What We DoCollaborations

Media Impact Funders collaborates with organizations across philanthropy and media to support shared learning, coordination and field-wide progress.

MIF works with a wide range of partners, including philanthropy-serving organizations (PSOs), media institutions, research groups, and convening partners. These collaborations reflect our commitment to working across silos and supporting a diverse, evolving media ecosystem.

We pursue partnerships where we can add distinctive value: connecting funders who might not otherwise find one another, bringing field-level context into the room, and supporting collective learning that informs funding decisions. Our role is not to set the agenda for the field, but to help structure conversations so collaboration is genuinely useful to participants.

MIF collaborations take many forms, depending on the needs of the field and our members. Recent collaborations:

  • Research exploring ethics, trust and accountability in journalism with The Lenfest Institute and NORC
  • Research on the state of global journalism with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Dot Connector Studio
  • A partnership with the Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group on the Next Challenge Awards, a program that surfaces and supports early-stage innovation in media. For the past two years, the Next Challenge Awards have been presented at the Media Impact Forum, MIF’s flagship annual event.

Interested in collaborating? Email Nina Sachdev, Deputy Director of External Affairs, at nina@mediafunders.org.

Upcoming Events

A complete listing of upcoming MIF events, including public convenings and member-only gatherings. Event listings include registration details and access information.

Learn More

The 2026 Media Impact Forum

The 2026 Media Impact Forum is sold out! Join the waitlist today—email Shannon Thomas at shannon@mediafunders.org.   The 2026 Media Impact Forum, happening May 28-29 at KQED Headquarters in San Francisco, brings together philanthropic funders who use media as a strategy to advance public interest goals. Participants step out of day-to-day grantmaking to engage peers across issue areas, examine the pressures reshaping the field, and consider where greater alignment can unlock meaningful impact across the media landscape. Through four focused programmatic pillars—The Future of Public Media, Effective Media Funding Practice, Platform Futures and Audience Reach, and Safeguarding Journalism and Media—the Forum creates a structured environment for cross-field connection across journalism, documentary, and public media. These pillars provide both depth and coherence, surfacing sector-specific challenges while illuminating shared questions that cut across issue areas and funding strategies. By convening funders broadly, the Forum reflects the growing role of media as a cross-cutting strategy within philanthropy. It is designed not simply as a moment of reflection, but as a space where funders can deepen relationships and sharpen priorities. This is a rare opportunity to connect with leaders shaping the future of media philanthropy and work collectively on challenges no single… Read More
May 28, 2026
The 2026 Media Impact Forum

Funder Briefing: Catalytic Capital for Local News

Grants are often essential to revitalizing local news but on their own, they may not be enough to help newsrooms weather change, invest in capacity or navigate major transitions. Catalytic capital can offer another way to support strong, independent local news organizations. In June, Press Forward is releasing a new white paper on catalytic capital for news. Come meet the study author, Caroline Ross, and learn about how risk-tolerant, flexible, low-interest investments — often utilized in other public interest sectors — are currently helping newsrooms in communities from Colorado to Appalachia. Presented in partnership with Press Forward.
June 22, 2026
Funder Briefing: Catalytic Capital for Local News