Canada’s media landscape includes a unique force for change: the Inspirit Foundation. Not only is Inspirit one of the most active funders in Canada’s journalism and narrative sphere (and the sole Canadian member of Media Impact Funders), it also stands alone with a 100% impact-invested portfolio, all driven by a singular mission: to shift narrative power.
In addition to its grantmaking, Inspirit has dedicated significant time and energy to advocating for increased philanthropic investment in journalism. Recognizing the gap between expressed interest from their funding peers and actual dollars flowing into the sector, Inspirit is actively working to make the case to other Canadian foundations to support media and journalism. That work eventually led to a practical guide, “Funding Journalism: A Guide for Canadian Philanthropy,” which underscores Inspirit’s commitment to bridging the divide between intention and action. Here, I sit down with Inspirit Foundation CEO Sadia Zaman to talk about the work to catalyze philanthropy, reimagine new narratives for Muslims, and the impact of the Online News Act on Canadian journalism.
Nina Sachdev, Director of Communications, Media Impact Funders: When and why did Inspirit start funding media and journalism? What were some of the early grants?
Sadia Zaman, CEO, Inspirit Foundation: Inspirit has been funding journalism for about six years now. We’re the only Canadian foundation with a specific focus on journalism. Some of our earliest funding includes a grant to First Nations University for their work on Indigenous language broadcasting, support for IndigiNews, an Indigenous-led media start-up covering Indigenous issues in Western Canada, and The Discourse’s Independent News Challenge, which eventually led to the creation of Indiegraf. The work keeps shifting and evolving as we incorporate new learnings from philanthropy, as well as from the massive shifts in the journalism ecosystem.
Nina: Impact investing in journalism/media is an evolving practice and not as widespread as in other sectors. So let’s unpack a few things here. One, there’s a growing recognition among funders of the vital role journalism plays in democracy. This is leading to increased interest in finding sustainable funding models beyond traditional advertising or philanthropy. Impact investing, with its focus on generating both social and financial returns, is being explored as a potential solution. But journalism is often perceived as a high-risk investment, right? Plus, measuring the impact of journalism can be complex. Break down impact investing in journalism for us. Why can it work in this context?
Sadia: There have been few attempts to bridge journalism and impact investing in Canada. Journalism philanthropy is nascent and focused on grantmaking.
In Inspirit’s case, the outlets we’ve supported tend to be smaller organizations with little access to early-stage funding. An investment tool like debt-based financing would likely put added financial pressures on already strained organizations. That said, there may be alternative funding models that enable outlets to invest in revenue-generating activities independent from the journalism. Many of the small publications we work with do not have multiple revenue streams due to capacity, so there is still a need for capacity building first.
Improving access to social finance capital for outlets of all sizes would require coordinated solutions at a systems level. That has yet to happen in Canada. We’re keen to explore this alongside stakeholders in the impact investing and media sectors. There are pools of capital like the Social Finance Fund in Canada, dedicated to impact investing at scale, that could play an important role. An equity fund that taps into larger sources of financing to fuel sustainable growth for media is something we are exploring.
Inspirit was the first philanthropic foundation in Canada to transition its endowment to a 100% impact portfolio. While our portfolio is now exclusively composed of impact investments, we are continuously looking for ways to grow our impact. Aligning part of our assets with investments that contribute to healthy media financing would be a natural next step.
Nina: I’m thinking about your efforts to get your funding peers to lean into media grantmaking. I often ask funders if they see influencing their peers as relevant and important to their work, and more often than not, the answer is something like, “We should be, but we’re not.” Since you have experience in this area, I’m wondering if you can talk about what you’ve seen as the clearest, most effective way to make the case for funding journalism and media.
Sadia: The case for funding independent journalism is clearer now than ever. It is linked to the state of our democracy: a healthy democracy has a healthy independent media ecosystem. More Canadian funders are beginning to see this connection and are getting involved.
