Local news doesn’t just need more money. It also needs the right kind of money.

Press Forward’s research on catalytic capital makes the case for what philanthropy can’t do alone—and the strategy it can use to help fill the gap.

For two decades, philanthropy has been essential to rebuilding local news. But even well-funded newsrooms often lack what they need most: the right capital at the right moment. If you care about any of the issues local news covers, you already have a stake in this ecosystem, whether you describe yourself as a media funder or not.

The reality is that many local news organizations can’t access commercial loans, and grants alone can’t finance working capital, infrastructure or ownership transitions. The result is a field that makes decisions out of scarcity; consolidating or merging not because it serves communities, but because few other options exist.

That’s the argument at the heart of new research from Press Forward. Catalytic Capital for Local News makes the case for flexible, patient, mission-driven financing that sits between grants and commercial capital: loans, recoverable grants, guarantees, revenue-based financing. These are tools that already work in affordable housing, clean energy and community development. Tools the local news field is only beginning to use.

Join us on Monday, June 22 from 2-3 p.m. ET to hear from the paper’s author, Caroline Ross, and to discuss how philanthropy can play a role in building the capital ecosystem civic media needs.