The Lenfest Institute for Journalism
The Lenfest Institute for Journalism is a mission-based nonprofit organization founded in 2016 by cable television entrepreneur H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Institute is the first-of-its-kind organization whose sole mission is to develop and support sustainable business models for great local journalism.
Key facts about The Lenfest Institute for Journalism
- EIN
- 04-3731829
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2024
- Annual giving (2024)
- $14,973,490
- Grants made (2024)
- 97
- Average grant
- $154,366
- Median grant
- $30,000
- Total assets
- $133,928,628
- Primary geography
- Pennsylvania (76% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated September 2026.
Who The Lenfest Institute for Journalism funds
By grant dollars, the top recipient states for The Lenfest Institute for Journalism's 97 itemized 2024 grants were Pennsylvania (76%) and New York (6%). The most frequent recipient cities were Philadelphia, PA (54 grants), Chicago, IL (3 grants), Brooklyn, NY (2 grants) and Washington, DC (2 grants). None of its 97 grants with a stated purpose were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "(A) = $50,000" (10 grants), "(E) = $10,000" (10 grants) and "(D) = $20,000" (5 grants).
How The Lenfest Institute for Journalism gives
Estimate from itemized IRS Form 990-PF grant lists (2024). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
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Financial Overview
From 2024 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing
Total Assets
$133.9M
+7.5% YoY
Annual Giving
$15.0M
+10.4% YoY
Grant Count
97
+67.2% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$154K
-34.0% YoY
Mission & Focus Areas
The mission of The Lenfest Institute for Journalism Special Asset Fund of The Philadelphia Foundation is to receive, manage, and distribute assets in support of The Philadelphia Foundation by enabling quality local journalism that serves its communities.
The Institute supports both the digital transformation of heritage news organizations and the entrepreneurial efforts of young, innovative companies. It believes that quality civic journalism requires new business models, powerful innovations, and growing, diverse audiences to achieve sustainability in the digital age.
The Institute funds programs that:
- Produce high-impact journalism
- Develop innovative news technology
- Help local news organizations reach new audiences
- Develop sustainable digital business models
- Support media ecosystem-building
- Conduct research and community listening projects
- Implement lessons from the Institute's Communities of Practice with emphasis on experimentation
Grantmaking
The Lenfest Institute offers grant funding to help local news publishers and journalism professionals develop sustainable solutions for local journalism. The Institute employs an evidence-based approach to grantmaking and programming utilizing key metrics to determine the efficacy of its efforts.
Grant Range
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Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The Institute funds projects in three geographic tiers:
Philadelphia: Grants support individual media makers, organizations, and ecosystem-wide efforts within the Philadelphia news ecosystem.
Pennsylvania: The Institute deepens its support for statewide journalism initiatives, including Spotlight PA, the Harrisburg-based newsroom that shares its coverage with more than 100 news organizations throughout the Commonwealth.
National: The Institute funds programs that support media ecosystem-building, research and community listening projects, and projects that directly implement lessons from The Lenfest Institute's Communities of Practice, with specific emphasis on experimentation.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of all 97 itemized 2024 grant dollars.
States
Cities
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
Assets and Revenue (2023):
- Total assets: $124,527,937 to $125,000,000
- Total revenues: $31,951,841
- Total expenses: $21,808,175
- Total liabilities: $3,790,000
Founding Endowment: H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest gifted an initial endowment of $20 million to the Institute upon its founding in 2016. He also gifted sole ownership of the Philadelphia Media Network (The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and philly.com), assets for which he had invested more than $80 million.
Staffing: The organization employs 17 to 19 people.
| Metric | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $133,928,628 | $124,527,937 | $107,280,135 |
| Revenue | $26,054,320 | $31,951,841 | $41,516,736 |
| Expenses | $22,756,190 | $21,808,175 | $21,565,100 |
| Qualifying Distributions | — | — | — |
| Net Investment Income | $4,349,761 | $2,059,008 | $1,678,832 |
| Distributable Amount | — | — | — |
Data update history
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
Grant Size Distribution
355 grants across all recorded years
Open Grants
2 open opportunities from The Lenfest Institute for Journalism
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
Among its reported 2024 grants, the largest recipients include The Philadelphia Inquirer ($7,847,500), Spotlight PA ($510,000), Chicago Public Media Inc ($500,000).
