https://momentoftruth.ifpim.org/
“Without facts, you can’t have truth. Without truth, you can’t have trust. Without trust, we have no shared reality, no democracy, and it becomes impossible to deal with our world’s existential problems.”
Maria Ressa IFPIM BOARD CO-CHAIR
The International Fund for Public Interest Media has been created in response to a devastating financial crisis for independent media worldwide: to dramatically increase funding to quality media organizations in low- and middle-income countries and to help develop new, sustainable business models on the frontlines of democracy around the world.
This funding will provide financial life-support to 300 media organizations in 50 countries, accelerate innovation, significantly increase support for the survival of independent media in low- and middle-income countries over the next three years, and transform the sector. Since the traditional model for sustaining media is disappearing, the Fund will develop and support the creation of new and different national and regional financial models that can ensure long-term sustainability for the sector. In this, it is building on the work it has already done over the past two years, which has proven promising.
A FUND TO SECURE THE FUTURE OF INDEPENDENT MEDIA The International Fund’s purpose is to ensure the survival of public interest journalism until new, viable funding models have been established and to use its funding to explore and support such models. The Fund has been designed as an international fnancing mechanism, based on lessons learned from more than 20 years of targeted, multilateral responses to similar global crises in health, education and climate change.
It is a multilateral fund with clear, transparent funding policies and it is governed by a diverse board of eminent individuals, and overseen by a council composed of governments, donors and media organizations. Together, these features insulate the Fund – and its donors – from accusations of bias, ideological leanings or pursuing national agendas.
Since it started operations in 2022, the International Fund has provided US$20 million in grants (reaching US$40 million by end-2025) and the early results and feedback from grantees are promising.
The International Fund has already shown itself to be a highly efective tool in countering the existential crisis faced by independent media in low- and middle-income countries. In addition to averting the closure or downsizing of individual outlets, our grants have provided critical fnancial resources for media organizations to make much-needed investments that have already resulted in improved economic resilience, greater newsroom diversity and increased audience engagement.
The Fund has developed a strategy to confront the disruption that Generative AI (GenAI) and other new technologies present to public interest media. This strategy aims to achieve a fairer value exchange between Big Tech and independent media and to assist media outlets in their eforts to build emerging technical capabilities, including through support for newsroom experimentation. The International Fund has also initiated several journalism funds to support media organizations on a national or regional level.
Furthermore, the International Fund has developed a What Works Unit that systematically captures insights from its grantees and distils lessons learned about efective methods for strengthening the economic resilience of independent media. The Unit serves the Fund, its grantees, donors and the broader media sector to better assess and refne the optimum approaches for building a sustainable fnancial ecosystem for independent media. The International Fund currently has four regional ofces across the globe and is supported by a growing coalition that currently comprises 17 donors. It is led by a Board consisting of independent experts and prominent persons, co-chaired by CNN Worldwide Chairman and CEO Mark Thompson and Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa.
