So you want to fund creator-model journalism, but don't know where to start?

Pro tip: Make sure to scroll 📜 all the way through today. There is A LOT below the fold. ⬇️ 

Last Tuesday, I spent the day in Philadelphia at the Media Impact Forum. It was my first time at this gathering of philanthropies large and small, all united by their interest in, umm, supporting media. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the day turned out to be a rich mix of presentations from not-the-usual-journalism-conference-panelists. In fact, the theme of the day was influencers and creators and helping the attendees understand how media has changed so dramatically in the past few years.

Social Currant’s Ashwath Narayan showcased his work building pro-social influencer networks. Code for Africa’s Justin Arenstein shared work he did with ICFJ – a crucial study about how younger consumers discover, then metabolize news and information (see the pic below). Protagonist’s Rita Parhad and Sydney Apple unpacked their study into how the right and left differ in their approaches to shaping public opinion. Science Friday’s Flora Lichtman detailed her show’s success in building trust with their audience.

In the afternoon, I moderated a panel discussion with Trusting News’ Joy Mayer, Lehigh Daily founder Jai Smith and Technical.ly co-founder Chris Wink. And while I like to think our discussion about creator-model journalism was revelatory, it was the Q&A at the end where Joy asked the funders in our audience what the biggest challenges were for them – what blockers did they need to overcome? – to support creator-model journalism that was the most interesting and useful part of the day.

Three themes quickly rose to the top as their biggest blockers:

1. Most creator-model journalists are not non-profits, so it’s difficult for funders to give directly.

2. How do they even find them? (Example: If you’re a funder who concentrates giving on climate news, how do you find the right climate-focused independent newsletter writers, TikTokers or YouTube creators to fund?)

3. Without the imprimatur of a “trusted news brand,” how can they know the creator journalists they work with are credible and not spreading mis- or dis-information – or just pumping AI slop out into the world?

These are not insignificant hurdles, but today I’m offering some advice to funders on how to quickly move past these blockers to get their funds into the right hands and supporting independent journalists who will benefit greatly from their support.

Blocker 1: Most creator-model journalists are not non-profits

Solution: Fiscal sponsors. I was talking to my friend Meg after the conference and, in her usual no bullshit way, she knocked this one down in a nanosecond: “If someone wants to give me money, I’m going to figure out a way to take it.” Then, she added: “Duh, fiscal sponsorship.” It’s as easy as that. It’s the same way Vox, and many other highly-capitalized for-profit media companies, are able to accept grants for reporting projects. You find another non-profit willing to act as a pass-through for the funds.

Fiscal sponsorship lets you use another nonprofit’s legal and tax-exempt status to receive grants and donations, without setting up your own 501(c)(3). Think of it like renting their nonprofit umbrella while you focus on your mission. The grantor gives the money to the fiscal sponsor, who’s responsible for receiving and managing the funds. The sponsor then passes the money along to you (usually minus a small fee), while making sure it’s spent according to the grant’s terms and IRS rules.

Luckily for us, there are lots of good options in the journalism space with nonprofits willing to act as fiscal sponsors. Last week, I posted a query on LinkedIn, asking any non-profits who were willing to act as fiscal sponsors for indie creator journalists to raise their hands, and wow - did they come through.

Lion’s Chris Krewson also sent me this handy guide to help vet the right fiscal sponsor for you.

Blocker 2: How do you even find them?

Solutions: Ask someone who would know, but also, we need a better way. Okay, so because I am a nerd 🤓, discoverability is something that has kept me up at night more than once. First, the workaround, then some thoughts on a durable, extensible solution.

• The workaround: Ask someone who would know. If you’re a funder looking to support projects that center on public health, for instance, ask a journalist who covers this beat or someone else working in the public health space. Chances are they know exactly who is out there working independently and can get you started on the journey into the indie ecosystem. Before you know it you’ll have a list of people like Your Local Epidemiologist’s Katelyn Jetelina and more, who have made huge strides in becoming trusted news sources.

• The durable solution: A database. Later this month, Project C is publishing our first list of the Top Creator Journalists working today. The list will highlight between 50-100 creators you should be following, or at least know about. But that barely scratches the surface of an exploding world where Substack boasts hosting 50,000 writers. What’s needed is a vetted, constantly updating database of creator-model journalists that can help us start to get a true sense of this universe and allow funders, newsrooms, consumers, advertisers and grantors to search based on criteria like topic, region, identity, business model, credibility signals. This is work Project C is eager to do and if any potential funders are out there reading this and want to fund this work, I will - as Meg suggested above - find a way to take your money! E-mail me at [email protected].

Blocker 3: How do we know they’re credible?

