The American Press Institute has awarded eight news organizations with $5,000 grants to evolve or iterate upon current revenue experiments.
Through its 2025 Revenue Experiments Learning Cohort, API will support the eight local and community news organizations — all alumni of the U.S.-based Table Stakes Local News Transformation Program — with peer-learning calls to help them clarify their experiments, share ideas, and define effective tactics and strategies.
“The Table Stakes program and API share the goal of supporting a culture of experimentation in news organizations. These grants will mitigate the risk of exploring new avenues of revenue for these eight organizations, and the lessons they learn will benefit the industry more widely,” said Emily Ristow, API’s Director of Journalism Strategy.
The Table Stakes Local News Transformation Program advances innovations in local journalism through intensive change-management training for news leaders. API manages a network of more than 200 Table Stakes alumni organizations, helping journalists and news leaders stay current on best practices from across the industry.
The American Press Institute helps media and journalism leaders by conducting research and developing programs and products to build successful, healthy news organizations. Revenue growth is one of API’s main areas of focus as we work to provide the tools and resources news organizations need to think creatively and achieve overall wellness.
The 2025 Revenue Experiments Learning Cohort and grants are funded by The Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2025 GRANTEES:
The Atlanta Voice (Georgia) will create “Legacy of Legends,” a campaign that pays tribute to the achievements of African American entrepreneurs and enterprises in the city. The funding will support outreach to advertisers and sponsors, developing marketing materials and technology to support multi-platform coverage.
Bangor Daily News (Maine) will launch a premium newsletter focused on Maine politics. The grant will fund the product launch, including branding, an in-person event and paid social promotional advertising for the product.
Boise State Public Radio (Idaho) will experiment with outside paid marketing for its podcasts, which aim to attract younger audiences than its broadcast stations. The station will pair this marketing with the launch of new donor platforms preferred by younger audiences.
Henrico Citizen (Virginia) will re-introduce Henrico Restaurant Week in Henrico County, an event the publication created in 2015 and hosted for four years before ending it in 2018. The funding will be used for marketing to sponsors, restaurants and community members, and for event materials for the first of two restaurant weeks in 2025.
LAist (California) will create on-article payment tools and implement an A/B testing platform to evaluate language, page position and form options that allow supporters to donate directly from an article page using instant pay methods such as Apple Pay, PayPal and Google Pay.
The News Reporter (North Carolina) will create a three-camera studio in its offices to expand its ability to produce quality video content of interest to its audiences and paid sponsors. These videos will create new opportunities for digital sponsorships and advertising and improve civic infrastructure by allowing long-form conversations with key community stakeholders.
The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah) will launch a new sponsored event franchise. The funding will support refining the creative concept around the Tribune’s first event franchise, launch the franchise with a pilot event, and then develop the pitch materials necessary to secure long-term sponsorship.
QCity Metro (North Carolina) will install small TV screens in local restaurants, shops and stores throughout Charlotte’s University City neighborhood. These TVs will display QCity Metro’s current news content and advertising.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN PRESS INSTITUTE
The American Press Institute supports local and community-based media through research, programs and products that foster healthy, responsive and resilient news organizations. API envisions an inclusive democracy and society, where communities have the news and information they need to make decisions and thrive. API is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization affiliated with the News/Media Alliance.
ABOUT THE KNIGHT-LENFEST LOCAL NEWS TRANSFORMATION FUND
With a focus on sustainability and equity, The Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund was designed to strengthen local journalism at scale, by supporting journalistic excellence and serving the information needs of communities. The Knight-Lenfest Fund collaborated with news organizations, leaders and communities to grow capacity and meet journalism’s technology, business and audience realities of the future. It believes that journalism is at its best when it is of service. The Knight-Lenfest Fund was a joint venture of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism.
