Media Forward Fund is a philanthropic collaboration for collective impact that funds media diversity in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Our goal: Contributing to more quality journalism with viable business models that publish strong, trustworthy content and are sustainably financed in the long term.

For our democracies we need to strengthen independent journalism now

A robust democracy needs vibrant, independent media. But the media industry is in a transformation crisis, with one round of cuts following another. In order to fund media sustainably journalism needs a lot more money from a lot more people now. Then our democracies will have a chance.

Media Forward Fund is a philanthropic collaboration that pools new funding for journalism in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It funds the development of new business models in media organizations which serve the common good. A jury independent of the donors decides who receives the funding. Currently, nine million euros are available. As a rule, up to 400,000 euros in funding can be awarded per funding partner. There are three funding calls per year.

Media Forward Fund is a philanthropic collaboration and was established as a non-profit fund on the initiative of Schöpflin Foundation, Mercator Foundation Switzerland, Volkart Foundation, ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS, Rudolf Augstein Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, ERSTE Foundation, Allianz Foundation, Foundation for Media Diversity, DATUM-FOUNDATION for Journalism and Democracy, as well as the impact investor Karma Capital Group and Publix – House for Journalism & Public Sphere. The conception of the fund was supported by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media with start-up funding.

Discover news & insights

Knowledge Hub

Practical tips

Newsletters people read: a playbook

As a standalone product, newsletters can reach new readers, build trust and retain existing communities. In the Newsletter Playbook, Hanah Stauch, Nele Geiger, Nele Husen and Jil Wrieden explore which formats are suited to which goals and what matters when putting them into practice. The playbook was developed as part of an eight-week practical project at Hamburg Media School (HMS) in cooperation with the Media Forward Fund.

Knowledge Hub

Case Story

Dorfkönig: An AI Tool for Hyperlocal Information

Local media organization Bajour is using AI to add news from surrounding municipalities to its newsletter. The “Dorfkönig” tool, jointly developed by Bajour and the We.Publish Foundation, is designed to enable more locally differentiated reporting with limited resources.

Knowledge Hub

Practical tips

Launching a New Media Venture: Simon Jacoby of Tsüri on How He Would Plan the Budget

With our Launch Grants, you can receive up to CHF 125,000 for one year to get a new project off the ground. Simon Jacoby from Tsüri shares his key learnings from the start-up phase: what matters in the first year and how exactly he would allocate the budget.

All news Visit our knowledge hub

Call for applications

The application period for the Growth Grants for science and data journalism was open from 7 to 18 September. The next application period will begin in February 2027 with the Growth Grants as part of our General Funding Line.