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Membership in News Fund

Status: Open

Type:
  • Grant

Deadline: Ongoing

Key Information
  • Eligibility: We encourage applications from sites that publish coverage that is local/place-based; national (and with further reach); and subject matter/topical. We’ll consider relevant projects from non-profit, for-profit, and cooperative news organizations. There is a strong preference for proposals from the following countries where Luminate already supports independent media: Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Georgia, Ukraine, Poland, India, and Myanmar. However, strong applications from other countries where MDIF works in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe are also eligible.
  • Funding amount: The 2020 fund totals $400,000, and we will give a maximum award of $40,000 per proposal.
  • Type of funding: Award
  • Target countries: Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia
  • Application languages: English

The Membership in News Fund provides financial and venture support to help news organizations build strong and flexible relationships with their audience members that can drive greater sustainability and impact – and help expand the journalism field’s understanding of what works.

Membership Puzzle Project first launched the Membership in News Fund in 2018. The $700,000 fund supported 23 membership experiments in 13 countries with grants between $10,000 and $60,000 each. Grant recipients received funding, targeted coaching, and an opportunity to join a global community of practice built around membership.

Ahead of Membership Puzzle Project’s August 2021 sunset, we’re reopening the fund to support membership development projects.  If your proposal is selected, you should be prepared to begin work on your proposal in early 2021. MPP sunsets in August 2021, and we are looking to support projects that can make meaningful progress in a six-month time window.

Read more about the project here.

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