2021 was a transformational year in our organization’s history. The global pandemic forced us to engage in new and different ways, and we learned a lot in the process.
From transforming our own business through new funding sources to helping local media companies with their long-term sustainability goals, it was a year of great progress and success.
Our revenue in 2021 exceeded $6.4 million vs. a budget of $3.5 million. We have budgeted nearly $9 million for 2022.
Our four pillars continue to serve us and the industry well. Here are the highlights:
- Sustainability for publishers of color: Word In Black now has more than $2 million in funding, more than 30,000 newsletter subscribers and a staff of seven.
- Journalism funded by philanthropy: our first cohort of 16 publishers raised more than $5 million for journalism projects during their time in the lab.
- Business transformation: Participants in the Meta Branded Content Project, managed by LMA and the Local Media Consortium, sold more than $50 million in branded content since inception.
- Industry collaboration: In addition to the six we launched from scratch (including News Is Out: A Queer Media Collaborative), we are now taking on management of several others. In total, the seven groups have raised more than $3.5 million.
We’re proud to share this Impact Report and excited about our plans for 2022. We hope you will find ways to engage, partner and work with us as we remain intensely focused on reinventing business models for news.
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