Focus Area
Journalism + The Arts
We value public media, solutions journalism, and the arts for their roles in informing, educating, and inspiring communities.
WHY IT MATTERS TO US
In a world where it’s increasingly hard to tell fact from fiction, we believe firmly in the power of public media, solutions journalism, and the arts to inform, educate, and inspire.
We know the arts can bring together communities torn apart by division, just as much as they can support academic success and mental well-being. And we know a free, independent press is essential to our vision of a strong, thriving, and inclusive democracy.
WHAT WE BRING
We’ve counseled dozens of journalism funders, newsrooms, and journalism support organizations. Our team is passionate about this work, drawing on years of hands-on experience inside newsrooms as editors, writers, and audience development specialists, alongside deep experience supporting civic news and journalism organizations through strategic communication.
For purpose-driven newsrooms, journalism, or arts organizations, we can help:
Build trust with your audience and engage funders through research-informed branding, messaging, website development, and convenings
Clearly communicate your impact to potential donors through an impact report and fundraising materials
Increase awareness for your unique approach through thought leadership
Launch a cohesive brand raising campaign through media engagement, storytelling, and toolkit materials
Craft a strategic plan that leads to long-term growth and sustainability, engaging key constituents along the way
Featured Case Study
NewsMatch
Amid a rise of “fake news” and mounting attacks on the free press, we developed the messaging and strategy for NewsMatch, the national matching-gift campaign that grows fundraising capacity in nonprofit newsrooms. Starting with a peer-set audit, we built a community-informed, differentiated messaging framework, visual brand, and campaign toolkit, along with customizable graphics and related tools that newsrooms could use nationwide to support their individual fundraising efforts. The result was 187 of 198 participating newsrooms using the materials we created, and in 2020, more than $47 million raised for nonprofit news organizations, which broke records as the campaign’s most successful fundraising year to date.
our work in action
Additional Case Studies
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At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, local newsrooms were stretched to their limit, covering public health while losing advertising dollars. Many small newsrooms were also forced to close their doors, leaving an increase of news deserts during a national emergency. When a group of newsrooms, funders and lobbyists came together to explore government funding for local news, we helped to build the growing coalition and launched the branding and communication for what became Rebuild Local News, a thought leader and standalone nonprofit that pushes for bipartisan federal funding for local news.
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A well-respected journalism organization that felt limited by its name and brand, Mission partners stepped in to conduct audience and perception research that helped inform a rebrand and website redesign, modernizing the organization to better communicate about API’s role in building a healthier, more inclusive democracy.
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Our years-long collaboration began with the development of a refreshed website and key messaging. We’ve since served as an extension of the team: developing an editorial and thought leadership strategy, and ongoing activation as their communications department, helping to bring their impact storytelling to life and supporting with ongoing executive positioning and thought leadership.
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We used design thinking to help unlock the future of this organization’s brand and messaging.
Related insights and resources from Mission Forward:
Life is Asking. When truth is tested and independence is challenged, will you say what people don't want to hear? A reflection sparked by a 60 Minutes moment.
The Sound of Silence. Deciding, through the lens of your values, what to speak to publicly — and when silence becomes its own kind of harm.
Information We Can Rely On. In this conversation with journalism leader Michael Bolden, we look closer at why local news matters, and why it’s worth protecting.
How to Build Community, Inside the Box. An interview with Baltimore Beat’s Lisa Snowden on why so much of local news is more than what meets the eye.