ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (September 21, 2026) — Amid a growing movement for national and local philanthropies to support local news, the Poynter Institute has launched its first online course aimed at news funders, to help them protect journalistic independence while boosting newsrooms.
The free online course, “ Ethically Funding Local News: A Practical Course
,” aims to introduce new and prospective local news funders to the ethical “rules of the road” that journalists and funders must follow, and to help them think through why and how to effectively support journalism in their communities.
Developed by Poynter faculty member Megan Griffith-Greene, supported by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
with help from Press Forward
, the course allows funders to hear from journalists, ethicists and other funders who have successfully supported local news organizations.
“We are doing this because we want to help make funding journalism make sense to more funders. We want funders to have the information and context about the industry so they are confident about including journalism among the causes they fund to support strong communities,” Griffith-Greene said.
Philanthropic funding of local newsrooms is not new, but it has been a growing revenue source for many news organizations in recent years. And the creation in 2023 of Press Forward, a nationwide initiative to strengthen communities through local news, has generated even more attention to the needs of local news organizations.
The impetus for the course came from Knight Foundation, an anchor funder of Press Forward. Knight has invested more than $300 million to support journalism in the last three years alone.
“As the field of local news philanthropy grows, there is a need for practical guidance and guardrails on how to do this work well,” said Amalie Nash, vice president of journalism at Knight. “Knight saw an opportunity to help meet that need at an important moment: giving funders a clear foundation for building trusted relationships with news organizations, understanding the distinctive ethics of journalism and protecting editorial independence. We believe this guidance will help funders invest in local news in ways that strengthen journalism and the communities it serves.”
Caroline Merenda, director of chapter advancement for Press Forward, noted the value that funders nationwide can play in strengthening local news.
“This course gives funders who are new to the work a practical framework on how to build relationships with news outlets and navigate unfamiliar terrain, including how to invest in newsrooms while protecting editorial independence and how to be the kind of funding partner newsrooms actually need,” Merenda said.
“This course was created from Poynter’s deep understanding of the news industry and what newsrooms need to thrive,” Griffith-Greene said. “Our work with funders and funding organizations lets us understand the pain points that exist in those organizations that prevent them from supporting local news.”
Among the issues that funders may need more information on is the importance of editorial independence among news organizations and an arm’s length relationship that may be different
from other partnerships the funders have.
The course, which takes about 90 minutes to two hours to complete, allows funders to work at their own pace. It includes completing a workbook for funders to apply lessons in their own organizations and identify actionable next steps they can take in their communities.
The primary audience is funders who are new to local news, Griffith-Greene said, although “we think there’s value for funders who want to deepen their understanding of the industry or strengthen or expand their strategies for supporting local news organizations.”
Along with questions about the ethical rules of journalism, some funders feel journalism is outside their focus, fear reputational risk in a highly polarized information environment or are uncertain how to measure direct impact when funding local news. Enrollees in the Poynter course get a grounding in the basics of articulating the value of local news and how it serves communities to their organizations, stakeholders and governing boards.
Poynter’s course features contributors from organizations including Rebuild Local News, Appalachia Funders Network / Press Forward Central Appalachia, The Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation, The Henry M. Jackson Foundation and others.
In addition to the free course, Poynter has other resources for funders and prospective funders of local news, including additional free toolkits
. Poynter also offers coaching, consulting and workshops to support funders
doing this work.
“Our interest here is supporting strong communities,” Griffith-Greene said. “We are trying to make it easier for people to make initial investments in local news that are meaningful for the community and successful for both the community and funder.”
Media Contact
Jennifer Orsi
Vice President, Publishing and Local News Initiatives
Poynter Institute
About the Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute is a global nonprofit working to address society’s most pressing issues by teaching journalists and journalism, covering the media and the complexities facing the industry, convening and community building, improving the capacity and sustainability of news organizations and fostering trust and reliability of information. The Institute is the gold standard in journalistic excellence and dedicated to the preservation and advancement of press freedom in democracies worldwide. Through Poynter, journalists, newsrooms, businesses, big tech corporations and citizens convene to find solutions that promote trust and transparency in news and stoke meaningful public discourse. The world’s top journalists and emerging media leaders rely on the Institute to learn new skills, adopt best practices, better serve audiences, scale operations and improve the quality of the universally shared information ecosystem.
The Newmark Ethics Center, the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), MediaWise and PolitiFact are all members of the Poynter organization.
Support for Poynter and our entities upholds the integrity of the free press and the U.S. First Amendment and builds public confidence in journalism and media — an essential for healthy democracies. Learn more at poynter.org
.