The Fund for Local Journalism supports local investigative reporting projects that provide an important public service in communities across North America.

Investigative reporting is an essential part of a healthy and robust local media environment. This kind of journalism holds the powerful accountable, and serves to inform and engage citizens, empowering critical change in communities.

Investigative journalism is also time-intensive and expensive to produce. The news media industry has been hard-hit financially by steep advertising declines, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in layoffs and a dramatic reduction in original reporting.

In September 2020, Local Media Foundation awarded its first stipends for investigative journalism. Ten publishers each received stipends of $5,000. Funded projects ranged from accountability reporting on police body cameras in Oklahoma City, to disparities in educational experiences for Latinos in rural Oregon, to the multiplying effect of COVID-19 on the homeless problem in Washington, D.C. Read in detail about the publishers and their reporting projects here.

These investigative stipends were funded through contributions by 161 individual donors to the Fund for Local Journalism. The next round of investigative reporting stipends will open in early 2021. Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Please consult your tax advisor for details.

Local Media Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with the Local Media Association, one of the largest local media trade associations in North America. More than 3,000 local newspapers, broadcasters, digital news sites and R&D partners are involved in LMA initiatives and programs.

For institutional and philanthropic donors:

In addition to this online donation method, foundations, philanthropists, and corporate donors interested in supporting The Fund for Local Journalism are welcome to donate by check or bank transfer.

If you would like to donate by check, please address the check to Local Media Foundation
Please add “Fund for Local Journalism” to the memo line of the check
Send your check donation to:

Local Media Foundation
P.O. Box 85033
Chicago, IL 60689-5033

To pay by electronic bank transfer or similar means, please contact us at flj@localmedia.org for more information.

The Fund for Local Journalism is a program designed to educate and inform the public on important community matters, administered by Local Media Foundation, tax ID #36‐4427750, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with Local Media Association. The program provides funds to cover in-depth investigative reporting projects in communities across the country. These projects dive deep on important community issues such as poverty, the unhoused, social justice issues, education and more. In many cases, these issues would go unreported if the Fund for Local Journalism did not exist.