The Pivot Fund Pod

Kaylan Martin, principal of Blue Umbrella Strategies, and Kimberly Griffin, co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Mississippi Free Press, joined The Pivot Fund's Kimberly Spencer for an insightful webinar on mastering donor stewardship strategies. The trio delved into the art of donor engagement with a focus on hyperlocal newsrooms and fundraisers of color, both facing unique challenges.

Discover practical insights and best practices for nurturing donor relationships, from crafting effective stewardship plans to creating meaningful in-person experiences. Learn how to authentically build rapport by celebrating your donors' wins.

During the Q&A session, our panelists shared how they would efficiently allocate just a few hours each week, their stance on formality versus informality with new donors, how to tactfully share setbacks with donors and more.

To view the full Pivot Publisher Series, visit YouTube.com/@ThePivotFund.

This series is supported by the Knight Foundation.

The latest Pivot Publisher Series webinar explored the question, “Is your newsroom ripe for revenue?” The panelists described a deep connection with their audience as the key to both editorial and business success, the importance of diverse revenue streams and the significance of relationships.

Panelists: 

• Todd Stauffer, Author,  Digital Revenue Playbook, Executive Director, Association of Alternative Newsmedia
• Penda Howell, Co-Founder, Publisher, CEO, New Jersey Urban News, Founder and CEO, PCH Multi-Cultural Media Buying
• Elizabeth Galarza, CEO and Publisher, Pasa La Voz Noticias

Moderator:

• Justin Rushing, Chief Revenue Officer, The Pivot Fund

Amid all the hand-wringing over Sinclair Broadcasting chairman David Smith buying the Baltimore Sun, hardly anyone mentioned that he did it in partnership with Black businessman Armstrong Williams, who is now the first African American to own a major metropolitan newspaper since Bob Maynard bought and revitalized the Oakland Tribune four decades ago.

Like Smith, Williams is a conservative, but in an interview, he describes newsroom independence as a core value and pledges that Sun reporters will continue to follow the facts wherever they lead – even if they lead to the disparagement of Donald Trump.

Tune in for a compelling conversation between Armstrong and Tracie Powell, The Pivot Fund founder and CEO.

About The Pivot Fund

The Pivot Fund is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to investing $500 million into independent BIPOC-led community news outlets through grantmaking, development support, and strategic consulting. For more information on The Pivot Fund, visit thepivotfund.org. 

Who do you need on your team? The hiring process can be daunting, and making the right choices about who to bring on board and when can have a major impact on your newsroom. Zuri Berry, The Baltimore Banner's digital strategy editor; Lisa Snowden, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Baltimore Beat; Susan Gluck Pappajohn, a talent and organizational strategy consultant; and Madeleine Bair, founding director of El Tímpano, shared their experience and approach to growing their teams, tips to secure funding, and more. 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Introducing ‘Leavers’: results from a survey of 101 former journalists of color: https://source.opennews.org/articles/introducing-leavers-results-survey/
• Toward equitable models of journalism sustainability: https://www.eltimpano.org/inside-el-timpano/toward-equitable-models-of-journalism-sustainability/
• Airtable: https://www.airtable.com
• Lion Publishers: https://www.lionpublishers.com
• Institute for Nonprofit News (INN): https://inn.org

This conversation was sponsored by the Knight Foundation.

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The Pivot Fund is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to investing $500 million into independent BIPOC-led community news outlets through grantmaking, development support, and strategic consulting. For more information on The Pivot Fund, visit thepivotfund.org. 

In the latest Pivot Publisher Series episode, The Kansas City Defender’s Ryan Sorrell, AfroLA’s Dana Amihere, and Haitian Times’ Garry Pierre-Pierre share innovative strategies to reach Black audiences and share news they can use, including impactful community-based programs, surveys, and social media strategies. The founders also delve into the (sometimes complicated) relationship between digital startups and traditional legacy news with examples of what and how they can learn from one another. This episode is thoughtfully moderated by The Pivot Fund CEO Tracie Powell and sponsored by the Knight Foundation.

The Pivot Fund is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to investing $500 million into independent BIPOC-led community news outlets through grantmaking, development support, and strategic consulting.

For more information on The Pivot Fund, visit www.thepivotfund.org.

