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Lenfest Institute’s Bet on Local News

Ten Philadelphia-area news organizations will receive funding, consulting and innovation services through a two-year, $1 million initiative focused on sustainability

Lenfest Institute’s Bet on Local News

Ten Philadelphia-area news organizations will receive funding, consulting and innovation services through a two-year, $1 million initiative focused on sustainability

BY Jim Friedlich

Jun. 15, 2026

Print

The Lenfest Institute for Journalism last week announced the launch of the Philadelphia Local News 2030 Initiative, a two-year, $1 million grant program that provides core operating and project support to 10 Philadelphia-area local news organizations as they build durable businesses that will serve their communities through 2030 and beyond.

Funded in part by the Knight Foundation, this support for a broad array of local news organizations is in addition to the Lenfest Institute’s longstanding and generous grant contributions to The Philadelphia Inquirer of which it is the nonprofit owner.

In addition to financial support, the Philadelphia Local News 2030 Initiative introduces an expanded suite of services focused on newsroom experimentation and applied learning, including access to the Lenfest Expert Network, which will connect participating organizations to experts on the practical uses of artificial intelligence, social media platform strategy, and approaches for working with content creators to expand reach and engagement.

The Philadelphia Local News 2030 Initiative is an evolution of the Philadelphia Local News Sustainability Initiative, launched by the Institute in 2023 to strengthen local news organizations’ business models. This transition reflects the evolving needs of local news organizations as they navigate changes in technology, consumer behavior, and distribution platforms while continuing to center community-focused journalism.

With funding support from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Institute is awarding 10 two-year grants ranging from $100,000 to $150,000.

The Philadelphia Local News 2030 Initiative grantees include:

    • Impacto (Nueva Esperanza) — $150,000 for improving digital strategy, analytics, and operational efficiency to grow audience and revenue in a bilingual newsroom.
    • Spotlight Delaware — $150,000 for revenue diversification and audience growth to build a more sustainable, community-engaged nonprofit newsroom.
    • Technical.ly — $120,000 for scaling an earned-revenue underwriting model tied to economic development coverage and ecosystem storytelling.
    • The Philadelphia Citizen — $120,000 for building membership infrastructure and CRM systems to drive reader revenue and deepen civic engagement.
    • The Philadelphia Tribune — $110,000 for hiring an investigative editor to expand enterprise reporting and drive audience and revenue growth.
    • WURD Radio — $110,000 for relaunching a health and wellness directory as a community service product and new earned-revenue stream.
    • FunTimes Magazine — $100,000 for hiring an advertising account manager to formalize and scale earned revenue through sponsorships and ad sales.
    • Generocity — $100,000 for strengthening operational capacity and launching new revenue streams, including membership, to support sustainability and engagement.
    • Philadelphia Gay News — $100,000 for the transition from print to a sustainable digital-first newsroom, including video, social, and podcast expansion.
    • The Trace — $100,000 for expanding partnership-driven reporting on gun violence in Philadelphia, with a focus on collaboration and distribution.

“Over the last two years, we’ve learned that local news organizations need more than funding to thrive — they need support to experiment, adapt, and build sustainable businesses for the future,” said Lenfest Institute Head of Philadelphia Programs Shawn Mooring. “The Philadelphia Local News 2030 Initiative reflects that evolution by combining financial support with practical resources and innovation services designed to help local news serve communities well into the future.”

The Institute will continue to engage participating organizations through structured learning opportunities, peer convenings, and shared advisory resources designed to share insights and best practices with the broader field of local news.

“Philadelphia’s local news outlets are doing essential work to reach audiences and engage the communities they serve,” said Knight Foundation Vice President of Journalism Amalie Nash. “This initiative accelerates that by pairing direct funding with access to expertise and peer learning that help newsrooms experiment, adapt business models, and build for the future. This is exactly the kind of work we want to see thrive in a Knight city like Philadelphia.”

The Lenfest Institute for Journalism was founded in 2016 by H.F “Gerry” Lenfest as a mission-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting local journalism and building sustainable business models for news organizations in Philadelphia and across the United States. Through grantmaking, training, and research, the Institute provides free tools and resources to help news organizations serve their communities. For more information, visit www.lenfestinstitute.org.

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