Poynter's Top Funding Sources
Independent journalism demands transparent financial reporting.
Last Updated: June 2023
The Poynter Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit global leader in journalism, serving democracy through the teaching, practice, promotion and advocacy of ethical, independent reporting for all. We are the home of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership as well as three fact-checking enterprises — the International Fact-Checking Network, the Pulitzer Prize-winning PolitiFact and MediaWise.
We rely on support from several funding sources who value the essential role of the free press in our society, including corporate partners, philanthropic foundations, government agencies and individual donors. We prize our reputation for teaching and journalistic excellence, developed over more than four decades. To protect that reputation, we retain complete independent control over our editorial content, and teaching programs. Regardless of the funding model, Poynter’s faculty and staff have final authority over our work, as outlined in our Ethics Policy.
While all gifts, no matter the size, help us fulfill our mission, we consider contributions of $50,000 or more as significant funding sources that should be revealed to the public. Sources are organized by area of support and listed alphabetically.
Gifts help advance and preserve journalism’s role in democracy by supporting relevant programs that set the standards for the industry’s future. Together, we are improving the quality of journalism by investing in our programs that strengthen and sustain local news, elevate diverse voices in newsrooms and connect journalists and the citizens they serve.
- Stand Together Fellowships, from the Charles Koch Institute
- Accelerating the careers of emerging journalists through the yearlong Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Fellowship
- Craig Newmark Philanthropies
- Elevating discourse and fact-based expression while battling disinformation and bias at The Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership
- Gannett Foundation
- Transforming the careers of hundreds of women in news media and tech through the Poynter Leadership Academy for Women in Media
- Gill Foundation
- Providing unrestricted support to make good journalism better
- Institute for War and Peace Reporting
- Expanding fact-checking training worldwide with the International Fact-Checking Network, serving more than 20 countries including Tunisia, Chile, Sri Lanka, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Fiji, Pakistan and Myanmar
- John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
- Providing local newsrooms with transformational change consulting
- Lumina Foundation
- Helping journalists tell more impactful stories through topical training
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
- Teaching journalists how to improve jails and policing coverage
- Newton & Rochelle Becker Charitable Trust
- Supporting journalistic excellence in a democratic society
- Rays Baseball Foundation
- Providing sponsorship support at our annual gala for innovative programs that strengthen reporting
- TEGNA Foundation
- Providing access and resources to our high school journalism programs
- The Washington Post
- Training journalists of color working in digital media to thrive, professionally and personally, through the Leadership Academy for Diversity in Media
Organizations hire Poynter to improve their journalism, leadership, ethic, policies and culture and be better positioned to make an impact in today’s complex media landscape. Rather than participating in an off-the-shelf course or program for one or a handful of staffers, Poynter’s training and newsroom consulting clients benefit from our expertise directly in their newsrooms, classrooms and workplaces at-large.
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting
- Teaching senior leaders from public media stations proven strategies to revolutionize their digital operations and culture through the Digital Transformation Program
- National Public Radio
- Partnering through the shared values of truth and public accountability for a unique, two-year contract in which Poynter senior vice president Kelly McBride serves as the NPR Public Editor
- NBC News
- Sharpening newsroom skills through a variety of journalism trainings with Poynter experts
- Newsweek
- Adopting values, standards and practices in pursuit of journalistic excellence to best serve communities
- Penske Media Corporation
- Serving audiences with a commitment to accuracy, independence, collaboration, fairness and transparency
- TEGNA
- Championing diversity, inclusion and representation in its newsrooms and coverage
- The Washington Post
- Developing their leaders through senior-level workshops
- Voice of America – Broadcasting Board of Governors
- Assessing bias and improving their reporting structure with help from Poynter journalism ethics expertise
Support empowers Poynter to be a practitioner and thought leader in accountability journalism. Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network unites fact-checkers around the world through best practices and exchanges in the field. The Pulitzer Prize-winning PolitiFact rates the accuracy and claims of elected officials to help citizens navigate the country’s political landscape. MediaWise is a digital media literacy initiative designed to equip everyone from teenagers to senior citizens with the skills they need to tell fact from fiction online.
- AARP
- Helping senior citizens become more critical consumers of online information with MediaWise
- Democracy Fund
- Granting PolitiFact unrestricted support to sort out the truth in American politics
- Google News Initiative
- Enabling MediaWise and PolitiFact to launch independent media literacy and fact-checking initiatives
- Collaborating with the International Fact-Checking Network to help fact-checkers uphold the principles of truth and transparency in their verification efforts
- Meta
- Helping MediaWise and PolitiFact in the fight against mis- and disinformation to help people sort fact from fiction online
- Empowering the International Fact-Checking Network to support fact-checkers, climate organizations and solution providers working to combat false and misleading information about the environment
- Enabling the International Fact-Checking Network to foster mentoring partnerships between seasoned professionals and fact-checking organizations worldwide
- Microsoft
- Providing sponsorship support for a fact-checking event hosted by PolitiFact
- National Endowment for Democracy
- Uniting fact-checkers worldwide through initiatives like GlobalFact, the largest summit for fact-checking
- Omidyar Network | Luminate
- Uniting fact-checkers worldwide through initiatives like GlobalFact, the largest summit for fact-checking
- TikTok
- Contracting with Poynter to assess the reliability of videos recommended for TikTok’s STEM feed, and with PolitiFact to review TikTok videos for accuracy
- Sponsoring the International Fact-Checking Network’s GlobalFact conference
- WhatsApp
- Empowering the fact-checking community with the latest tools and resources they need to verify news
- Supporting fact-checkers to launch, innovate and scale fact-checking solutions that fight misinformation on WhatsApp