How much has philanthropy’s support for BIPOC-led outlets changed?

We asked newsrooms for an update.

By Susanna Dilliplane

In 2023, the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) published its latest deep-dive study on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the nonprofit news sector, exploring research questions about staffing and leadership, operations, engagement with underserved communities and revenue patterns. But our analysis on philanthropic funding left us with even more questions, so we decided to follow-up by gathering additional data this year.

Building on our prior findings, this research post aims to provide an update on philanthropic support for outlets led by individuals who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). We examine recent patterns in foundation funding for BIPOC-led outlets, including insights into what has been helpful and where challenges remain.

See INN’s deep-dive study on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the nonprofit news sector, published October 2023.

Why the focus on foundation funding? In the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, there has been increased attention to questions around equity in funding. Recent research has documented disparities in funding between BIPOC-led and white-led organizations in the nonprofit sector, as well as inequities in accessing philanthropic support experienced by BIPOC-founded news outlets.

This has informed our exploration of whether and how disparities show up in philanthropic support for BIPOC-led outlets in INN’s network.

Before we dive into the findings, two notes:

1. A note on definitions: There are varying definitions of “BIPOC-led” used throughout the news industry, the nonprofit sector and philanthropy. For purposes of this research post, we have defined “BIPOC-led” as organizations in which more than 50% of all executives and managers identify with a racial or ethnic category other than white, including multiracial.

2. A note on methods: For this analysis, we drew on revenue data from INN’s 2023 and 2024 Index surveys (capturing foundation funding in calendar years 2022 and 2023, respectively), as well as interviews with seven BIPOC-led outlets that focus primarily on serving communities of color. We conducted the interviews on a not-for-attribution basis, acknowledging the power dynamics involved in discussing funder practices and relationships. We recognize the limitations of our data, including the relatively small number of BIPOC-led outlets in INN’s membership (47 BIPOC-led outlets are included in this analysis). For this reason, we do not treat our findings as representative of all BIPOC-led and BIPOC-serving outlets in the U.S., which include many for-profit organizations. But we hope that the insights captured in this research note, particularly those shared by interviewees, contribute to broader ongoing conversations about philanthropy’s support for BIPOC-led and BIPOC-serving organizations.

Recent patterns in foundation funding for BIPOC-led nonprofit newsrooms

Data from INN’s most recent Index surveys offer two initial takeaways regarding philanthropic support for BIPOC-led nonprofit outlets.

1. There was a modest increase in the amount of funding for BIPOC-led outlets. A majority of BIPOC-led outlets (68%) reported an increase in foundation funding between 2022 and 2023. This translated into a small increase in the median amount of foundation funding reported by BIPOC-led outlets (Table 1). Among white-led outlets, a similar proportion reported increased funding (63%), while the median amount stayed more or less the same, and remained lower than the median reported by BIPOC-led outlets.
2. The flexibility of foundation funding for BIPOC-led outlets increased. Approximately 44% of BIPOC-led outlets reported an increase in the percentage of their foundation funding that can be used as general operating support. This helped propel their median percentage from 60% of total grant money that could be used as general operating support in 2022 to 75% in 2023 (Table 2). This closed the gap previously observed between BIPOC-led and white-led outlets in 2022.

These patterns seem tentatively promising, particularly when it comes to closing the gap between BIPOC-led outlets and white-led outlets in the percentage of foundation funding that can be used for general operating costs. But when we apply an equity lens, the findings prompt questions around what is driving these patterns and whether they reflect lasting changes within philanthropy that meaningfully account for historical exclusion and oppression of BIPOC communities.

To help us interpret and contextualize these survey findings, we asked BIPOC-led outlets for their perspectives on what might help explain — or possibly contradict — these patterns. Their responses fell into two categories: what BIPOC-led outlets have been doing to deepen philanthropic support, and what funders have been doing with regard to DEI internally and externally.

