Meet the first cohort of the GNI Growth Catalyst Program!
We're incredibly excited to announce the first cohort for the Google News Initiative Growth Catalyst Program! This initiative is designed to help already successful news organizations achieve significant growth by providing funding and operational support to enable expansion.
The program's objective is to "raise the ceiling" for excellent news organizations with clear expansion plans, particularly those looking to expand geographically into underserved communities and news deserts.
We were truly overwhelmed by the response to this program. To all who applied, thank you for sharing your vision and dedication with us. Your commitment to impactful journalism is truly inspiring.
We're thrilled to share the selected teams for this inaugural cohort:
- Capital B
- Cardinal News
- Community Impact
- El Tímpano
- Honolulu Civil Beat
- Johnson County Post
- Lookout Local
- Montana Free Press
- Richland Source
- Richmondside
- San José Spotlight
- Shaw Local
- The Record Community News Group
- The Sacramento Observer
We're excited to support these outstanding organizations with growth funds and a year of growth coaching from Blue Engine Collaborative as they take their next leap forward in serving their communities.
Stay tuned for updates on their progress!
Program details
The Google News Initiative Growth Catalyst Program is an initiative designed to help already successful news organizations achieve significant growth. This program provides funding and operational support to enable expansion, better product development, and increased revenue. We aim to support high-performing organizations in expanding geographically, particularly into underserved communities and news deserts.
The GNI Growth Catalyst provides grants across three tiers to support your expansion operations for the duration of the program.
- Tier 1 ($400,000)
- Tier 2 ($300,000)
- Tier 3 ($150,000)
Beyond financial support, selected News Publishers will receive bespoke white-glove consulting and coaching, including strategic guidance on geographic expansion, business and financial goal-setting, and targeted interventions with subject matter experts.
This program is designed for news organizations that have demonstrated success in areas such as existing audience reach, revenue generation, and overall business performance.