Media Freedom Fund

Fund the media we need.

Independent media is chronically underfunded.
So is much of the infrastructure that makes good media possible: regulation, technology, research, professional standards, collaboration and shared institutions.
The Media Freedom Fund is designed to change that.
It is a permanent, democratic funding mechanism supporting a media ecosystem that is visible, viable and accountable.
Rather than asking donors to identify individual publications or projects themselves, the Fund provides a trusted way to support the whole ecosystem.

A fund for the whole media ecosystem.

Every pound raised is divided equally between three areas.

1/3rd Independent Media

A diverse range of high-quality media should be able to reach the public without being entirely dependent on powerful commercial platforms.

1/3rd Media Infrastructure

Funding for the organisations, technology, standards, research and shared infrastructure that allow independent media to thrive.

1/3rd Democratic Initiatives

Support for new projects proposed by media organisations, charities and other eligible organisations.
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This part of the Fund is decided democratically by donors. You get to vote which projects you want to support

One donor. One vote.

Everyone who donates to the Media Freedom Fund becomes part of its democratic funding process.

It does not matter whether you give £5 or £5,000. You receive one vote.

Large donations allow the Fund to do more.
They do not buy greater influence over which projects receive democratic funding.
That principle is fundamental to what we are building.

Media cannot be genuinely independent if the people with the most money automatically have the greatest control.

Help us turn £20,000 into £100,000 for independent media.

Our first goal is to raise £20,000 to build the Media Freedom Fund itself.
That investment will fund dedicated capacity to operate and grow the Fund for its first year.

Our target is for that work to raise at least £100,000 for independent media and media infrastructure within 12 months.

£20,000 in

£100,000 raised

Five times the original investment working for independent media.

Our ambition is simple: for every £1 invested in building the Media Freedom Fund, we aim to unlock at least £5 for independent media.

What your donation makes possible

The first £20,000 allows us to put dedicated capacity behind the Fund.
That means someone responsible for:
  • growing the donor community
  • developing relationships with major funders
  • organising public fundraising drives
  • managing democratic funding rounds
  • identifying organisations and projects that need support
  • reporting back to donors
  • building the systems needed for the Fund to grow year after year
£20,000 is just the start.
Donate Now

Why build a fund?

A grant helps one organisation once.

A functioning fund can support organisations year after year.
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Our ambition is to establish the Media Freedom Fund as a permanent source of funding for independent media and the public-interest infrastructure around it. The first £20,000 helps us build that institution.

Why does independent media need its own fund?

The media system has changed dramatically.

Audiences increasingly discover information through search engines, social platforms, video platforms, newsletters, podcasts and AI.
But much of the journalism those systems depend on remains expensive to produce and increasingly difficult to fund.
At the same time, many of the institutions that make trustworthy journalism possible remain chronically under-resourced.

The result is a structural problem.

Good media needs to be visible enough to reach people, viable enough to survive and accountable enough to deserve their trust.
The Media Freedom Fund exists to support all three.

Why give through the Media Freedom Fund?

You may know you want to support better media without knowing which organisations need money most.
That is particularly difficult for larger funders.
Directly funding an individual newsroom can also create legitimate concerns about influence and editorial independence.

The Media Freedom Fund provides an alternative.

It allows people and institutions to support independent media through an independently governed charitable structure, with transparent rules determining how funding is distributed.

You support the ecosystem.
You don't decide what journalists write.

Understand what's changing, shape what comes next.

Independent media is changing quickly.

So are technology, AI, regulation, funding and the ways people discover information.

The Media Freedom Fund newsletter will keep supporters informed about what the Fund is doing and what is changing across the wider information ecosystem.

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Subscribers will receive:

  • updates from the Media Freedom Fund
  • developments affecting independent media
  • research and analysis
  • opportunities to vote and participate
  • invitations to open meetings and discussions
Join the mailing list
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