The 2026 Media Impact Forum
May 28-29 | KQED Headquarters | San Francisco
The 2026 Media Impact Forum 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.
The Forum offers a rare opportunity to connect with leaders shaping the future of media philanthropy and to work collectively on challenges that no single funder can solve alone.
The stakes for independent media have never been higher.
In a fragmented, politically charged, and rapidly evolving information ecosystem, philanthropy’s role is essential. Media funding shapes whether communities have access to trusted journalism, whether public media remains strong and independent, whether documentary storytelling reaches broad audiences, and whether democratic discourse remains resilient.
The 2026 Media Impact Forum brings together philanthropic funders who support media in the public interest. 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.
The Forum offers a rare opportunity to connect with leaders shaping the future of media philanthropy and to work collectively on challenges that no single funder can solve alone.
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.
The Forum functions as a working space for philanthropy at a moment of urgency.
Mainstage conversations ground the gathering in a shared understanding of the forces shaping journalism, documentary and public media today. Field leaders, funders and practitioners surface both the risks confronting independent media and the opportunities emerging across platforms and audiences.
Structured peer discussions create room for alignment. Participants explore where their strategies intersect, where gaps remain, and where stronger coordination could amplify impact. In a field often shaped by grant cycles, geography and institutional constraints, simply seeing the landscape together can shift what feels achievable.
Breakout and small-group working sessions allow for deeper exploration of potential collaboration. Some conversations will focus on shared learning and strategy. Others may move toward more concrete next steps. The Forum does not prescribe a single model of partnership. Instead, it creates the context and relationships that make coordinated, sustained action more likely once participants return to their institutions.
The Forum combines shared learning, meaningful connection, and focused working time so participants can move from big-picture insight to practical next steps.
The convening begins on Thursday, May 28, with a full day of mainstage conversations featuring funders, field leaders and practitioners who will explore the most pressing risks and emerging opportunities shaping journalism, documentary and public media. Intentional networking breaks throughout the day create space for informal exchange and relationship-building.
The day also features the Next Challenge Awards ceremony, highlighting innovative efforts that are pushing the field forward and offering concrete examples of new approaches in action.
Concurrent breakout sessions will allow participants to go deeper into the themes raised on the mainstage, engage directly with peers, and explore the practical implications for funding strategy.
On Friday, May 29, the day shifts toward more focused working sessions. These smaller conversations are designed to help funders compare approaches, refine priorities and identify clear pathways for action that can continue in the months that follow.
Please note: these working sessions are for philanthropic funders only.
Attendees who are representatives from intermediary organizations with development or fundraising roles are invited to a special, parallel session dedicated that will provide a space for knowledge exchange and enhancing development practices in media philanthropy.
Thursday, May 28
Registration, Breakfast and Networking
Programming
Cocktail Reception
Friday, May 29
Registration, Breakfast and Networking
Programming
Sydney Apple
Sydney Apple is the Director of Foundation and Nonprofit work at Protagonist. Sydney specializes in Narrative Analytics and research design, with an expertise in using data to understand complex problems. In her six years at Protagonist, she has worked on dozens of projects across the Foundation and Nonprofit sector, specializing in analyzing narrative content through the lenses of racial justice, gender justice, and collective power across a variety of social issues. Sydney holds a BA, magna cum laude, in Economics and a minor in International Conflict and Cooperation from Boston College, where she was a Gabelli Presidential Scholar. Sydney also studied Spanish at the Granada Institute of International Studies in Spain and Arabic (MSA, Levantine) at the Sijal Institute in Amman, Jordan.
Robert K. Elder
Robert K. Elder is the President & CEO of Outrider Foundation. He also serves as a voting member of Outrider’s Board of Directors.
Elder is the author or editor of 20+ books, and his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Paris Review, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Salon.com, and many other publications.
He previously served as the Chief Digital Officer at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the Executive Director of Digital Product Development & Innovation at Crain Communications.
Glen Galaich
Glen Galaich is a thought leader and national voice on the future of philanthropy and social impact. As CEO of the Stupski Foundation—a major U.S. spend-down foundation—he oversees initiatives advancing food justice, economic empowerment, post-secondary success, and health equity across the San Francisco Bay Area and Hawaiʻi. He is the author of CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short. Galaich is also the host of the podcast Break Fake Rules and the author of Who Gives?!, a newsletter that interrogates the myths, incentives, and power structures shaping modern philanthropy. A political science Ph.D with more than 25 years of experience, Galaich has conducted national research on Americans’ perceptions of philanthropy, donor control, and the effectiveness of common foundation practices. He has worked with major donors, policymakers, advisors, corporate leaders, and grassroots organizers to build trust-based relationships and accelerate systems-level change in the Big Giving system. Galaich previously served as CEO of Forward Global, where he led a landmark international merger to create a global learning network for philanthropists. Earlier in his career, he helped launch the Global Philanthropy Forum and held national fundraising roles at Human Rights Watch. Galaich has earned a Colorado Broadcasters Award for his work as a talk show radio host, and his writing has appeared in American Political Science Review, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and other leading publications. He lives in Marin County, California, with his wife, two children, and two dogs.
