American Journalism Project
The American Journalism Project is a nonprofit venture philanthropy firm founded in 2019 that incubates and funds nonprofit local news organizations through multi-year grants, venture support, and AI tooling. It has raised $225M+ across three funds to support 50+ newsrooms serving 100+ communities in 36+ states.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What American Journalism Project does
The American Journalism Project (AJP) is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit venture philanthropy organization founded in 2019 by John Thornton and Elizabeth Green. It operates as the first dedicated venture philanthropy firm for local news, identifying markets with information gaps, incubating startup newsrooms through its Startup Studio, and deploying multi-year grant capital to both new and established nonprofit news organizations through three successive funds (Fund I $53M in 2019, Fund II $64M in 2022, Fund III $87M target in 2025), totaling $225M+ in cumulative funding raised.
AJP's core product set spans seven interconnected programs: Startup Studio (incubation from concept to launch), Grantmaking (the three-fund structure), Venture Support (hands-on coaching and business development), Product & AI Studio (AI tooling and field guides for newsrooms, built around an OpenAI partnership), Knight Resiliency Lab (financial/operational resilience launched February 2025), Research & Insights (proprietary community listening and portfolio benchmarking), and Local Philanthropy Partnerships (place-based coalition fundraising). The organization serves two distinct segments: (1) nonprofit local news organizations (50+ portfolio members across 36-37 states) receiving capital, operational support, and AI tooling, and (2) philanthropic and corporate funders (Knight Foundation, OpenAI, Google News Initiative, Emerson Collective-linked foundations) seeking impact-driven investment in local journalism.
AJP does not generate commercial revenue; all operating capital comes from philanthropic contributions, foundation grants, and corporate partnerships. Two-thirds of general philanthropic funding is deployed as grants to portfolio newsrooms. The organization serves as fiscal sponsor to startup newsrooms prior to their independent 501(c)(3) establishment, and its portfolio of grantees generated $160M in collective revenue in 2025 with a 3.3X median growth in team size by grant completion, demonstrating measurable operational outcomes across its deployed capital.
American Journalism Project firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- American Journalism Project
- Legal name
- American Journalism Project
- Website
- https://theajp.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The American Journalism Project is a nonprofit venture philanthropy firm founded in 2019 that incubates and funds nonprofit local news organizations through multi-year grants, venture support, and AI tooling. It has raised $225M+ across three funds to support 50+ newsrooms serving 100+ communities in 36+ states.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
American Journalism Project industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Journalism Venture Philanthropy
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), News Magazine & Investigative Journalism Channels (MPABAIAG)
Keywords
Where American Journalism Project is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
American Journalism Project business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Philanthropic Funding - Individual Donors: Support from individual philanthropists and donors who contribute to the organization's mission to strengthen local journalism.
- Philanthropic Funding - Foundation Grants: Major funding from foundations including Knight Foundation ($25 million investment), with funds allocated across Fund I ($53 million), Fund II ($64 million), and Fund III ($87 million target). Two-thirds of general philanthropic funding is used for grantmaking to nonprofit local news organizations.
- Corporate Partnerships: Support from corporate partners including OpenAI ($5 million contribution and API credits) and Google News Initiative (renewed partnership for audience growth).
- Place-based Philanthropy Partnerships: Project-restricted funds and market-specific research agreements for local philanthropy partnerships and startup incubations. AJP has helped raise over $80 million in direct support for launch and establishment of new organizations.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels8 records
American Journalism Project product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The American Journalism Project is a venture philanthropy organization that identifies, funds, and supports nonprofit local news organizations across the United States. It provides multi-year grants, hands-on venture coaching, operational support, and AI-driven tooling through dedicated programs such as Startup Studio, Grantmaking, Venture Support, Product & AI Studio, Knight Resiliency Lab, Research & Insights, and Local Philanthropy Partnerships to help newsrooms launch, scale, and achieve financial sustainability.
Product overview
The American Journalism Project is a venture philanthropy organization that operates as a unified platform offering multiple interconnected programs to support local news sustainability. Its core offerings include the Startup Studio for incubating new newsrooms, Grantmaking for funding (spanning Fund I through Fund III), Venture Support for operational coaching, Product & AI Studio for technology and AI integration, Knight Resiliency Lab for organizational resilience, Research & Insights for data-driven strategy, and Local Philanthropy Partnerships for community-based fundraising. These programs work together to provide a comprehensive ecosystem supporting the full lifecycle of nonprofit local news organizations from ideation through sustainable operations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Startup Studio An incubation program that helps take nonprofit newsrooms from concept to launch, providing guidance on community partnerships, research, and fundraising to lay the foundation for new local news investments.
- Grantmaking Multi-year grant programs (Fund I, Fund II, Fund III) that provide capital and operational support to nonprofit local news organizations, with disbursements and venture support extending across multi-year periods.
- Venture Support Hands-on advisory and coaching services provided to grantees to help leaders build strong, lasting operations and achieve sustainable growth.
- Product & AI Studio A studio dedicated to helping local news organizations develop AI-powered products and technologies, offering guidance on integrating artificial intelligence into newsroom workflows and creating field guides for AI tools.
- Knight Resiliency Lab A lab launched with Knight Foundation funding to strengthen the financial and operational resilience of local news organizations, helping them thrive and grow over the long term.
- Research & Insights Research initiatives and industry analysis tools that benchmark portfolio growth, measure collective impact, and inform programmatic strategy for local news sustainability.