In Canada, journalism has traditionally not been seen as a charitable endeavor, and the regulatory environment did not enable philanthropic support for it. This is now changing, and broader uptake from journalism organizations will require two important elements: increasing knowledge and practices around funding journalism, and, supporting bridge-building between philanthropy and journalism.
For many years there was a lack of awareness and some distrust between philanthropy and journalism; neither sector knew much about the other. Philanthropy was opaque, and inaccessible for the communities we work with. There was also distrust over editorial independence. Foundations often confused journalism with marketing or amplifying the work of foundations.
So, we have absolutely leaned in on talking about the importance of journalism, especially for underserved communities. We published practical guides to bridge the divide between journalism and philanthropy, we share our experience of funding journalism and our knowledge of the evolving regulatory environment at conferences and industry events. We are now building the first collaborative fund with other Canadian foundations to support independent journalism.
Nina: You’re working to reimagine Muslim stories. In 2021 you launched the Narrative Change Lab to change the conversation around Islamophobia. Earlier this month, you launched the New Narratives Fund, focused on elevating Muslim pop culture artists. Can you talk about successful pathways to reversing damaging narratives? What outcomes are seeing from this work, or is it too early to tell?
Sadia: Narrative change takes decades. We know through the work of the Pop Culture Collaborative, and the Norman Lear Center that pop culture influences the way we see people who are not like us and can also bridge the gaps of understanding. This can lead to systemic change: policies, procedures, and cultural norms.
As a small Canadian foundation with limited resources, harnessing the power of pop culture felt like one targeted approach for the New Narratives Fund that we just launched. It took several years of trial and error to get to this place.
Inspirit identified combatting Islamophobia as a strategic priority in 2016, but it is only when we started adopting a narrative change lens in 2020, that we focused on supporting fledgling Muslim-led arts and media organizations that could help create pathways to cultural industries. During that period, we worked closely with community partners who guided and challenged us. Partners who were ultimately instrumental in determining the focus of the New Narratives Fund.
Nina: Let’s talk about the recent passage of Canada’s Online News Act, which is requiring Big Tech platforms such as Google and Meta to compensate Canadian news businesses for the news content that these platforms use. How do you see this legislation impacting the sustainability and diversity of Canadian journalism, and what role do you believe philanthropy can play in ensuring its success?
Sadia: We’re seeing different responses to the Online News Act. On the one hand, Meta opted not to participate and pulled all journalism content from their platforms in Canada. More than a year after this decision, research shows that Canadians are consuming less news. Google struck a deal with the government to contribute $100 million per year for five years, and these funds will be redistributed to news organizations.
There are other regulatory interventions that are designed to enable philanthropic support for the industry. This includes a special status that nonprofit journalism organizations can apply for that allows them to receive foundation donations and issue tax receipts. So far only a dozen journalism organizations have received the designation. Foundations can also fund journalism through service agreements or charitable intermediaries. To increase uptake of philanthropic support for journalism in Canada, we need diverse approaches that align with the realities of journalists, foundations, and our regulatory landscape.
Overall, the amount of money from philanthropy is very slowly growing, but it is a tiny fraction of what is required. The civic needs of underserved communities and rural communities are better served when independent journalism flourishes. We need all the tools to make that happen.
Nina: What are some challenges that you’ve encountered with supporting media and journalism over the years?
Sadia: The biggest challenge has been a lack of interest from other funders, as well as a general lack of knowledge about what philanthropy can do to fund journalism, but that is now changing. As a sector we have not been very good at making the connections between independent journalism, the civic health of communities, and a healthy democracy. The pandemic was a wake-up call for many as it exposed the lack of reliable information at the local level. We are getting better at making the connections.
Nina: Is there anything you want your peers to know about your work?
Sadia: We have so many examples of small, independent local journalism organizations that are doing things in a different way; collaboration with community, reimagined editorial frameworks, new platforms. Some of the journalism has been groundbreaking and has led to policy changes. It is very inspiring.
