Membership Puzzle Project and Media Development Investment Fund today announced the reopening of the Membership in News Fund, a global fund to catalyze membership design in newsrooms around the world.
Funded by Luminate, the Membership in News Fund will provide grants and know-how to select independent media seeking to implement a membership model. The fund totals $400,000 and will support no more than 15 membership projects with a maximum award of $40,000 per proposal in countries in Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America (the U.S. and Western Europe are out of scope).
The aim is to help news organizations build strong and flexible relationships with their audience members that can drive greater sustainability and impact – and help expand the journalism field’s understanding of what works.
Membership Puzzle Project first launched the Membership in News Fund in 2018. The $700,000 fund supported 23 membership experiments in 13 countries with grants between $10,000 and $60,000 each. Grant recipients received funding, targeted coaching, and an opportunity to join a global community of practice built around membership.
Eligibility criteria and further information on the fund can be found on the Membership Puzzle Project website. The deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. ET, November 6, 2020.