Deadline: 18-Jan-22
Applications are now open for the Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange, an accelerator program, designed in partnership with community members, to support the region’s BIPOC media entrepreneurs through training, one-on-one coaching, and grantmaking.
If you have successfully launched (pitched, produced, fundraised for) a project internally and see opportunities to grow a product or service outside of the newsroom they consider you a media “intrapreneur.” The Lenfest Institute want to hear your ideas!
As a participant in this program, you will receive funding, educational training and coaching, and the opportunity to apply for the additional follow-on funding.
Funding Information
The Entrepreneur Cohort is 8 – 10 media makers. Each organization will receive $10,000 ($5,000 upon acceptance and $5,000 upon completion of the program). While you are in the program, a pot of additional funding ($80,000 as of now) will be allocated to projects from Cohort participants. Cohort participants will provide input into how that funding is allocated.
What can I use this funding for?
Funding can be used to maintain, sustain, and grow operating budgets by:
- Stabilizing existing projects
- Building operational capacity
- Paying fixed expenses
- Increasing salaries to reflect an equitable living wage
- Hire and retain talent
- Invest in education and skills development
- Invest in developing and testing new ideas
- Scale production of new products and services
- Broaden audiences
How much time is expected of me to participate?
They anticipate a 6-8 hour commitment each month, including:
- 2-hour thematic workshop
- 1-hour interactive “classroom” session
- 1-hour coaching session
- 30 minute – 1:1 monthly check-in with the Community Catalyst
- Informal opportunities for connection, inspiration, wellness and joy
In total: they ask participants to set aside 6 – 8 hours per month.
Eligibility Criteria
- You are at least 18 years of age.
- You are located in the Philadelphia region (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties in Pennsylvania. Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties in New Jersey. And, New Castle County, Delaware).
- You are able to participate in virtual programming and have access to the internet.
- You identify as Black, Indigenous, or a person of color.
- You are a media entrepreneur. You are a media maker who has an existing business that has:
- Existed for at least one year;
- Demonstrated traction (customers, revenue, other community indicator);
- Earned less than $1M in annual revenue per year; and
- A desire to grow and/or deepen your commitment to serving your local community.
- You are a media intrapreneur. You are a media maker who may have launched an initiative inside of a news enterprise and wish to scale an independent initiative. You:
- Can successfully demonstrate you have started an initiative (a product or service) inside of a news enterprise; and
- Wish to launch and scale an initiative of your own outside of the news enterprise and you have a documented plan and prototype to develop it.
For more information, visit The Lenfest Institute.
For more information, visit https://www.lenfestinstitute.org/philadelphia-media-founders-exchange/