What BIPOC-led outlets have been doing

• Building relationships: Interviewees emphasized how long it takes for them to cultivate relationships with foundations — typically, multiple years of conversations with a given funder. Interviewees suggested that this work may now be bearing fruit for BIPOC-led outlets, as a good deal of relationship-building started in 2020 when the racial justice protests prompted philanthropy to focus more on DEI.
• Honing grant-seeking approaches: BIPOC-led outlets have worked to sharpen their grant-seeking strategies and skills, thanks in part to BIPOC peer-to-peer support. (More on that below.) This includes investing significant time in raising their visibility by continually meeting with funders, presenting at conferences and accepting invitations to speak. It also includes learning to tell their stories in ways that resonate with funders, for example by articulating their value in relation to challenges like misinformation and disinformation, as well as their implications for democracy and public health.
• Deepening understanding among funders: Interviewees described their ongoing efforts to strengthen foundations’ understanding of what’s needed to support local news in diverse communities. This includes underscoring to funders why general operating support is vital to sustainability, as well as encouraging funders to shift away from seeing communities of color as a “niche” audience or assuming these communities are adequately served by existing outlets in their geographic area.

What funders have been doing

• Responding to the push for a stronger focus on DEI: The 2020 racial justice protests are seen as a major factor in prompting philanthropy to focus more on supporting BIPOC-led organizations. In reflecting on 2023 funding patterns, interviewees suggested that we are still seeing residual evidence of this shift in philanthropic focus. However, interviewees are also observing signs of this support tapering off, with three-year grants set to expire and equity-focused or DEI-related funds beginning to sunset.
• Moving towards more equitable ways of working: Interviewees observed that some funders are demonstrating an institutional commitment to centering equity in their practices and supporting more diverse organizations. This commitment manifests internally in the culture and composition of staff and leadership, and externally in their grantmaking practices and ways of interacting with existing and prospective grantees. Borealis Philanthropy’s Racial Equity in Journalism (REJ) Fund and the Pivot Fund were most frequently singled out in this respect. Interviewees’ experiences with other funders have been more varied in terms of how deeply DEI is reflected in foundation practices. As one interviewee observed, foundations with leadership that prioritizes DEI and “a strong culture of building a diverse funding apparatus” are more likely to sustain equitable ways of working.

What have BIPOC-led outlets found helpful or challenging?

To understand what it takes to maintain — or further deepen — foundation support for BIPOC-led outlets, we asked interviewees to reflect on what’s been helpful and what has been challenging to them as grant-seekers.

What’s been helpful

• BIPOC peer-to-peer support. Support from BIPOC peers has been an important resource for capacity building around grant-seeking. One interviewee described how BIPOC cohorts she is part of, including the Listening Post Collective, provide a comfortable space where people can ask questions, share advice and information, provide encouragement and help demystify philanthropy’s ways of working. Another interviewee credited a tight-knit community of BIPOC publishers and CEOs who help each other by providing advice and connecting one another with funders.
• Opportunities to apply for multi-year, flexible support. Echoing a theme from INN’s 2023 DEI report, BIPOC-led outlets emphasized the value of multi-year general operating support and expressed deep appreciation for funders who offer this kind of grant opportunity. They noted that flexible grants enable them to cover payroll as well as internal infrastructure costs that are central to their organization’s operations. They also provide outlets with the flexibility to center responsiveness to community priorities (as opposed to funder-driven priorities) and to pivot when needed. And because of the longer grant period, outlets are better able to prioritize sustainability in their planning. Interviewees contrasted this kind of support with project grants, which tend to be shorter-term and smaller, and often require more time to manage than their dollar value can cover — making them a hindrance to organizational sustainability.
• Funders’ beyond-the-grant roles: Interviewees observed that foundations can play helpful roles beyond the grants they make. Examples include capacity building and technical supports, such as those provided by the Pivot Fund and the REJ Fund, as well as program officers’ efforts to connect BIPOC-led outlets to other funders and resources like INN. Another key role that foundations play is philanthropic advocacy. This can take the form of encouraging peer funders to support BIPOC-led outlets, particularly with unrestricted, multi-year grants, as well as bringing in foundations who don’t typically fund journalism. Interviewees expressed (tempered) hope that Press Forward’s local chapters will step into this role, helping more local and state foundations understand why funding journalism is relevant to their respective goals, thereby widening the overall pool of funding available.

