Michigan · Public charity
Local Media Foundation
LOCAL MEDIA FOUNDATION's mission is to ensure a healthy future for local journalism, which is essential to a strong democracy, by reinventing business models for news.
- $4.6M
- Granted FY2025(still arriving)
- 74
- Itemized grants FY2025
- 42
- Organizations funded FY2024
- 31%
- First-time grantees FY2024
- Itemized, FY2025
- $4.2M
- The rest is grants the schedule does not break out
- Median grant, FY2025
- $13,750
- Largest grant, FY2025
- $743,897
- Organizations funded a year
- 26 to 42
- FY2021 to FY2024
- States reached, FY2025
- 27
- Total assets, FY2025
- $6.1M
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2024, 31% of the organizations Local Media Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 11% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 89% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $328k went to new ones.
RenewedFirst-time
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
Arts & CultureEducationEmploymentOther
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.
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025still arriving | 71 | $4.2M | 65% |
| FY2024 | 42 | $2.9M | 31% |
| FY2023 | 37 | $2.4M | 46% |
| FY2022 | 26 | $1.4M | 46% |
| FY2021 | 29 | $641k | n/a |
100% classified
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2024.
Arts & Culture$6.9MCivil Rights$254kEducation$95kPublic Safety & Disaster$64kCommunity Improvement$51kSocial Science$45kPublic Benefit$21kHealth$15kOther$0
Where its grants go
Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.
Which US states its grants reach
ME
NH
WA
MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
WY
OH
PA
CT
RI
CA
CO
MO
VA
MD
AZ
KS
NC
SC
DC
OK
LA
GA
TX
FL
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2021 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Columbian Publishing Company | $1,427,467 | 4 | n/a |
| Gannett Co | $743,897 | 1 | n/a |
| Spokesman & Recorder Publishing Co | $676,746 | 3 | n/a |
| New York Times | $445,480 | 1 | n/a |
| Voice News Network | $442,663 | 5 | 26% |
| Amnews Corpdba New York Amsterdam News | $435,926 | 5 | n/a |
| Afro American Co Baltimore City | $373,995 | 5 | n/a |
| Lee Publishing Company Inc | $353,894 | 5 | n/a |
| Ad-Mast Publishing Cothe Dallas Weekly | $350,299 | 5 | n/a |
| Word in Black Pbc | $349,950 | 1 | n/a |
Show all 117 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Columbian Publishing Company | $1,427,467 | 4 | n/a |
| Gannett Co | $743,897 | 1 | n/a |
| Spokesman & Recorder Publishing Co | $676,746 | 3 | n/a |
| New York Times | $445,480 | 1 | n/a |
| Voice News Network | $442,663 | 5 | 26% |
| Amnews Corpdba New York Amsterdam News | $435,926 | 5 | n/a |
| Afro American Co Baltimore City | $373,995 | 5 | n/a |
| Lee Publishing Company Inc | $353,894 | 5 | n/a |
| Ad-Mast Publishing Cothe Dallas Weekly | $350,299 | 5 | n/a |
| Word in Black Pbc | $349,950 | 1 | n/a |
| The Washington Informer | $343,903 | 5 | n/a |
| Houston Defender Network | $336,572 | 5 | n/a |
| The St Louis American | $306,455 | 5 | n/a |
| Tiloben Publishing Company Inc | $299,441 | 4 | n/a |
| Michigan Chronicle Publishing Co | $293,441 | 4 | n/a |
| Amsterdam News Educational Foundation Inc | $264,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Lambda Publications Incdba Windy City | $244,182 | 4 | n/a |
| New York News Publishers Assoc Inc | $196,980 | 2 | 31% |
| Philadelphia Gay Newsmasco Communications | $190,792 | 4 | n/a |
| Indian Country Media | $190,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Maine Journalism Foundation | $177,767 | 1 | n/a |
| Oklahoma Media Center Inc | $157,000 | 1 | 50% |
| Bar Media Inc | $155,361 | 4 | n/a |
| The Day Publishing Company | $150,743 | 5 | n/a |
| Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia Inc | $142,147 | 4 | n/a |
| Pacific Community Media | $123,927 | 1 | n/a |
| Qcitymetro | $117,215 | 3 | n/a |
| Tagg Communication LLC | $110,651 | 4 | n/a |
| The Baltimore Times Inc | $109,305 | 2 | n/a |
| Verified News Network | $88,350 | 1 | n/a |
| Pride Publishing & Typesetting Inc | $84,731 | 4 | n/a |
| Brown Publishing Company LLC | $83,540 | 1 | n/a |
| Pro News Coaches | $72,361 | 2 | 75% |
| LOOKOUT Publications | $71,162 | 1 | n/a |
| Oklahoma Eagle | $69,750 | 2 | n/a |
| Minnesota Womens Press LLC | $64,553 | 1 | n/a |
| Dream Local Digital Ltd | $63,534 | 1 | n/a |
| Sena Christian | $60,635 | 1 | n/a |
| Michigan Chronicle Publishing Co | $55,212 | 1 | n/a |
| Sara Schneider Graziosi | $53,582 | 1 | n/a |
| Joliet Times Weekly Inc | $50,010 | 3 | n/a |
| Civic News Company | $50,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Minnesota Public Radio American Public Media | $50,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Journalism Refugees Education Fund | $45,489 | 3 | 10% |
| The Advocate | $45,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Local Media Foundation | $43,462 | 1 | 1% |
| Tracy Baim | $43,020 | 1 | n/a |
| Advance Local Media | $42,488 | 3 | n/a |
| Cbc New Media Group | $37,500 | 2 | n/a |
| Capital Holding Company Inc Dba Wral Digital | $37,500 | 2 | n/a |
| Our Weekly | $34,437 | 1 | n/a |
| Brown Impact Media Group | $32,539 | 2 | n/a |
| Christian Romario Gonzalez | $31,880 | 1 | n/a |
| Peter Lamb Consulting | $31,313 | 1 | n/a |
| Chicago Public Media Inc | $30,000 | 2 | 0% |
| Sheridan Newspapers Inc | $29,621 | 2 | n/a |
