Research + Consulting

Our innovative, three-step model is uniquely effective:

    • Visit communities in person and ask people who they trust for news and information.
    • Get to know trusted publishers, vet them for journalistic values, and assess their needs.
    • Identify big-picture trends and individual potential grantees in an actionable analytic report.
Funders Trust THE PIVOT FUND FOR

News Landscape Analysis

We’ve performed custom news landscape research analysis in several U.S. states on behalf of state and national funders.

Our research positions you to:

  • Discover news outlets trusted by local communities
  • Develop an effective, inclusive grantmaking strategy
  • Translate high-level strategy into grassroots impact
Asian man and woman in a green room with cameras for news filming
3Hmong TV in-studio community news segment

Grantmaking Strategy + Administration

In addition to direct grantmaking, The Pivot Fund contracts with funders to help them design and execute their own grassroots funding strategies. We also perform feasibility studies and evaluate impact.

Our consulting positions you to:

  • Identify potential grantees who are trusted by their communities
  • Vet potential grantees for shared journalistic values
  • Implement funding strategies, building on trusted relationships
Diverse staff members discuss news around a conference table in a lively newsroom office
Kimberly Griffin speaking at a Mississippi Free Press staff meeting. Photo courtesy of Imani Khayyam.

Support for Local News Entrepreneurs

We aim to provide fiscal sponsorship at scale to for-profit grantees, opening the door for nonprofit funding. We also provide culturally competent wraparound services to help local publishers succeed.

We support you through:

  • Fiscal sponsorship
  • Connections to funding and a wider network of relationships
  • Training in revenue, technology, and audience strategies
Black woman in yellow baseball cap smiles as she takes a photo of another Black woman smiling and holding a copy of Baltimore Beat newspaper.
Baltimore Beat Lexington Market Workshop. Photo courtesy of Myles Michelin.

Recent Reports

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Minnesota Community News Landscape Today REPORTS

Minnesota Community News Landscape Today

Georgia News Landscape Analysis REPORTS

Georgia News Landscape Analysis

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Explore how each of our focus areas supports the other two.