Program

News Philanthropy Summit

The 2023 Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit, a free virtual gathering focused on the transformative work of fundraising in sustaining essential journalism, took place over two days on Tuesday, January 31 and Wednesday, February 1, 2023.

The theme of the 2023 Summit is Transformation. Through hands-on workshops, inspiring keynotes, and peer sharing, we explored how we can transform the ways we sustain news organizations through philanthropic support, how to deepen relationships between development professionals and donors, how to re-imagine the role of institutional funders within the journalism space, and much more.  

2023 Recordings and Resources

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The 2021 News Philanthropy Summit

The inaugural Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit took place Nov. 3-5, 2021. The Summit was free to attend and open to all — regardless of where attendees live and whether they work for a nonprofit or for-profit news organization.

The three-day Summit was filled with panels, workshops, and networking events to cover topics that impact news organizations and their vital fundraising efforts. You can watch all of the sessions in the below YouTube playlist. (Click on the playlist logo in the top right corner of the player to access all of the videos.)

Scroll through the table below for a full list of the 2021 Summit sessions.

Full Program

Some of the 2021 highlights included:

• Intimate “fireside” conversations with Stewart Bainum Jr., a Maryland businessman supporting local news in Baltimore, and Jim Brady, the Knight Foundation’s newly appointed vice president of journalism, that offered funders’ perspectives on why they invest in journalism.  

• Andrea Faye Hart, MLK50’s Operations and Organizational Development Specialist, Andrew Herrera, Director of Growth Strategy at City Bureau, and Jill Kunishima, Vice President of Development at Cityside, discussed the ways that fundraising can stay in alignment with — and advance — organizational values, especially around diversity and equity. In a candid conversation, they shared what it means to be community-centered and how to be more equitable in fund development practices

• Mario Lugay, senior innovation director at Justice Funders, a firm focused on reimagining philanthropy, joined writer Micah L. Sifry for a conversation on how development professionals can help drive social change and develop deeper relationships with their communities. 

• A roundtable discussion with New York Times Deputy of Newsroom Culture & Careers Sharon Chan; Fraser Nelson, the co-founder and managing director of the National Trust for Local News; Texas Tribune Chief Development Officer Terry Quinn; and Annie McCain Madonia, The Lenfest Institute’s Chief Advancement Officer. 

• A screening of the new documentary film “Storm Lake,” which depicts how the family-run, independent Storm Lake Times manages to continue its operations despite the ever-changing media landscape, followed by a discussion with the film’s producer Beth Levison, Storm Lake Times editor Art Cullen, and Kyle Munson, president of the Western Iowa Journalism Foundation.  

Thank you to all Summit attendees and presenters. Stay tuned for more free events and programming from the Lenfest News Philanthropy Network.

Please email [email protected] with any questions.