Philanthropy & Nonprofit Accountability Fellowship

Job Description

The Chronicle of Philanthropy, a nonprofit news organization that covers charities, foundations, and others involved in advancing the social good, offers fellowships to four local newsrooms each year to help them better cover philanthropy in their communities. Our goal is to give local news organizations access to the tools and training they need to write powerful stories that examine the role of nonprofits and foundations in their communities and attract and engage more readers.

Fellows work closely with reporters in our newsroom to develop, report, and publish articles about the people and organizations in their regions that are trying to solve pressing problems. They will also have opportunities to learn from our partners at the Associated Press, which doubled the size of its philanthropy team through a joint grant from the Lilly Endowment that benefits the Chronicle, AP, and The Conversation and which funds this fellowship program.

Each of the four news organizations we select for the fellowship will receive $30,000 to enhance their coverage of nonprofits.

Americans give about $550 billion a year to nonprofits, which, along with foundations and other philanthropic organizations, hold trillions of dollars in assets. Grant makers such as the Gates and Ford foundations; charities like United Way Worldwide and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund; private colleges such as Howard and Stanford universities; hospitals like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Mayo Clinic; and advocacy groups like the American Civil Liberties Union are all part of the charitable sector. Nonprofits provide vital services in every community — housing and food to those who need it, after-school programs, and services for victims of domestic violence. They also are responsible for breakthroughs in technology and public health and can drive public policy debates. One out of every 11 Americans works for a nonprofit.

Despite the influential and often indispensable role these groups play in society, and the vast amounts of money supporters give them, they operate with little scrutiny. The news media has an opportunity to change that.

Not only can reporting on nonprofits provide a valuable public service to a community but by bolstering coverage of nonprofits, news organization can better engage their audiences. Research by the American Journalism Project shows that Americans are eager for more news about problem solving in their communities — and they are seeking ways to engage with organizations that do such work. Nonprofits and foundations are often at the center of the issues and solutions that audiences most want to learn more about, so it’s essential to include them in coverage.
We are encouraging news organizations to submit proposals for stories and projects that:

• Examine whether charities and foundations are making a difference on important problems facing the communities that news organizations serve.
• Advance the understanding of nonprofits and charitable giving among citizens, entrepreneurs, business executives, government officials, policymakers, and others.
• Deepen the understanding of nonprofits and philanthropy in civic life.
• Build knowledge about the importance and inner workings of philanthropic giving.

Visit our application page to better understand what we want from you.
Visit our FAQ page for more detailed information.

Job Requirements

Please see our application page and FAQ page for more information about the fellowship and our requirements. 

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