AP, The Chronicle of Philanthropy and The Conversation join to jumpstart coverage of nonprofit world

The collaboration, funded by a three-year, $3.6 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., is aimed at advancing the public’s awareness and understanding of the people and organizations trying to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems. 

All three organizations will expand the volume of fair and accurate coverage of the nonprofit world that reflects the broad perspectives and approaches pursued by individuals and organizations committed to advancing the common good. They will regularly produce independent journalism and add additional staff to provide more robust news and analysis of the philanthropic world.

AP will distribute content from The Chronicle of Philanthropy, adding to the content it distributes by The Conversation. Each organization retains complete editorial control over its content.  

Through the grant, The Chronicle of Philanthropy will also sponsor a fellowship program that will annually award three local journalism organizations an opportunity to develop an in-depth reporting project about notable nonprofit and philanthropic topics of importance to their regions. It will also develop relationships with other news organizations to foster greater coverage of nonprofits and foundations.

“This is a critical moment to build understanding about the importance and inner workings of philanthropic giving. Foundations, individual donors, and nonprofits of all sizes are already playing key roles in the social justice movement, as well as the response to the coronavirus health and economic crises and they will be crucial to recovery,” said Stacy Palmer, editor at The Chronicle of Philanthropy. “But many local nonprofits are also at risk of financial collapse — and it is essential that donors, voters, policymakers, and others understand what can be done to ensure everything from cultural organizations to social service groups to educational organizations stay strong at a time of social distancing and recession.”

“This collaboration will give AP the ability to provide deep reporting about philanthropy to our customers around the world,” AP Vice President and Managing Editor Brian Carovillano said. “We are very happy to be working with The Chronicle of Philanthropy and The Conversation to produce journalism about the inner workings of charitable giving and its impact on the planet at a crucial moment in history.” 

The Conversation, an independent, nonprofit publisher of commentary and analysis sourced from academic experts, will facilitate a series of events aimed at providing the public with a deeper understanding of how philanthropy works in society and the impact of giving and the nonprofit sector. 

“Lilly Endowment has been funding our philanthropy and not-for-profit content for a number of years so this collaboration will further the impact of the explanatory journalism we produce working with scholars,” said Bruce Wilson, chief innovation and development officer at The Conversation.  “This creates an incredible opportunity to bring great journalism in this important area to the broadest, most demographically diverse readers in the U.S. and beyond.”

“Philanthropy is practiced in many ways, ranging from the quiet actions of individuals animated by their faith to large grants from well-known funders and by foundations with global reach to those who are deeply committed to their local communities,” said N. Clay Robbins, chairman, president and CEO of Lilly Endowment. “This promising collaboration among The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the AP and The Conversation will leverage each organization’s strengths to broaden and deepen the public’s understanding of the myriad dimensions of philanthropy and its impact on society.”