The do’s and no-no’s of foundation funding
Molly de Aguiar, Democracy Fund’s Local News Lab,Local News Lab is one of the ways Democracy Fund introduces the kind of transparency it advocates for in philanthropy and this piece from that project spells out the rules of engagement for foundation pitches.
This article is a quick, but thorough, outline of the do’s, the “no-no’s” and the elements of foundation funding that are beyond a news organization’s control. The piece is a must-read for news organizations beginning to pitch reporting projects and ambitious, collaborative experiments.
Ask yourself what unique value or idea or way of doing your work that you have to offer. Or what gap you are proposing to fill. Also, how is your work impacting the ecosystem within which you operate? That is, how well connected are you to other organizations, businesses and individuals, such that a grant to you would have a powerful impact on them as well?