In the past year alone, journalists from The Associated Press have explored the impact of climate change on the Jordan River and other sacred rivers in Africa, Asia, and South America; revealed hundreds of thousands of students have disappeared from U.S. public school rolls since the pandemic began; and personalized a redistricting case before the Supreme Court by introducing readers to the people it impacted.

These are just a few examples of work that would not have been possible without the support of philanthropic donors who believe in the importance of independent, fact-based, nonpartisan journalism to a healthy democracy. Philanthropic investments make a significant difference in the ability of news organizations to cover issues that impact people’s daily lives and deliver information essential for civil societies.

Today, The Associated Press, an independent, not-for-profit global news cooperative founded 177 years ago, is actively working with 21 foundations on almost 30 journalism projects. We’ve created a dedicated climate reporting team, adding 20 journalists across Africa, Asia, and North and South America to tell one of the most important stories of our time. In the U.S., we have launched a democracy team to help an increasingly polarized public better understand how their government works. We have also built an “Education Reporting Network” and shared practical and contextual information — as well as datasets — with local newsrooms to help them customize stories for their audiences.

All of this work is done to provide deeper coverage of key topics we see as core to the news report we deliver to hundreds of member news organizations in all 50 states and thousands of customers worldwide — not only on the subjects of climate, democracy, and education, but also on health, religion and more. The foundations funding this work understand the role of independent journalism, and respect that our news organization maintains control over what we cover and how we cover it. Their contributions allow us to provide more robust coverage of critical issues they care about and work creatively to reach wider audiences.

The impact of such investments cannot be overstated, especially at a time when the news media industry as a whole is under continued pressure.

Read the full article about philanthropic support for journalism by Daisy Veerasingham at The Center for Effective Philanthropy.