Media Impact Funders

02/01/2023

Since 2020, Perspective Fund has been gathering current and recent grantees whose work serves as the backbone of the documentary impact field. These grantees, all focused on strengthening and innovating different aspects of the documentary impact ecosystem, participated in these gatherings not only....

06/10/2021

🎙️Calling all those working at the intersection of media & philanthropy: In our final Media Impact Forum session on June 16, we'll explore the role of media in supporting a healthy democracy. 🇺🇸

Here's why this session is relevant to you, regardless of what you fund:

*Everything* philanthropy funds—from the environment to education to the arts & beyond—depends on the free flow of accurate, quality news we need to run our government and our lives.

But this past year has laid bare just how fragile public trust is in news & information sources. We may be weary & worn from battling COVID-19, but there’s another sickness that’s been spreading across America for at least the last 4 years: Authoritarianism.

On Jan. 6, we survived a malicious attempt to undermine American democracy. We’ve come to the unfortunate & stark realization that democracy can die in darkness.

But media can light the way. Philanthropy can help.

Philanthropy can play a significant role in the health of our democracy by supporting the flow of evidence-based media & communications. We can't expect informed dialogue/progress on social issues without agreeing on a shared set of facts.

This high-level discussion will demonstrate why it’s important for philanthropy to engage deeply in support of the media ecosystem through journalism, documentaries, public media & more.

Please join us for a discussion w/ Lenfest Institute for Journalism Jay Rosen Inspirit Foundation Family Pictures USA Thomas Allen Harris Libra Foundation Alaphia Zoyab on June 16 exploring democracy, media & where we go from here: https://bit.ly/3rpABB8

06/26/2020

Our 2020 Media Impact Forum focusing on philanthropy, media and the environment has come to a close, but the work is far from over. Funders recognize the need for more and better news coverage of climate change, but greater philanthropic support for media and journalism that addresses environmental and public health issues is critical at this time.

Find recordings of all six sessions, transcripts, resources & more:

This is where you’ll find recaps of each our Media Impact Forum sessions, happening Tuesdays and Thursdays through June 25. This year’s Media Impact Forum is paying specific attention to environmental media and the need for our decisions to be centered around protecting our planet and its nat....

06/23/2020

FUNDERS: Join us TODAY at 1 p.m. ET as we take a more emotional turn for our next session exploring our complicated and fragile relationship with the planet.

Details and registration: https://mediaimpactfunders.org/events/the-2020-media-impact-forum/

We have a truly dynamic lineup of speakers slated for today, including:

*National Geographic photographer Pete Muller, whose work explores "solastalgia"—the word for the emotional distress people feel when they lose their home environment.

*Climate activists and storytellers Vic Barrett and Michael Premo, whose climate activism was ignited after the devastating impact of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

*Investigative reporter Ian Urbina, whose book, The Outlaw Ocean, documents the lawlessness of the sea—smugglers, traffickers, pirates, poachers & polluters.

MIF board members Kaitlyn Yarnall, Chief Storytelling Officer for Nat Geo, and Tim Isgitt, Managing Director of Humanity United, will lead us in a dialogue with these fantastic climate warriors.

Alliance for Climate Education Storyline Humanity United Ian Urbina

03/26/2020

Over the past decade, philanthropy has increased contributions to support journalism, in response to a deep downturn in a news industry marked by the loss of thousands of reporters and the shrinking and shuttering of hundreds of local newspapers. Now, in the face of a growing health crisis, it is becoming increasingly clear that support for local journalism is critical to the health and safety of Americans.

MIF Executive Director Vincent Stehle on the importance of taking stock of philanthropy's investments in local news, at a time when Americans need it the most. https://bit.ly/2UESpcE

12/06/2019

For years, Anna Sale worked as a political journalist for WYNC. But turmoil in the industry led her down a different path: as creator and host of the podcast "Death, S*x & Money," which aims to open up our ears and hearts to life's most difficult questions.

As part of our annual journalism funders gathering, held this year in San Francisco, we invited Sale to join us for dinner at Public House (inside of Giants stadium) to say a few words about the things we “think about a lot, and need to talk about more.”

11/19/2019

We’ve come a long way since 2001, when a small handful of journalism funders got together to compare notes.

Last month, we convened more than 100 funders for our annual Journalism Funders Gathering—the largest gathering to date—in San Francisco to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing journalism today. We came together for two days of conversations about funder collaborations, supporting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in journalism, strategies to combat news deserts, and much more.

Read our highlights from the meeting:

This post was updated on Nov. 18, 2019. We’ve come a long way since 2001, when a handful of journalism funders got together to compare notes. (We’re looking at you, Jon Funabiki, Vivian Vahlberg and Eric Newton!) Last week, we convened more than 100 funders for our annual gathering to discuss so...

11/04/2019

Every year Sundance opens an application for short documentary films; each year the parameters for the applicants change. In 2018, we supported short documentaries by Indigenous filmmakers. In 2019, we are supp...

10/17/2019

As funders grapple with how to support efforts to combat the climate crisis, The Game Changers offers a refreshing take on an increasingly urgent question that people everywhere are struggling to answer: What can *I* do about climate change?

Newly released on Netflix, the film, directed by Academy Award winner Louie Psihoyos and executive produced by
James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan and others, seeks to prove that everything we’ve been told about meat and protein has been a big, fat, juicy, grass-fed lie.

The film—now the best-selling documentary of all time on iTunes—is narrated by James Wilks, a former MMA fighter who goes looking for answers after suffering extensive injuries in the Octagon. He finds them in veganism, and throughout the film uses the experiences of elite vegan athletes to deconstruct one of our most deeply held beliefs: that we cannot live—nor be physically strong—without meat-based protein.

MIF caught up with a couple of the film’s co-producers to talk about the film and the potential impact a documentary about nutrition can have on the climate conversation: https://bit.ly/2OSOjMM

10/01/2019

SIMA Studios is a global curator of social impact media with multiple arms: SIMA Awards, which honor high-quality social impact media across the globe; SIMA X, a community film screening and distribution initiative; and SIMA Classroom, an educational program designed to “provide first-class visual...