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American Journalism Project Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

American Journalism Project Inc

The american journalism project, inc.

$19M
Granted FY2024still arriving
52
Grants FY2024still arriving
30
States reached
$5.5M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$52MPublic Benefit$3.3MEducation$2.7MCommunity Improvement$1.7MCivil Rights$749kEnvironment$352k
02FY2024 · 52 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $8k
  • $10k–50k8 grants · $230k
  • $50k–250k19 grants · $2.4M
  • $250k+24 grants · $16M
$204,950
Median grant
30
States reached
$66M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FREE PRESS INDIANA$5,456,464
OHIO LOCAL INFORMATION INITIATIVE$1,454,936
CALMATTERS$812,000
FORT WORTH REPORT$596,384
TEXAS TRIBUNE INC$549,167
THE CITY REPORT INC$534,745
SPOTLIGHT PA$509,135
WISCONSIN CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM$494,471
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIO$480,000
CITYSIDE JOURNALISM INITIATIVE$455,375
LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE$444,975
BEACON MEDIA INC$427,927
INDIJ PUBLIC MEDIA$401,113
BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO$369,963
HOUSTON LOCAL INFORMATION INITIATIVE$350,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY22–24, $582k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%DOCUMENTED: $384k → 17%DOCUMENTED: $167k → 17%DOCUMENTED: $32k → 17%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

VT
WA
MT
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
WY
IN
OH
PA
CT
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
DE
AZ
TN
NC
DC
OK
MS
TX
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$57M · 50 repeat orgs$3.0M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +26% since the first grant, against -22% for those funded once.

50 repeat relationships: 43 still active in FY2024, 7 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

50
2

Total granted

$57M
$352k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+26%
-22%

Still filing today

98%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2.7M went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationPublic BenefitCommunity ImprovementCivil RightsHuman ServicesOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • CJ
    CITYSIDE JOURNALISM INITIATIVE
    5× · 2020–2024 · $2.4M · revenue +130% · 45% of their budget
  • BM
    BEACON MEDIA INC
    4× · 2021–2024 · $2.0M · revenue +96% · 46% of their budget
  • DS
    DEEP SOUTH TODAY
    6× · 2019–2024 · $1.9M · revenue +508%

Funded once

  • RL
    REBUILD LOCAL NEWS
    one grant, 2023 · $250k
  • LS
    LIFE SHARED INTERNATIONAL
    one grant, 2021 · $102k · revenue -100% · 55% of their budget
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Press Watch

To educate journalists and the public, and foster public debate, about improving political journalism to reflect public needs and hold the powerful accountable.

—
2
Trusting News Inc

Trusting News improves the quality of news reporting by studying trust in news and training and coaching journalists to demonstrate credibility and actively earn trust. Their work equips thousands of journalists every year to better…

Arts & Culture
3
Santa Cruz Local Inc

Independent nonpartisan newsroom serving Santa Cruz County, California we are all watching and engaged in our local government, our needs are addressed, democracy works better and our community is stronger.

—
4
Springfield Daily Citizen Inc

The mission of the springfield daily citizen is to inform our community and be a catalyst for good.

Arts & Culture
5
San Francisco Public Press

The mission of the San Francisco Public Press is to enrich civic life by publishing investigative and solutions journalism that engages diverse audiences and promotes public accountability. The San Francisco Public Press…

Education
6
Nashville Public Media Inc

To empower the people of Nashville to make informed decisions by providing non-partisan journalism from an independent, nonprofit newsroom.

Arts & Culture
7
Citizens News Guild Inc

Citizens news guild educates the public by publishing non-partisan state and local news.

Community Improvement
8
Journalism New England

The organization is non-profit organization working to build and sustain local news and ensure that local news organizations across new england are supported with the kinds of tailored problem-solving, training and partnerships they need…

Civil Rights
9
America's Newspapers

Providing research, education and practical information all aimed at optimizing newspapers' business operations, deepening their community engagement and enhancing the quality of their journalism.

Employment
10
Canary Media Inc

Canary Media is an independent, nonprofit newsroom covering the transition to clean energy.

