ideas—and nominate an outlet doing impactful work at https://shorturl.at/dRjBo

Thinking about leadership succession? A past Pivot Fund webinar shared a key insight: it starts long before you step away.

Leaders like Mukhtar Ibrahim, founder of Sahan Journal and Jane McDonnell, CEO of free range media and former executive director at ONA, emphasized building organizations that aren’t founder-dependent—through strong teams, engaged boards, and early planning.

The takeaway: Succession isn’t just operational, it’s emotional, and it takes time. It’s not about replacing a leader but building an organization that can thrive beyond one person.

Watch the full webinar: https://shorturl.at/BQ2sN

What does sustainability really take?

A new Wyncote Foundation report reinforces what many community publishers already know: strong journalism isn’t enough without the business infrastructure to sustain it.

As Feather Houstoun, senior advisor for journalism and public media for the Wyncote Foundation, put it: adding reporters “feels really great,” but without lasting revenue, “it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re going to be able to keep those reporters in two years after the grant ends.”

If the goal is to sustain local news, investment has to go beyond reporting and into the business behind it.

For community publishers: Does this reflect what you’re experiencing? Where are you seeing the biggest gaps—revenue, staffing, or support?

Share your thoughts: communications@thepivotfund.org

Many small-town, rural, and community-rooted publishers lack access to the legal support needed for accountability reporting.

Efforts like the Racial Equity in Journalism Legal Fund—pioneered by Pivot Fund founder Tracie Powell—have helped fill this critical gap in legal infrastructure. But with that support ending earlier this year amid growing anti-DEI backlash and newer efforts like RCFP’s Local Legal Initiative still limited to select states, vast parts of the country are left without meaningful legal support for local newsrooms.

Expanding legal infrastructure will be essential to ensuring publishers everywhere have the support needed to hold power accountable.

Learn more: https://shorturl.at/I5sAT

The countdown to #harambee2026 is on! 

One conversation to watch: “They’ve shut down many of our platforms—now what?”

Leaders including @emarvelous of @nabjofficial, @bygeorgiafort of @blck.press and Pivot Fund CEO @traciepowell20 will explore philanthropy’s role in protecting and rebuilding Black media spaces and share actionable insights for strengthening Black communities through philanthropy. Expect bold ideas, real talk, and a room full of leaders ready to build.

View the full schedule and register: www.abfe.org/harambee-conference