Solution: Selection criteria. This isn’t as easy a fix as the first two. How is credibility defined? Is it, as the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics stipulates, something that should center balance and impartiality? That’s tough in a world where audiences largely don’t believe news organizations are impartial and increasingly seek out sources that are transparent about where they stand on a given issue. But there are a few options that can get funders to a level of comfort with a given creator, all of which center on measuring each creator against a set of selection criteria.

Selection criteria are the key things you’re looking for when deciding between options — like a checklist to help you pick the best fit.

• Create your own: Your checklist may include things like “has as posted ethics policy” or “shows how they report their stories” or “doesn’t accept advertising from fossil fuel companies.” Pull the characteristics that suit you from SPJ’s, or better yet, use this API checklist developed by Trusting News’ Mollie Muchna, and weigh any creators you support against that list.

• Draft on someone else’s: I mentioned above that Project C is building a list of trusted creator-model journalists, but I’m not the only one. Organizations like Tiny News Collective or Video Consortium have already done the work of evaluating the independent journalists among their membership.

• Ask an expert: Reach out to Joy Mayer and her team at Trusting News for help evaluating a creator or defining your own selection criteria.

If you have more thoughts on how to get around these blockers, add in the comments or slide into my DMs on Bluesky or LinkedIn.

the latest

• The Washington Post is in talks to host Substack writers, potentially making good on The Post’s plan to diversify their Opinion content. But also, Substack wants The Post to send its writers to their platform?

• Can the left mint a “liberal Joe Rogan” and an ecosystem of left-leaning indie news influencers to rival the right’s?, asks Michael Hirschorn in a NYT Op-ed. Maybe it’ll happen in gaming communities, where deep connection and conversations about politics and culture are happening 24-7, write Sijal Nasralla and Josh Kramer for New Public.

• Social media creators – especially right-leaning creators – outnumbered traditional media outlets at last week’s Los Angeles immigration raid protests, per the NYT.

• Cleo Abram (who just reached 6 million YouTube followers) is proud to call herself a journalist and a creator. Just don’t call her late for dinner. (Yes, I’m preemptively groaning at that joke.)

• Marc Elias (💲) talks to Oliver Darcy about the evolution of Democracy Docket and how a membership program funded the next step in that evolution: a full-blown newsroom.

• Brian Morrissey weighs in on what he terms a false dichotomy between independent and institutional media since, he says, “independent media will professionalize on a presentation layer.”

• YouTube’s creator ecosystem contributed $55 billion to the U.S. GDP in 2024, per a new study. Which dovetails nicely with this Business Insider piece (💲) about how 2025 is the year creator platforms will drive more ad revenue than old media.

• How do we map what counts as local news as sources and trusted messengers continue to expand? Sarah Stonbely writes about work underway to do just that in Charlotte, N.C.

• Two members of Congress are launching a creator caucus, supported by YouTube and Patreon, to ensure creators’ voices are “heard throughout the policy-making process.”

• Detroit One Million’s Sam Robinson is linking up with Michigan Chronicle on election coverage. If I tagged content here, I would tag this one “cool partnerships.”

  

know things

• To build an audience on Substack publish interesting things consistently, writes Sustainability by Numbers’ Hannah Ritchie in a candid peek at her audience and revenue stats.

• Instagram added a new teleprompter tool to its video editing app, Edits.

What’s coming up at Project C

Lex and I have been adding more activities to the Creator Journalist Bundle (along with some cool sessions open to everyone.) Here’s a peek at what’s coming up in the next month or so:

Tuesday, June 17 | Automate your marketing with Zapier: let’s take some marketing work off your plate with little robots. (Bundle members only)

Monday, June 23 | Your next milestone: goal setting with your fellow ambitious newsletter writers. (Everyone)

Thursday, June 26 | Getting readers to take action with Outpost: Featuring the team from Outpost demoing their new smart call to action feature release. (Everyone)

Thursday, July 10-Friday, July 11 | SRCCON: Journalism, tech and internet culture conference. Lex and I are facilitating a session as is Matt Kiser – and Andy Dehnart’s coming, too. Ben Reininga and Amanda Yarnell are also leading what sounds like a fascinating creator-journo-focused session. Join us all in Minneapolis.

July Sprint | Winback campaigns. You’ve had subscribers cancel. How many can you win back? More details on this coming very soon!

Revenue Lab is underway. Lex is looking at the impact of race and identity on revenue growth (following up on their survey) and running some experiments this summer to break through these barriers. Lex convened a group that had their first meeting last week and they’re meeting again July 1. If you’re a journalist whose racial identity could be impacting your revenue, let Lex know if you’d like to join the conversation!

Join the Creator Journalist Bundle to get access to all of the events above, the THRIVING Project C Slack community and the just-dropped guide to competitive set research. 🚀