Success beyond scale: Evaluating outcomes that funders really care about
“Scale”—too often this is the bane of a grantee’s or evaluator’s existence when it comes to assessing the social impact of media projects. Why are funders so stuck on this concept, and what other impact models might matter more? As we’ve been reviewing materials we’ve gathered on media impact over the past several years, these […]
MIF identifies new learning priorities after yearlong strategic planning process
As part of a new strategic direction informed by a yearlong review of our organization, we’ve been tasked with outlining learning priorities for the year and beyond. We have identified the following priorities: Making the case for media funding Assessing the impact of media funding Understanding the importance of evidence-based science communications activities Presenting/identifying funding […]
6 impact tools for every type of funder and media maker
Here at Media Impact Funders, we’ve been researching best practices in measuring media impact since 2013. In addition to curating impact-related tools, producing original analyses on impact trends, and publishing a monthly impact newsletter, we also convene funders to discuss impact, and conduct research on how funders are thinking about and assessing impact in the […]
10 tips for practicing lean impact in a time of rapid change
While the media and tech landscapes are changing rapidly—requiring nimble and adaptive business practices and new models—the larger social sector funding landscape can be stuck in model for a previous age, planning out discrete interventions and then collecting metrics to examine how many people were touched by them. And media funders—despite often being at the […]
Things we don’t talk about (but should): An open letter to media funders
Next week, several hundred people from national, community, and place-based foundations, as well as newsrooms and other nonprofits, will come together at the Knight Media Forum in Miami. The conference focuses on philanthropy’s role in strengthening local news and information, which is essential for healthy communities and a vibrant democracy. We believe there’s an important conversation missing […]
Here’s how to use our updated impact assessment tools
As you may have noticed, a few weeks ago we completely overhauled our website in an effort to better serve the rapidly changing fields of media and philanthropy. (Here’s an overview of what you can now find.) And with our shiny new website comes shiny new impact assessment resources, which we’re eager to showcase.
The Fledgling Fund offers insights on funding virtual reality
Editor’s note: Earlier this month, Media Impact Funders brought funders together at Philanthropy New York with organizers and presenters from the first VR for Change summit to explore how immersive platforms offer new ways to engage and mobilize users around social issues. Because this is a new and quickly evolving medium, attendees had many questions. The […]
Empathy machine? Learn how VR creators are measuring the impact of their projects
By Meghan Ventura | Community & Operations Manager, Games for Change With VR’s promise to help us see the world from someone else’s point of view, one word has become nearly synonymous with virtual reality projects on real-world issues—empathy.
The 2017 Media Impact Forum
Agenda 9 a.m.—Welcome and Introductions Vince Stehle, Executive Director, Media Impact Funders David Rousseau, Vice President and Executive Director, Media & Technology, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation 9:15 a.m.—Returning to Public Media’s Roots A conversation with NPR’s founding architect and one of today’s leading public radio reporters on how public media has served us for the […]
A key task for grantmakers: Enhance the freedom of journalists around the world
In his eighth and final speech to the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama called on world leaders to embrace the idea of open society as the only way for nations to prosper. “Entrepreneurs need to access information in order to invent; young people need a global education in order to thrive; independent media needs […]
'The Web belongs to all of us': Q&A with the Web’s inventor, Sir Tim Berners-Lee
This post originally appeared on the Ford Foundation’s Equals Change blog on Sept. 21, 2016. Not everyone knows the name Sir Tim Berners-Lee, but they certainly know his invention: the World Wide Web. And if being responsible for one of the most important innovations in human history wasn’t enough, early on Berners-Lee made the generous […]
Technology delivers hope to refugees around the world
According to the United Nations, every minute, 24 people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution or terror. Worldwide, there are 65 million people who have been forcibly displaced from their homes. It’s overwhelming to think about how much violence in the world there is to have that many refugees. To that end, the U.N. has recognized June […]