Hank Green
Hank Green started making YouTube videos with his brother almost 20 years ago. Now he’s a go-to internet science guy, having produced and hosted thousands of videos and podcasts. He’s also a author, stand-up comedian, and entrepreneur, having co-founded Focus Friend (Google’s App of the Year), Good.Store (which donates all profit to charity), VidCon (the world’s largest conference for online video) and, of course, Complexly, which produces SciShow, Crash Course, and nearly a dozen other educational YouTube channels.
Tim Isgitt
Tim is a nonprofit leader who has worked throughout his career to support and advance public and independent media. His extensive background in philanthropy, public media, government, and consulting allows Tim to advise nonprofit media leaders on how to strengthen their organizations and services to their communities. Tim focuses his time on forging new partnerships and initiatives to build the overall growth and sustainability of public and independent media.
Prior to joining the Public Media Company team, Tim served as Managing Director of Humanity United, a human rights-focused philanthropic organization. He helped the organization focus and redevelop its mission, values, and strategic direction. He also built a public engagement portfolio aimed at cultivating greater levels of understanding, accountability, and action from key stakeholders, including lawmakers, corporations, investors, and civil society organizations.
Previously, Tim served as Senior Vice President of Communications and Government Affairs at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as well as in leadership and service roles at the U.S. State Department and public affairs firms Burson-Marsteller and Meyers & Associates. Tim began his career as a legislative assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Tim received his BA in political science from Texas A&M University, and his MA in government from The Johns Hopkins University. He serves on the boards of Media Impact Funders, a membership organization that advances the work of a broad range of funders committed to effective use and support of media in the public interest, and The Fuller Project, a global newsroom dedicated to groundbreaking reporting on women.
Tim lives in northern California with his husband, son, and two dogs. Email Tim at tim@publicmedia.co.
S. Mitra Kalita
S. Mitra Kalita is an award-winning journalist, author, and co-founder of URL Media and Epicenter NYC, organizations serving, supporting and centering BIPOC communities. Before launching her companies, she served as Senior Vice President at CNN Digital; her background also spans the LA Times, Quartz, and the Washington Post. She consulted on Apple TV’s “The Morning Show,” co-produced the documentary “Vice is Broke,” and currently serves on the boards of the Philadelphia Inquirer, News Media Alliance, and the American Press Institute.
We’re so excited to announce that we will once again be hosting the Next Challenge Awards for Media & Journalism, presented by the Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group, as part of the 2026 Media Impact Forum!
The Next Challenge is the largest competition open to nonprofit and for-profit media startups in the United States. The competition isn’t just about funding promising ideas, though; it’s about accelerating ventures that help local communities stay informed, connected and engaged. This year, the Challenge will award $250,000 to early-stage startups. Each division winner will receive a grant of up to $50,000, and one grand prize winner will receive an additional $25,000.
We’re thrilled to bring these founders and future-facing ideas into the heart of the Forum.
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. Demonstrate your commitment to media in the public interest by supporting our efforts to catalyze innovation at the intersection of media and philanthropy.
Email MIF Executive Director Abby Rapoport at abby@mediafunders.org.
Special thanks to our sponsors of the 2026 Media Impact Forum!
Media Impact Funders is committed to providing exceptional experiences for all attendees of our events. We understand that circumstances may change, and you may find yourself unable to attend.
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:
- 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.
- Transfer your ticket to a colleague at your organization—just let us know the name and email of your colleague.
Please contact MIF Member Engagement Manager, Shannon Thomas at shannon@mediafunders.org to convert your ticket cost into a donation, transfer your ticket to a colleague, or to request a refund.
Refund and Cancellation Policy
- Requests made up to April 17, 2026: Full refund minus $55 processing fee
- Requests made between April 17 – May 6, 2026: 50% refund minus $55 processing fee
- We are unable to offer refunds after May 6, 2026.
- Refunds will be processed within 3-5 business days after approval.
This is a Funder-only Gathering
If you are unsure of your eligibility to attend this gathering, please contact Shannon Thomas at shannon@mediafunders.org. If you purchase a ticket and are not eligible to attend, the ticket price will be refunded, but not the processing fees.
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 Adriana Imhof, Communications Associate, at adriana@mediafunders.org.
KQED is a fully accessible building.
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.
Media Impact Funders has been hosting the Media Impact Forum since 2013 with the purpose of bringing funders together to network, deepen learning and spark collaboration. This is special because funders of journalism, documentary and other media seldom cross paths in their everyday work. The Forum provides a wonderful opportunity to come together for a day of inspiring media presentations and to stay up to date on current trends, issues and opportunities facing the field.