Environment
11
American Journalism Project Inc

The american journalism project, inc. is a first-of-its-kind venture philanthropy dedicated to building and supporting local news across the country. american journalism project makes grants to nonprofit news organizations, partners with…

Arts & Culture
12
States Newsroom

States newsroom is the nation's largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, with reporting from every capital. every newsroom is led by a veteran local journalist with deep knowledge of the state's political history and media…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Rebuild Local News; the most unlike its peers is Life Shared International. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

59 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 59 of the 62 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

15
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
20
Early backer (in before they grew)
59/59
Grantees still filing
38/59
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

OHIO LOCAL INFORMATIONAL INTIATIVE INC: $5,675,863 · Arts & CultureOHIO LOCAL INFORMATIONAL INTIATIVE INCFREE PRESS INDIANA: $5,612,996 · Arts & CultureFREE PRESS INDIANAHouston Local Information Initiative Inc: $2,818,829 · Arts & CultureHouston Local Information Initiative IncCITYSIDE JOURNALISM INITIATIVE: $2,446,250 · Arts & CultureCITYSIDE JOURNALISM INITIATIVEBEACON MEDIA INC: $1,990,252 · Arts & CultureDEEP SOUTH TODAY: $1,875,775 · Arts & CultureWCIJ INC: $1,789,583 · Arts & CultureCity Report Inc: $1,385,045 · Arts & Culture+24 more: $15,846,388 · Arts & Culture+24 moreCIVIC NEWS COMPANY: $1,756,556 · EducationCIVIC NEWS COMPANYBLOCK CLUB CHICAGO NFP: $1,690,963 · EducationBLOCK CLUB CHICAGO N…INVESTIGATIVE NEWSOURCE: $1,638,363 · EducationINVESTIGATIVE NEWSOU…Sahan Journal: $1,348,275 · EducationSahan JournalTEXAS TRIBUNE INC: $1,049,167 · EducationTEXAS TRIBUNE INCNEVADA NEWS BUREAU INC: $1,041,284 · EducationNEVADA NEWS BUREAU I…SPOTLIGHT PA: $702,349 · EducationSPOTLIGHT PAINSTITUTE FOR NONPROFIT NEWS: $652,250 · EducationINSTITUTE FOR NONPRO…NEW YORK FOCUS INC: $556,802 · Education+2 more: $385,124 · EducationEL PASO MATTERS INC: $1,122,275 · Public BenefitFORT WORTH REPORT: $1,082,498 · Public BenefitNEBRASKA JOURNALISM TRUST: $833,758 · Public BenefitZERO DEBT MASSACHUSETTS INC: $400,000 · Public BenefitTHE MARSHALL PROJECT INC: $1,109,000 · Community ImprovementCOMMUNITY LIFT CORP: $278,000 · Community ImprovementCHARLOTTESVILLE TOMORROW: $271,000 · Community ImprovementCalMatters: $812,000 · Civil RightsMUCKROCK FOUNDATION INC: $659,500 · Civil RightsBlack Votes Matter Institute of Community Engagement: $89,000 · Civil RightsTHE LENFEST INSTITUTE FOR JOURNALISM SPECIAL ASSET FUND OF TPF: $997,000 · PhilanthropyBROOKLYN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $410,500 · PhilanthropyIndividual grant recipient: $384,854 · OtherTHE LA LOCAL: $155,552 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $137,000 · OtherDocumented LTD: $582,461 · OtherGrist Magazine Inc: $351,625 · OtherTHE GROUNDTRUTH PROJECT INC: $340,000 · OtherLIFE SHARED INTERNATIONAL: $102,000 · Other
Arts & Culture$39,440,981Education$10,821,133Public Benefit$3,438,531Community Improvement$1,658,000Civil Rights$1,560,500Philanthropy$1,407,500Other$2,053,492

