The Media Impact Forum
The 2027 Media Impact Forum will take place May 27-28 at the Aon Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier in Chicago.
To build the public-interest media we need for the future, media funding will have to change. Our field is at a crossroads. We see new stakes, new risks and new opportunities to make a difference. At the 2027 Media Impact Forum, our field will come together across regions, strategies and silos and begin to partner, to imagine and to forge ahead.
Funders will step out of their day-to-day work to engage with peers across issue areas and identify where collaboration can unlock greater impact across the media landscape, addressing challenges that no single funder can solve alone.
For the first time, our Forum will be held in Chicago, one of the country’s most innovative laboratories for media funding. We are excited to bring this global conversation to a city that’s long been a model for philanthropic collaboration and an incubator for new approaches and deep commitments across documentary, journalism, technology and beyond.
Tickets will go on sale in January. A few ways to get involved now:
- Become a Forum Sponsor: Sponsoring the Forum is a way to invest in shared infrastructure, collective learning and long-term impact—not just a single event, but a stronger media funding ecosystem. Our 2027 sponsorship package includes new opportunities and room to customize. Contact Abby Rapoport at abby@mediafunders.org to learn more.
- Join the Forum host committee. Our host committee members play a key role in advance of the Forum, helping us build a welcoming space for the field, inviting new attendees and engaging sponsors. It’s a light lift and an important job—plus a fun time! All members are welcome to join and we are especially encouraging participation among Chicago-area funders! If you’re interested, contact Nina Sachdev at nina@mediafunders.org.
- Help shape the Forum program. Tell us what you need from the Forum: the questions you’re stuck on, the conversations you aren’t having anywhere else, and the voices that would sharpen your thinking. This short survey will take about five minutes. Want to talk through ideas? Contact Nina Sachdev at nina@mediafunders.org.
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.
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.