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Philadelphia, PA | THE INSTITUTE IS SUPPORTING THE INQUIRERS TRANSITION FROM A TRADITIONAL PRINTED NEWSPAPER TO AN ECONOMICALLY SUSTAINABLE, PRIMARILY DIGITAL, EQUITABLE NEWS ENTERPRISE. A SERIES OF GRANTS WERE MADE TO THE INQUIRER TO FUND (A) HIGH IMPACT JOURNALISM, INCLUDING WORK BY ITS INVESTIGATIVE TEAM, SPOTLIGHT PA AND HEALTH COVERAGE AND (B) NEWS TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCT IMPROVEMENTS, INCLUDING A GRANT FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ACCELERATION, BRAND DEVELOPMENT, TECHNOLOGY FOR AUDIENCE GROWTH, DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS, AND OTHER TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT. | $7,847,500 |
| SPOTLIGHT PA Harrisburg, PA | (O) = $10,000, (S) = $500,000 | $510,000 |
| CHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA INC Chicago, IL | (G) = $500,000 | $500,000 |
| NEWSDAY LLC Melville, NY | (G) = $500,000 | $500,000 |
| SEATTLE TIMES COMPANY Seattle, WA | (G) = $500,000 | $500,000 |
| STAR TRIBUNE MEDIA INTERMEDIATE HOLDINGS COMPANY II Minneapolis, MN | (G) = $500,000 | $500,000 |
| CAMBRIDGE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INC Wellesley, MA | (F) = $475,000 | $475,000 |
| FEDERATION OF NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS INC Philadelphia, PA | (A) = $130,000, (E) = $15,000, (M) = $100,000, (N) = $80,000 | $325,000 |
| THE HAITIAN TIMES Brooklyn, NY | (T) = $276,625 | $276,625 |
| NUEVA ESPERANZA INC Philadelphia, PA | (A) = $75,000, (M) = $162,000 | $237,000 |
Leadership & Key People
Officers and directors from IRS filings
Compensation Overview
From 2024 IRS filing
From 2024 IRS filing
| Name | Title | Hours | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Friedlich | Chief Executive Officer - LLC | 37 | $553,995 |
| Pedro a Ramos | Secretary, President & CEO | 1.2 | — |
| Annie Madonia | Chief Advancement Officer - LLC | 37 | $291,759 |
| Ken Herts | Chief Operating Officer - LLC | 37 | $316,150 |
| Orlando Esposito | TPF Chief Financial Ofcr to Jun 2024 | 1 | — |
| Shawn Mooring | Head of Philadelphia Programs - LLC | 35 | $173,941 |
| Rebecca Forman | Head of Devel & Donor Relations -LLC | 35 | $189,326 |
| Karen Cleary | Chief Financial Officer - LLC | 28 | $145,764 |
| Joseph Lichterman | Head of Editorial and Comms - LLC | 35 | $143,334 |
| Karen Morris | Controller - LLC | 35 | $114,162 |
| Christine Conti | TPF Chief Financial & Admin Officer | 1 | — |
| Jacqueline Galiani | Human Resources Manager - LLC | 35 | $105,029 |
| Lon Greenberg | Chair | 1 | — |
| William J Burke | Treasurer | 1 | — |
| Rosalind Remer | Chair - LLC | 1 | — |
| Michael X Delli Carpini PHD | Vice Chair - LLC | 1 | — |
| Kate Allison | Board Member | 1 | — |
| Holly Flanagan | Board Member | 1 | — |
| Christina Mesires Fournaris | Board Member | 1 | — |
| William P Hankowsky | Board Member | 1 | — |
| Dixieanne James | Board Member | 1 | — |
| Aldustus Aj Jordan | Board Member | 1 | — |
| Shirin Karsan | Board Member | 1 | — |
| Sharmain Matlock-Turner | Board Member | 1 | — |
| Evelyn McNiff | Board Member | 1 | — |
| Michael K Pearson | Board Member | 1 | — |
| Wendell Pritchett | Board Member | 1 | — |
| Andrew Rogoff | Board Member | 1 | — |
| Jane Scaccetti | Board Member | 1 | — |
| Evan Urbania | Board Member | 1 | — |
| Ellen Sinis Badger | Manager - LLC | 1 | — |
| David Boardman | Manager - LLC | 1 | — |
| Lasharah Bunting | Manager - LLC | 1 | — |
| David Haas | Manager - LLC | 1 | — |
| Errin Haines | Manager - LLC | 1 | — |
| Keith Leaphart | Manager - LLC | 1 | — |
| Shelton Mercer III | Manager - LLC | 1 | — |
| Hong Qu | Manager - LLC | 1 | — |
| Sulaiman Rahman | Manager - LLC | 1 | — |
| Vijay Ravindran | Manager - LLC | 1 | — |
Recent News & Activity