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetOHIO LOCAL INFORMATIONAL INTIATIVE INC: $5,675,863 over 3y, 36% of budgetFREE PRESS INDIANA: $5,612,996 over 2y, 100% of budgetHouston Local Information Initiative Inc: $2,818,829 over 3y, 23% of budgetCITYSIDE JOURNALISM INITIATIVE: $2,446,250 over 5y, 45% of budgetBEACON MEDIA INC: $1,990,252 over 4y, 46% of budgetDEEP SOUTH TODAY: $1,875,775 over 6y, 14% of budgetWCIJ INC: $1,789,583 over 4y, 39% of budgetCIVIC NEWS COMPANY: $1,756,556 over 4y, 6.5% of budgetBLOCK CLUB CHICAGO NFP: $1,690,963 over 4y, 18% of budgetINVESTIGATIVE NEWSOURCE: $1,638,363 over 6y, 29% of budgetCity Report Inc: $1,385,045 over 3y, 17% of budgetSahan Journal: $1,348,275 over 4y, 14% of budgetINDIJ PUBLIC MEDIA: $1,288,363 over 4y, 12% of budgetCITY BUREAU NFP: $1,223,126 over 5y, 25% of budgetVERMONT JOURNALISM TRUST LTD: $1,192,155 over 6y, 12% of budgetEL PASO MATTERS INC: $1,122,275 over 4y, 33% of budgetTHE MARSHALL PROJECT INC: $1,109,000 over 4y, 3.0% of budgetFORT WORTH REPORT: $1,082,498 over 3y, 22% of budgetTEXAS TRIBUNE INC: $1,049,167 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetNEVADA NEWS BUREAU INC: $1,041,284 over 4y, 23% of budgetMONTANA FREE PRESS: $1,029,814 over 5y, 37% of budgetCAPITAL B NEWS INC: $1,013,300 over 4y, 11% of budgetTHE LENFEST INSTITUTE FOR JOURNALISM SPECIAL ASSET FUND OF TPF: $997,000 over 4y, 3.2% of budgetCONNECTICUT NEWS PROJECT INC: $974,822 over 6y, 13% of budgetCENTRO DE PERIODISMO INVESTIGATIVO INC: $915,000 over 5y, 17% of budgetBOREALIS PHILANTHROPY: $850,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetNEBRASKA JOURNALISM TRUST: $833,758 over 3y, 13% of budgetCalMatters: $812,000 over 1y, 5.7% of budgetMountain State Spotlight Inc: $750,079 over 4y, 24% of budgetENLACE LATINO NC INC: $748,257 over 3y, 27% of budgetSPOTLIGHT PA: $702,349 over 2y, 8.1% of budgetKENTUCKY PUBLIC RADIO INC: $698,868 over 4y, 4.0% of budgetWYOFILE: $666,305 over 5y, 24% of budgetMUCKROCK FOUNDATION INC: $659,500 over 2y, 13% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR NONPROFIT NEWS: $652,250 over 4y, 4.2% of budgetLOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE INC: $644,975 over 2y, 44% of budgetUNIVERSITY RADIO FOUNDATION INC: $601,686 over 3y, 5.5% of budgetDocumented LTD: $582,461 over 3y, 22% of budgetNEW YORK FOCUS INC: $556,802 over 2y, 16% of budgetOUTLIER MEDIA: $493,953 over 3y, 7.6% of budgetSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIO: $480,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetBROOKLYN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $410,500 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetLOOKOUT Publications: $404,950 over 2y, 81% of budgetZERO DEBT MASSACHUSETTS INC: $400,000 over 2y, 50% of budgetGrist Magazine Inc: $351,625 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetSan Jose News Bureau: $351,339 over 3y, 12% of budgetTHE GROUNDTRUTH PROJECT INC: $340,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetColorado Sun: $329,300 over 1y, 5.7% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Institute for Nonprof…The Miami Foundation …The Groundtruth Proje…Local Independent Onl…The Lenfest Institute…Inasmuch FoundationJohn S and James L Kn…The Ford FoundationPro Publica IncWalton Family Foundat…Silicon Valley Commun…John D and Catherine …
Institute for Nonprofit NewsCA81× affinity37 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Institute for Nonprofit News · The Miami Foundation Inc · The Groundtruth Project Inc · Local Independent Online News Publishers Inc · The Lenfest Institute for Journalism Special Asset Fund of Tpf · Inasmuch Foundation · John S and James L Knight Foundation · The Ford Foundation · Pro Publica Inc · Walton Family Foundation Inc · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization American Journalism Project Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from American Journalism Project Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 70%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Vermont Journalism Trust Ltd: 0% of income from government
  • Local Journalism Initiative Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
7get no government money at all
7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 62 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on American Journalism Project’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home