The decrease of traditional advertising has led to the importance of philanthropic funding, especially in journalism. The departments of advertising have the rules and regulations governing them set laid out. However, the role played by nonprofit funding and traditional commercial partnership outlets is still uncertain. Some of the essential rules nonprofit media funders and the receivers of the fund need to know include:
1) Establish Clear Policies
Reports show that nonprofit journalism funds subject the media to vulnerabilities that cause a political trust climate for the press. Funders need to state their terms of offering a certain fund specifically. For instance, New York Tv station, in 2014, gave back a grant worth $3.5 million to Laura and John Arnold Foundation since the grant received critic that the funders’ interests corrupted the series on pension funds. Therefore, donors should write down their established policies and demands for the media to practice editorial independence, communication, and transparency.
2) Request for Smaller Grants
Most organizations known to have a large pool of resources are a perfect fit for offering grants. They, however, say no, to most people who approach them with bigger grants demands. The secret to accessing the best grants from them is seeking donations worth a large sum of money but limiting the number of requests.
3) Inform the Public
It is not the duty of the media to disclose information about their funders. Funders are the ones who should inform the public why they are funding a particular media. They should also be transparent enough and tell them their motives for funding journalism and their benefits through the process.
4) Grantees Should Agree on The Metrics to Measure Success
The of this particular rule is to avoid future conflicts. The agreed-upon steps should not change unless a discussion between the two parties occurs and they decide on a new way to measure success.
The key to avoiding future problems in journalism funding is by practicing transparency between the donors and the grantees on the demand each party should meet. Both parties can also formulate their own rules as long as they agree and document them as evidence. The future can’t be good without adequate funding for non-profit journalism.