Recent developments and announcements
**2024 Impact Report Highlights:**
The Institute deepened its commitment to Every Voice, Every Vote, a coalition of community and news organizations providing in-depth journalism and catalyzing civic action, with nearly $3 million in new grant funding thanks to support from the William Penn Foundation and other generous funders.
Apply now for Beyond Print grants - The Lenfest Institute for JournalismThe Philadelphia Inquirer, as the largest American newspaper under nonprofit ownership, continued its progress toward a sustainable, digital-first, community-centered future. The Institute and over 3,000 individual donors supported this transformation with investments in investigative news, product development, newsroom diversity, digital subscription marketing, and more. The Inquirer reached 118,500 digital subscribers.
**2023 Impact Report Highlights:**
Philadelphians had access to candidates and their policies through Every Voice, Every Vote, a coalition of over 70 media and community organizations led by The Lenfest Institute and co-funded by the William Penn Foundation, the Knight Foundation, Comcast NBCUniversal, and several individual donors.
Apply now for Beyond Print grants - The Lenfest Institute for JournalismThe Institute continued supporting Spotlight PA, the Harrisburg-based newsroom that shares coverage with more than 100 news organizations throughout Pennsylvania.
Subject Areas
Focus areas based on grantmaking activity
Frequently Asked Questions
What does The Lenfest Institute for Journalism fund?
The mission of The Lenfest Institute for Journalism Special Asset Fund of The Philadelphia Foundation is to receive, manage, and distribute assets in support of The Philadelphia Foundation by enabling quality local journalism that serves its communities. The Institute supports both the digital transformation of heritage news organizations and the entrepreneurial efforts of young, innovative companies. It believes that quality civic journalism requires new business models, powerful innovations, …
How do I apply for a grant from The Lenfest Institute for Journalism?
The Lenfest Institute offers grant funding to help local news publishers and journalism professionals develop sustainable solutions for local journalism. The Institute employs an evidence-based approach to grantmaking and programming utilizing key metrics to determine the efficacy of its efforts. **Grant Programs and Initiatives:** • Beyond Print Grant • Communities of Practice • Constellation News Leadership Initiative • Every Voice, Every Vote • Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund •…
Where does The Lenfest Institute for Journalism make grants?
The Institute funds projects in three geographic tiers: **Philadelphia:** Grants support individual media makers, organizations, and ecosystem-wide efforts within the Philadelphia news ecosystem. **Pennsylvania:** The Institute deepens its support for statewide journalism initiatives, including Spotlight PA, the Harrisburg-based newsroom that shares its coverage with more than 100 news organizations throughout the Commonwealth. **National:** The Institute funds programs that support media ecosy…
What size grants does The Lenfest Institute for Journalism award?
In 2024, The Lenfest Institute for Journalism awarded 97 grants totaling $15.0M — an average of about $154K per grant, based on its IRS Form 990 filings.
What is The Lenfest Institute for Journalism's EIN?
The Lenfest Institute for Journalism's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 04-3731829. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in The Lenfest Institute for Journalism's focus areas in our free grants database
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Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated April 2026.