It feels like almost every week I read about a new media venture sprouting up thanks to grant money from xyz foundation or donors. NPR recently received a $3MM grant from the Corporation for Publication Broadcasting and the Knight Foundation to fund bloggers and curators in 12 cities. There is a long list of recipients that are embarking on online local news ventures, including:
The most recent news comes out of Chicago where a dozen groups have received a total of $500,000 in grant from the Community News Matters program. The list of recipients struck me, not because of WHO they are, but HOW they are planning on using the funds. Many organizations will use the tens of thousands of dollars to cover news in specific neighborhoods and hire/engage bloggers and citizen journalists.
A boost of cash is great but what happens after it’s all spent? Apply for more grant money or is there a viable business model to keep it running? How that initial source of start-up funding will be spent is key. It’d be a shame to hire a bunch of bloggers and curators and then lose them when the money runs out. It’d be disappointing to see the launch of a hyperlocal news site with great community information that can’t update the data on a regular basis when the funds run dry.
I am all for financial support, especially for these types of new media ventures, but the opportunities that the grants provide for need to be seized in a right way that is strategic and sustainable. With the generosity and good will of many of these foundation and donors, combined with the passion and entrepreneurship of these upstarts, we at Outside.in see this as a great opportunity to work with the ventures to help build and execute on an efficient and viable business model. Assuming that these grant recipients are in it for the long haul, we have ideas, products, and tools to help them meet their short-term and long-term goals.
