Our Members | Media Impact Funders

John Templeton Foundation

A new member in 2020, the John Templeton Foundation is dedicated to harnessing the power of science to answer the deepest and most perplexing questions facing humankind. It also awards the Templeton Prize, which honors individuals whose work explores those questions. Learn more about the foundation’s media work, its goals to address the nation’s intense polarization, and its interest in finding other funders to partner and collaborate with.

Q&A with the John Templeton Foundation

Libra Foundation

Established in 2002, the Libra Foundation’s three main funding priorities are women’s rights, environmental justice, and social justice and drug policy. We’ve encountered a few of the foundation’s grantees throughout our travels, including WITNESS, the human-rights platform that trains people to document their experiences; #Cut50, the program led by CNN commentator Van Jones that seeks to reduce the prison population; and 350.org, the grassroots organizer whose founder, Jamie Henn, spoke at one of our Frank funder gathering last year.

Learn more about the Libra Foundation.

Annie E. Casey Foundation

The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a Baltimore-based private philanthropy that develops strategies to create a brighter future for children in the United States. The Foundation works on a variety of issues, including economic opportunity, juvenile justice, child welfare, and racial equity and inclusion. It publishes the annual KIDS COUNT Data Book, which provides state-level data on child well-being with grantees in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and it periodically produces policy reports that call attention to issues that affect children. A member since 2011, the Foundation engaged with MIF programming on numerous occasions, including in 2016 when Director of Strategic Communications Norris West interviewed filmmaker Stanley Nelson during a screening and discussion event for Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. West also currently sits on the board of MIF.

Learn more about the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

International Women's Media Foundation

A member of MIF since 2017, the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) has worked since 1990 to provide career-sustaining resources for female journalists. At the core of the IWMF’s mission is the understanding that the press is not truly free unless women have equal representation. The IWMF offers grants, fellowships, training, byline opportunities and recognition that protect and promote the vital contributions of female journalists. Its programs sustain critical reporting roles for women in underserved regions and provide emergency and safety training for female journalists around the world. In addition, the IWMF researches the state of women in the news and advocates for more inclusive and equitable policies within media organizations. IWMF is active in our Journalism Funders Network and has led discussions on sexual harassment and violence during our monthly journalism calls.

Learn more about the International Women’s Media Foundation.

National Geographic Society

To increase understanding and appreciation of our planet through scientific exploration, the National GeographicSociety—a global nonprofit—currently provides grants in three focus areas: early career, exploration, and request for proposals. The Society engaged with MIF at the annual Media Impact Forum in May 2018, when Kaitlin Yarnall, senior vice president of media innovation, spoke to funders about how the organization uses media in its science-focused grantmaking.

Learn more about the National Geographic Society.

Our members include some of the largest foundations in media funding, local and regional foundations, and individual donors and high-net worth individuals.

Current Members and Supporters