Philanthropic funding describes the funding of single journalistic investigations, series of publications on distinct issues such as local consequences of globalisation or the running costs of a media outlet for a given time through a non-profit organisation such as foundations or state actors. Due to shrinking media revenue streams and risen interest of non-profit institutions to fund (accountability) journalism, even established media outlets have allowed foundations, journalism funds and the like to finance parts of their reporting.
Experts’ view of this trend are often sceptical as the funding by non-profit institutions cannot serve as a sustainable long-term funding model, the reputation of a donor might compromise the credibility of a media outlet, and conflicts about the goals of such a collaboration might arise between the donor and the journalists. However, given the dire financial state of the media, philanthropic funding has developed as one of the main income streams for collaborative and cross-border journalism projects.
Among them are long-term projects like the British Bureau Local, which strives to support small media outlets doing more in-depth local reporting, and short-term funding such as those for cross-border collaborations by Reporters in the Field or the European Cross-Border Grants by journalismfund.eu. Researchers and journalists alike underline that it is crucial to discuss within the whole team about the acceptance of such funding beforehand, have all parties agree to editorial independence, and be transparent about all sources of income to your audiences.
