The American Journalism Project (AJP) in Washington, D.C., has announced grants totaling $5.4 million in support of four nonprofit news organizations.

Recipients include Deep South Today ($2 million), Grist ($925,000), New York Focus ($1.5 million), and Spotlight Delaware ($1 million). In addition to the funding, AJP will provide the organizations strategic support to increase their revenue, strengthen their organizations, and expand their local reporting capacity.

Over the three-year grant period, the organizations will be able to reinvest increased revenue back into their newsroom operations to expand their ability to do more original reporting. Founded in 2019, AJP saw its first cohort of grantees develop their combined revenue by $15 million over three years, resulting in a 4.9x return on AJP’s annual investment, and grow their news budgets by 66 percent.

“We are in the midst of a rebirth in local news across this country, driven by a new generation of local news innovators changing the way we sustain community journalism,” said AJP chief executive Sarabeth Berman. “Each of these organizations have compelling visions for journalism that strengthens their communities. We’re thrilled to partner with them to help them build enduring organizations.”

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