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Foundation for National Progress

San Francisco, California

Grants

2023 (3 years)
$725,000

The Foundation for National Progress (doing business as Mother Jones) is a nonprofit organization that conducts in-depth reporting on underreported issues, including a current focus on climate, democracy, and racial justice. Its reporting is distributed online, through its website and via social media, and through its bimonthly print magazine. It prioritizes reaching new and more diverse audiences via social media and other mediums. This grant supports general operations, and the intended outcomes are more public interest reporting on critical topics that reach, inform, and engage the public.

2021 (2 years)
$400,000

Mother Jones, one of the oldest investigative newsrooms in the country, is published by the Foundation for National Progress. Since its founding in 1976, Mother Jones has conducted deep investigations into the wrongdoings of corporations and public officials, and has established itself as a leader in education, criminal justice, agriculture, and climate reporting. The reporting is distributed online, through its website and social media, in a bimonthly print magazine, and through the production of short films and podcasts, reaching a cumulative monthly audience of 10 million. This grant provides unrestricted support for the Foundation for National Progress to publish Mother Jones, which has a staff of 93 across three bureaus. The intended outcome of this work is to hold institutions with power to account, to question policies and practices that harm vulnerable people and communities, and to provide evidence and analysis that others can use to advocate for change.

2017 ( 4 months)
$15,000

The Media Consortium, a project of the Foundation for National Progress, is a network of independent journalism organizations, including local and regional news outlets, indigenous and ethnic media, and media representing communities of color. The Media Consortium works to strengthen these outlets, which are not well-resourced, but are often the most trusted sources of news in many communities. This grant provides support for the Media Consortium's annual conference which brings together its members to meet and share strategies, develop new skills, and discuss cultural and political trends affecting their industry. Grant funds will cover travel and conference expenses for community based reporters of color to attend the conference. 

2016 (5 years)
$1,500,000

The Foundation for National Progress is a nonprofit organization created to educate the American public by publishing Mother Jones. Mother Jones is a multiplatform news organization that conducts in-depth investigative reporting and high quality, original, explanatory journalism on major social issues, including money in politics, gun violence, economic inequality and the future of work. Mother Jones produces short videos and weekly podcasts as well as data-driven investigations and visualizations. Mother Jones’ quarterly print magazine has a steady base of 200,000 paid subscribers, and its daily reporting reaches a digital audience of 10 million people each month. Its investigations often lead to official responses, including changes in corporate practice, the introduction of reform legislation, increased scrutiny of a story or issue by other news outlets, and widespread response on the part of citizens and advocacy groups. 

2014 (2 years)
$300,000

The Foundation for National Progress is a non-profit organization that publishes Mother Jones, a multiplatform news organization that conducts deep investigative reporting and high quality, original, explanatory journalism. In recent years, Mother Jones has established itself as an important news source, particularly for younger and mobile news consumers, for its deep and incisive coverage of money in politics, the agriculture and food industry, climate change, and guns in America. This grant provides general operating support for Mother Jones’ high quality journalism.

1998 ( 11 months)
$35,000

To support an initiative on arms issues through the Internet-based version of the magazine.