Local news organizations: Apply now for Lenfest-Google News Initiative News Catalyst Grants. Learn more.
The Lenfest Institute funds projects that align with our priorities in the Philadelphia Media Ecosystem and across the United States.
The Lenfest Institute welcomes applications to open grant opportunities when they are available. All applications are reviewed by a staff grants committee, which recommends grants for approval, either to the Institute’s senior management or to its Board of Managers, depending on the size of the grant and funding sources.
Applications are now open for the 2025 Lenfest Next Generation Fund, a grant program which supports emerging Philadelphia-area journalists and students of color pursuing professional development opportunities.
Members of the Lenfest Audience Community, Engaged Cities, or the Statewide News Collective can apply for funding to support experimentation that addresses news gaps and engages new audiences in-person and online.
The Institute is committed to learning about and funding projects that advance its mission but don’t fit into its active grants programs. We invite individuals and organizations to submit letters of inquiry to [email protected].
Please note that the Institute cannot guarantee a response to every letter of inquiry, but it is more likely to respond to proposals that align with its mission and current priorities:
We employ an evidence-based approach to our grantmaking and programming utilizing key metrics to determine the efficacy of our efforts to strengthen the Philadelphia News Ecosystem. We focus on three interdependent tiers:
• Individuals: Support for professional development; cohort training programs • Organizations: Core support and capacity building grants for both legacy and newer organizations; media startup accelerator programs • Ecosystem: Grants to support citywide civic engagement and public accountability journalism; ecosystem-wide research; annual convenings; communities of practice
1. Projects that support media ecosystem-building on a metro, regional, or statewide level. 2. Research and community listening projects that aim to demonstrate impact and/or understand audience needs. 3. Projects that directly implement lessons from the Lenfest Institute’s communities of practice, with a specific emphasis on experimentation.
The Institute cannot provide funding to:
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