What’s been challenging

• Grant opportunities with (counterproductive) built-in capacity building. A consistent theme across interviewees is their increasing wariness about applying for grants with built-in capacity-building components. In some cases, the cost associated with time spent participating in the capacity-building as well as doing the grant-supported work far exceeds the size of the grant. “It is just not sustainable,” one person noted. Interviewees were also critical of generic, one-size-fits-all trainings, and expressed frustration about being required to take variations of the same training over and over in order to access grant funds. Prior research has documented related criticisms of bootcamps and accelerators among BIPOC publishers. Built-in capacity components are most valuable when they are tailored to an outlet’s specific needs, where they are in their development as an organization and their prior experience with other capacity-building opportunities.
• Funder expectations around scale: Interviewees raised concerns about philanthropy’s strong emphasis on scale, including funder pressure on outlets to “scale up.” This can be seen in grant application questions focused on growth, funder-driven expectations around how outlets should grow to meet community needs and grant eligibility requirements based on budget size. Scale is often equated with impact: a bigger budget means a bigger audience and bigger impact. But interviewees pointed out that this can contradict the purpose of a local news outlet, which is to serve the distinct information needs of a local community. As one person explained, “we’re okay with being small as long as we’re able to sustain our work.” Moreover, interviewees caution that the desire to support models that “work at scale” can lead to “cookie-cutter” approaches that may or may not be relevant to individual communities.

Even for outlets that do want to grow, the pressure to do so can have implications for sustainability. One interviewee observed: “When you start, all the support is around supporting you to grow. More money, more money, more money.” But now that her organization has grown, it takes bigger grants to support operations and yet she’s seeing fewer grant opportunities available to her — unless she is willing to scale to a national level, which is not her goal. Another interviewee emphasized that it takes years to build the internal infrastructure needed to support growth, especially for BIPOC-led and BIPOC-serving outlets that must overcome historical patterns of disinvestment. For this outlet, it was “transformational” to have a funder (in this case, Borealis) whose grantmaking approach and beyond-the-grant support reflected a deep understanding of BIPOC-led outlets and what’s needed to enable sustainable growth.

Looking ahead: What to keep an eye on

As INN continues to track DEI in the nonprofit news sector, it will be important to follow up on (yet more!) questions raised in this research post:

• Is philanthropy’s focus on DEI waning? We heard cautious optimism from interviewees that philanthropy will sustain its focus on DEI — or at least maintain current levels of support for BIPOC-led outlets. One interviewee even wondered whether a recent uptick in language around “transformational funding” might translate into more grants that build sustainability over the long-term through unrestricted, multi-year funding with tailored capacity supports. But interviewees also expressed pessimism about the degree to which philanthropy has shifted towards more equity-centered practices, based on their continued experiences with performative DEI as well as philanthropic norms that reinforce existing systems of power. Interviewees also wondered whether backlash against DEI initiatives and BIPOC-targeted support, playing out in courtrooms, may prompt funders to pull back in the coming years.
• How will the shifting landscape of journalism funders and nonprofit news outlets impact grant opportunities? As INN has documented, the nonprofit news sector continues to expand, both in terms of the number of outlets and the amount of philanthropic funding. At the same time, multiple interviewees underscored how much of a struggle it is to secure foundation grants. They experience fierce competition for funding not just from other news outlets but also from some intermediaries. As Press Forward continues to roll out, they are watching with anticipation to see whether this ambitious philanthropic initiative will help expand funding opportunities — and whether and how equity is reflected in those opportunities.

We look forward to exploring these and other key questions that INN’s members and partners are asking as they work to advance a more diverse, equitable and inclusive nonprofit news sector.

Acknowledgments: We would like to recognize and thank the 370+ INN members who invested significant time and effort to complete the Index surveys. To the seven BIPOC-led outlets who served as interviewees for this research post: we are deeply grateful to you for sharing your valuable expertise and insights.