- Local Philanthropy Partnerships Place-based philanthropy programs that help raise direct support for the launch and establishment of new nonprofit news organizations in local communities.
Quantifiable outcome
- Portfolio organizations generated $160M in revenue in 2025
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use American Journalism Project
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
American Journalism Project technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
American Journalism Project partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered major, significant and core.
- Google News InitiativemajorRenewed partnership to support audience growth for local news organizations. The partnership reflects shared commitment to helping nonprofit local news organizations reach and serve more people.
- Lenfest Institute for JournalismmajorPartner in OpenAI Academy for News Organizations, developed alongside AJP and OpenAI. The academy offers on-demand training, practical use cases for investigative research, translation, data analysis, and production efficiency, alongside open-source resources and responsible AI guidance for newsrooms.
- George W. Bush InstitutesignificantHosted meeting with nonprofit local news organizations, philanthropists, and civic partners to discuss growth and sustainability of local journalism in Texas. Event resulted in $4.3 million in new commitments for Texas newsrooms.
- OpenAIcoreOpenAI partnered with AJP to support local news organizations with a $5 million contribution and API credits for AI deployment. The collaboration aims to enhance journalism and combat misinformation through establishing an AI studio and funding pilot projects. The partnership helps local news organizations utilize AI for deeper data analysis, personalized user experience, and new content formats.
Scale indicators19 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights6 records
American Journalism Project competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lenfest Institute for Journalism: Philanthropy dedicated to local news sustainability, co-founded by H.F. 'Gerry' Lenfest. Lenfest is AJP's most direct peer in the local-news venture-philanthropy space and is already a strategic partner via the OpenAI Academy for News Organizations.
- Report for America / The GroundTruth Project: GroundTruth Project runs Report for America, which places journalists in underserved local newsrooms. It addresses the same local-news sustainability gap as AJP but focuses on reporter placement and corps-style deployment rather than venture investment.
- Institute for Nonprofit News (INN): Industry network and capacity-builder for nonprofit newsrooms. INN's mission of strengthening the nonprofit news ecosystem directly overlaps AJP's portfolio support work; an AJP communications associate previously worked at INN.
- LION Publishers: Trade association supporting local independent online news publishers. LION provides sustainability, revenue, and operational support to a similar SMB-nonprofit newsroom cohort as AJP's grantmaking and venture support work.
- Pulitzer Center: Nonprofit that funds and supports journalism on underreported global and local issues. Pulitzer Center shares AJP's grantmaking-plus-capacity-building model and serves a comparable nonprofit-journalism beneficiary set.
- Solutions Journalism Network: Nonprofit that trains and funds newsrooms in rigorous reporting on responses to social problems. Overlaps with AJP in providing training, funding, and capacity support to local news organizations pursuing civic-impact journalism.
Broad incumbents
- Knight Foundation: The largest U.S. journalism funder (with a $250M+ journalism portfolio) and a direct AJP backer ($25M commitment, Knight Resiliency Lab). Knight is a funder/incumbent in the same space rather than a peer, but its VP of Journalism sits on AJP's board.
- Emerson Collective: Impact organization that invests in media, education, and immigration—owner/investor in The Atlantic and other journalism properties. Emerson Collective's MD of Media (Peter Lattman) is AJP's Vice Chair, and the two share a media-philanthropy orientation though Emerson operates at much larger scale.
Emerging players
- Tow Center for Digital Journalism (Columbia): Research and development center at Columbia Journalism School that studies and supports digital journalism innovation. Adjacent to AJP in mission—strengthening the local-news ecosystem through research and experimentation—though operating from a university rather than as an independent venture philanthropy.
- Chalkbeat: Nonprofit news network covering education policy in local communities. Co-founded by AJP co-founder Elizabeth Green; Chalkbeat exemplifies the AJP model of mission-driven local nonprofit news and could be considered a successful prototype of AJP's portfolio approach.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
American Journalism Project social profiles
Digital presenceAmerican Journalism Project financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
American Journalism Project leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles19 records
American Journalism Project funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
American Journalism Project M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments41 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about American Journalism Project
What does American Journalism Project do?
The American Journalism Project is a venture philanthropy organization that identifies, funds, and supports nonprofit local news organizations across the United States. It provides multi-year grants, hands-on venture coaching, operational support, and AI-driven tooling through dedicated programs such as Startup Studio, Grantmaking, Venture Support, Product & AI Studio, Knight Resiliency Lab, Research & Insights, and Local Philanthropy Partnerships to help newsrooms launch, scale, and achieve financial sustainability.
Is American Journalism Project a public or private company?
American Journalism Project is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was American Journalism Project founded?
American Journalism Project was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is American Journalism Project based?
American Journalism Project is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
How does American Journalism Project make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Philanthropic Funding - Individual Donors are the primary driver. The others are philanthropic Funding - Foundation Grants, corporate Partnerships and place-based Philanthropy Partnerships.
Who are American Journalism Project's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lenfest Institute for Journalism, Report for America / The GroundTruth Project, Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), LION Publishers, Pulitzer Center and Solutions Journalism Network. Broad incumbents are Knight Foundation and Emerson Collective. Emerging players are Tow Center for Digital Journalism (Columbia) and Chalkbeat.
Does American Journalism Project have an API?
No public API is recorded for American Journalism Project.
What industry is American Journalism Project in?
American Journalism Project's product category is Journalism Venture Philanthropy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAF, Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAE, Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries. Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 2741.