2025 Media Impact Forum Program Statement:
The media landscape is undergoing a seismic shift. Influencers aren’t just trendsetters anymore; they’re newsmakers who are reshaping how we consume and interpret information. With nearly 40% of young adults turning to influencers make sense of current events, the lines between journalism, commentary, and influencer are blurring. How news is consumed and how stories are told represents a fundamental shift that is challenging the philanthropic community to confront a critical question: How can we ensure a future with truth-telling and a shared understanding of the world? Our 2025 Media Impact Forum will address these dynamics and the implications of how audiences consume content on journalism, truth, and democracy. During our daylong showcase, we’ll spotlight the research, storytellers and projects that are redefining the way audiences engage with news and media. Join us as we examine the challenges and opportunities presented by this new media ecosystem and discuss strategies to foster a future in which accurate information prevails.

Stay tuned for more details about the agenda.

The Media Impact Forum is an in-person event, but for those who choose to attend remotely, we will have a livestream available for the mainstage programming on June 10.

You will be sent further instructions for joining the livestream once you register.

In-person:
Members: $500
Non-members: $650
PSO staff: $300

Livestream:
Members: $125
Non-members: $150

We strive to accommodate our attendees to the best of our ability while also managing the resources necessary for hosting successful events.

Instead of requesting a refund for your ticket, we invite you to consider the following options:

1. Turn your ticket cost into a powerful contribution that will directly impact MIF’s mission, work and initiatives. Your support helps us serve our growing network of funders who care about effective use of media, and the programs we create to serve them.
2. Transfer your ticket to a colleague at your organization. Just let us know the name and email of your colleague!

Refund/Cancellation Policy

• Registration requests made on or before April 2, 2024, will receive a full refund (minus $55 processing fees).
• Registration requests made after April 2 through April 21 will receive partial refund of 50% of your ticket cost (minus a $55 processing fee).
• We are unable to offer refunds on or after April 22, 2024.
• Refunds will not be provided for virtual-only registrations.
• Refunds will be processed within 3-5 business days after approval.

Questions?

Media Impact Funders is committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all, regardless of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, or religion. Please email info@mediafunders.org if there is a barrier to your participation or if you need to share additional access needs.

Demonstrate your commitment to media in the public interest by supporting our efforts to catalyze innovation at the intersection of media and philanthropy. Email Courtney Eshleman, Director of Development, at courtney@mediafunders.org to get started.

Special thanks to the following sponsors of the 2025 Media Impact Forum:

• Lumina Foundation
• Heising-Simons Foundation
• Colorado Health Foundation

Download our sponsorship packet.

We’re asking all attendees to take precautions to keep each other safe. If you feel unwell before the Media Impact Forum, please do not attend. (Remember: We have a livestream option!) If you feel unwell onsite, while programming is under way, we ask that you halt your participation.

We encourage you to take a COVID test the day you arrive.

Masks are optional. For anyone who’d like to wear one, they’ll be available at the registration desk.

If public health guidelines change for any reason, and we need to implement additional measures to ensure everyone’s health and safety, we will notify you of any changes to our protocols.

Photographs and/or video will be taken at this event. By attending this event, you consent to your image/likeness, voice, and/or name being used in photographs and/or film, and any reproductions or adaptations thereafter, by Media Impact Funders to use in any and all print and digital media in perpetuity.

If you do not wish to be photographed and/or filmed, please contact Nina Sachdev, Director of Communications, at nina@mediafunders.org.

• Focus on the critical issues facing media philanthropy today
• Dissect your media strategy with your peers
• Hear inspiring stories of high-impact media, the strategies behind them and the funders who made them happen
• Expand your network by networking with funders who represent national, place-based, and community foundations from across the country.

Planning to host an event before or after the Forum? We’d love to hear about it. Share your event details with us here, and we’ll add it to our Partner Events schedule below.