Local Media Association Launches Advanced Fundraising Lab

The Local Media Association has introduced its Advanced Fundraising Lab, which will support a cohort of local news organizations as they turn early funding wins into a long-term, sustainable strategy for supporting essential journalism through philanthropy.

The advanced lab will build on the lessons and success of 36 newsrooms that have been through two cohorts of the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding, raising collectively more than $7.5 million since September 2020 to fund local journalism projects. LMA published a free 42-page industry report, Pathways to Philanthropy, to capture and share these learnings.

For the Advanced Fundraising Lab, an initial cohort of up to 10 publishers with a track record of both community service journalism and fundraising success will be invited to be part of the three-month group-learning experience. News organizations will receive training and one-on-one coaching from category experts in sustainable philanthropy strategy, and share learnings with each other.

The LMA Advanced Fundraising Lab is free to publishers, thanks to continued support from the Google News Initiative.

Applications are open now and participants will be accepted on a rolling basis until the lab is full, or by June 1. To be considered for the lab, complete this application.