The Pivot Publisher Series aims to equip hyperlocal BIPOC publishers and news leaders with tools, strategies and tactics to support their growth and continued success.Each month, we will gather industry experts, experienced publishers, news leaders and more to share their expertise, best practices and tools to shed light on a variety of topics including organizational design, how to hire top talent and more.

The monthly webinar series kicked off with “Preparing for Transitions: Succession Planning," bringing together the experts and the experienced to share their journeys and tips for navigating the intricacies of succession planning.

How can you exit responsibly and that's respectful to the work that you’ve done? What is philanthropy doing to support digital news pioneers? When is the ideal time to begin preparing?

Moderator Evelyn Hsu, co-executive director at Maynard Institute, and panelists Mukhtar Ibrahim, founder of the Sahan Journal, Randall Yip, founder and editor of AsAmNews and Jane McDonnell, CEO of free range media and former executive director of the Online News Association shared their personal experience, tips for seamless, stress-free leadership transitions, and practical tools to ensure your news organization’s long-term success.

About The Pivot Fund

The Pivot Fund is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to investing $500 million into independent BIPOC-led community news outlets through grantmaking, development support, and strategic consulting. For more information on The Pivot Fund, visit www.thepivotfund.org. 

At The Pivot Fund, we know true empowerment for community-led news outlets goes beyond the headlines. It's about providing the necessary tools and support to drive sustainable growth and success. That's why we're thrilled to partner with Justworks, a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), to bring you an exciting opportunity! The Just Thrive program offers women and minority-owned businesses a grant to support their administrative services.

Solutions That Just Work reviews practical HR tips for startups and resources to streamline processes, save time, comply with state and federal laws and regulations, and more.

Guests:

• Tracie Powell, Founder and CEO, The PIvot Fund
• Khadija Collins, Operation Manager, Documented NY
• Vania Andre, Chief Technology Officer, Haitian Times
• Doug Drosin, Channel Manage, Partnerships, Justworks
• Moses Balian, HR Consultant, Justworks

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The Pivot Fund is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to investing $500 million into independent BIPOC-led community news outlets through grantmaking, development support, and strategic consulting. For more information on The Pivot Fund, visit https://thepivotfund.org. 

BIPOC news leaders have a hard time overcoming racial bias to find funding and support.

Black women are starting businesses at the fastest clip of any other racial group. Many of these startups don’t reach their full potential — or fail — in part because they can't raise the capital to start or sustain their businesses.

In that spirit, The Pivot Fund held an intimate conversation between Amethyst J. Davis, the founder and publisher of the Harvey World Herald, and Wendi C. Thomas, the founder and publisher of MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, a nonprofit based in Memphis, Tennessee. Though at different points in their journeys, Davis and Thomas discuss their difficulties and challenges as startup newsroom leaders.

Panelists included:

• Amethyst J. Davis, The Harvey World Herald
• Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

About The Pivot Fund

The Pivot Fund is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to investing $500 million into independent BIPOC-led community news outlets through grantmaking, development support, and strategic consulting. For more information on The Pivot Fund, visit www.thepivotfund.org. 

The Pivot Fund CEO Tracie Powell and Northeastern University associate professor Dr. Meredith Clark discuss the unique difficulties BIPOC-led news organizations and startups face.

This conversation is moderated by Melanie Sill, the founding executive director of the NC Local News Workshop at Elon University.

The Pivot Fund is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to investing $500 million into independent BIPOC-led community news outlets through grantmaking, development support, and strategic consulting.

For more information on The Pivot Fund, visit www.thepivotfund.org. 

Raising funds is hard! But it doesn’t have to be. In this panel discussion, we review strategies for turning members of your board of directors into effective fundraisers by tapping into their wealth of knowledge, connections, and resources.

Panelists included: 

• Kyra Kyles — CEO of YR Media
• Elisa Lees Muñoz — Executive Director of the International Women’s Media Foundation

Jamaal Glenn, The Pivot Fund’s board chair, moderated this discussion.

This conversation was sponsored by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

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The Pivot Fund is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to investing $500 million into independent BIPOC-led community news outlets through grantmaking, development support, and strategic consulting. For more information on The Pivot Fund, visit https://thepivotfund.org.

The Pivot Fund Pod is edited and produced by ZMC Podcasts.