| Denver Urban Spectrum | $29,324 | 2 | n/a |
| Corinth Communications Dba the Dallas | $28,450 | 3 | n/a |
| Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Cuny Foundation Inc | $25,000 | 2 | 0% |
| Lookout Local Inc | $22,412 | 1 | n/a |
| SIJ Holdings | $21,465 | 2 | n/a |
| Jackalope Media Llchank Stephenson | $20,282 | 1 | n/a |
| Shaw Suburban Media Group | $19,750 | 1 | n/a |
| Pandamensional Productions Inc | $18,786 | 1 | n/a |
| Concord Publishing House Inc | $16,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Chico Community Publishing Inc | $15,687 | 1 | n/a |
| Oklahoma Watch Inc | $15,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Joaquin Alvarado | $14,967 | 1 | n/a |
| Manchester Ink Link LLC | $14,654 | 1 | n/a |
| Bangor Publishing Company Dba Bangor Daily News | $14,415 | 1 | n/a |
| Cambridge News Advisory | $13,950 | 1 | n/a |
| Anchorage Daily News LLC | $13,750 | 1 | n/a |
| Apg Media of Wisconsin Llcjanesville Gazette | $13,750 | 1 | n/a |
| Paperbag Media LLC Dba Aspen Daily News | $13,750 | 1 | n/a |
| Gannett Holdings LLC | $13,392 | 1 | n/a |
| Dallas Voice | $13,043 | 1 | n/a |
| Rappahannock Media | $12,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Lewiston Tribune | $12,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Frontier Media Group | $12,000 | 1 | 3% |
| Hanna Siemaszko | $12,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Strategy Hound | $11,700 | 1 | n/a |
| J Frank Publishing Dba Kentucky Sign Center | $11,500 | 1 | n/a |
| The Hagadone Corp Dba Coeur D' Alene Press | $11,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Mde City Paper | $11,250 | 1 | n/a |
| J&J Media Group LLC | $11,250 | 1 | n/a |
| Heyman Partners | $11,133 | 1 | n/a |
| Light Touch Media Group | $11,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Lebanon Publishing CompanyLebTown | $10,779 | 1 | n/a |
| Eagle Printing Company | $10,421 | 1 | n/a |
| La Raza | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Native American Journalists Association | $10,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Yubanetcom Inc | $9,712 | 1 | n/a |
| Hudson Valley News Corp | $9,300 | 1 | n/a |
| Sheridan Newspapers Inc Dba Sheradan Press | $9,300 | 1 | n/a |
| Osteen Publishing Co Dba the Sumnter I | $9,300 | 1 | n/a |
| David Arkin | $8,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Hs Gere & Sonsdaily Hampshire Gazette | $7,907 | 1 | n/a |
| Black Girl Media LLC | $7,356 | 1 | n/a |
| Tcv Publishing Inc | $7,160 | 1 | n/a |
| Target Cue | $7,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Marie-Elana Schembri | $6,950 | 1 | n/a |
| Valley News | $6,773 | 1 | n/a |
| The Buckeye Flame | $6,578 | 1 | 2% |
| Yubanetcom Inc | $6,417 | 1 | n/a |
| Jennifer Preston Dba Preston Strategic Advisors LLC | $6,333 | 1 | n/a |
| Tate Media Enterprises | $6,250 | 1 | n/a |
| Tapclicks | $6,100 | 1 | n/a |
| Teletrends Inc | $6,032 | 1 | n/a |
| Philadelphia Tribune Co | $6,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Capital Journal | $6,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Beasley Media Group | $6,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Sound Publishing | $5,924 | 1 | n/a |
| Stephanie Rodriguez | $5,400 | 1 | n/a |
| Casey Rafter | $5,300 | 1 | n/a |
| Phoenix-Times Publishing Co Dba East Bay Media Group | $5,241 | 1 | n/a |
| Helen G Harlan | $5,150 | 1 | n/a |
| 1 Baltimore Inc | $5,077 | 1 | n/a |
Where it is load-bearing
Local Media Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 4 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 14 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 14.
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.
Local Media AssociationMI53.4× affinity23 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →
Open a dossier: Local Media Association · Alternative Newsweekly Foundation · The Groundtruth Project Inc · Local Independent Online News Publishers Inc · The Miami Foundation Inc · The Lenfest Institute for Journalism Special Asset Fund of Tpf · Solutions Journalism Network Inc · The Int'L Center for Journalists Inc · Pro Publica Inc · Borealis Philanthropy · American Press Institute Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc
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.
About Local Media Foundation
- How much does Local Media Foundation give?
- Local Media Foundation reported 74 itemized grants totaling $4,199,112, out of $4,646,082 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 26 and 42 organizations a year over FY2021 to FY2024.
- What does Local Media Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2021 to FY2025, its largest causes are Arts & Culture (92%), Civil Rights (3%), Education (1%).
- Who are Local Media Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2021 to FY2025: The Columbian Publishing Company ($1.4M), Gannett Co ($744k), Spokesman & Recorder Publishing Co ($677k).
- Does Local Media Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2024, 31% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Which funders back the same organizations as Local Media Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Local Media Association, Alternative Newsweekly Foundation, The Groundtruth Project Inc.
- Where is Local Media Foundation based?
- Local Media Foundation is based in MI.
Play a game based on Local Media’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