Local news outlets in 2025 understand they must “make the case” for the value of their journalism and earn their community’s support every day through their work. Traditional and new types of revenue are essential to sustainability. Philanthropic support has also become a key to long-term sustainability. Local Media Association launched the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding in 2020, with support from Google News Initiative, to help newsrooms make their case for support to both funders and their community.
Earlier this year, in partnership with the Medill Local News Initiative, LMA launched a state cohort of the Lab for Journalism Funding in Illinois. Thirteen newsrooms from across the state were selected for the six-month program, which included one-on-one coaching, biweekly webinars and an in-person convening. In September, the program culminated with a “Pitch Day,” where newsrooms presented their journalism projects to a panel of funder-judges and competed for kickstarter funding grants.
The lessons they learned about making the case for support of local news are relevant to all news outlets who seek community and philanthropic support.
Here are four key takeaways:
Start with listening. Don’t assume you know what your community needs and values from you. Assuming we know is a journalism mistake of the past that news outlets cannot continue. Deep community listening is the foundation for impactful journalism. To be sure, newsrooms are under financial pressure. But the best way to earn community support is to focus on serving and solving community needs.
Go beyond “more reporting.” Newsrooms need more reporting resources. But the best-designed journalism projects do more than “add reporters.” They design for community engagement, they leverage technology and they use new platforms and formats to meet audiences where they are.
Harness the power of partnerships. When it comes to addressing real community challenges, a team approach is often the best way to make an impact. News leaders should think outside of their organization to consider who else in the community is working toward the same outcomes and consider ways to join forces — not only with other news organizations, but also with community groups and individuals who can contribute their skills and expertise. Partnerships often lead to even more community support.
Focus on impact. Local news organizations, especially so-called legacy news outlets, have a remarkable story to tell. That includes their history of impact, a level of earned trust in the community and their sizable audience reach. These are the ingredients that make a news organization a great partner for a funder seeking to achieve meaningful outcomes, together.
Newsrooms in the Illinois cohort of the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding engaged in community listening, developed community network maps, connected with local funders, crafted impact statements and designed reporting projects in response to local needs.
Congratulations to the newsrooms whose philanthropic journalism projects received the top scores from our panel of funder-judges at Pitch Day and received stipends from Local Media Foundation thanks to support from Google News Initiative. A record total of $60,000 in stipends was awarded to the top journalism projects across three state cohorts of the lab. Here are the award-winning presentations from Illinois, along with judges’ comments about what made these journalism projects so worthy of support.
1st place: Borderless Magazine ($12,500)
Project: Democracy tactical unit
Description: In a moment when democracy and immigrant communities are under attack, Borderless Magazine is building the Borderless Democracy Tactical Unit. This team of reporters will cover immigration enforcement, the economy, and policy with depth and humanity. Their goal is simple: give communities the trustworthy journalism they need to stay informed and empowered.
“(The project’s) emphasis on trust and accessibility — especially bilingual reporting and direct community engagement — sets (the) newsroom apart.”
2nd place: The Investigative Project on Race and Equity ($7,500)
Project: Mapping the hidden forces shortening lives in Chicago
Description: An investigation into the systemic forces that shorten the lives of Chicagoans, with a focus on resilience, accountability and the possibility of change.
“…a truly novel way into covering a systemic issue, and invites those most affected by the phenomenon to be experts on their own lived experience. ”
3rd place (tie): Investigate Midwest ($2,500)
Project: Strengthening investigative journalism across the Midwest — Starting in Illinois
“Loved how they laid out the problem and how it touches every household.”
3rd Place (tie): Windy City Times ($2,500)
Project: All stripes, every story: Expanding the BLACKlines and En La Vida newsletters
“This is an SOS moment for serving the LBGTQ community.”
We are grateful to our judges who volunteered their time and valuable feedback at our Illinois Pitch Day. Our judges included: Lauren Ashcraft from Google, John Celestand from Knight x LMA BloomLab, Deborah Douglas from the Medill Midwest Solutions Journalism Hub and Alina Panek from American Journalism Project.
Congratulations to all the newsrooms who completed the Illinois cohort of the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding!
About the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding:
Since 2020, the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding has trained 196 newsrooms in best practices for earning philanthropic support as one way to fund essential local journalism. Alumni of the lab have collectively raised more than $35 million. Thanks to continued support from Google News Initiative, the lab expanded in 2025 to offer three new state cohorts in California, Illinois and New Mexico, in addition to a national cohort funded by Knight Foundation.