{"id":215814,"date":"2022-03-30T12:10:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T16:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lionpublishers.com\/?p=215814"},"modified":"2022-05-11T13:05:29","modified_gmt":"2022-05-11T17:05:29","slug":"announcing-the-lion-gni-sustainability-audits-and-funding-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lionpublishers.com\/announcing-the-lion-gni-sustainability-audits-and-funding-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Announcing the LION-GNI Sustainability Audits and Funding program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If we\u2019ve learned anything about journalism entrepreneurship, it\u2019s that there\u2019s no one way<\/em> to launch and run an independent news business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while we think it\u2019s a good thing that publications are building around the unique needs of their communities, we also know that every news business ultimately shares the same goal: to ensure their business is sustainable and can serve that community for years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve spent the last year defining what sustainability means<\/a> for a journalism organization and supporting news entrepreneurs as they work their way toward it. But we\u2019ve been particularly interested in learning how to measure<\/em> that progress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We developed a sustainability audit to assess where publications are on the path to long-term stability, and have spent the last six months iterating on it. Now, we\u2019re thrilled to expand on this work by offering the audit to a much larger number of LION members, alongside the opportunity to get funding for implementing the Audits\u2019 highest priority recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In partnership with Google News Initiative<\/a>, we will select 100 local, independent news businesses to participate in the LION-GNI Sustainability Audits and Funding<\/strong> program. Participating publications will embark on a comprehensive process to surface their opportunities, challenges and priorities alongside a plan for next steps. Those who implement those next steps will be eligible for up to $6,000 in funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“LION’s audits have already shown immense impact on publishers,\u201d said Casey Pallenik, News Industry Relations Manager at Google. \u201cLong-term business sustainability is the holy grail of independent, local journalism, and we’re excited to partner with LION to advance the industry’s understanding of what leads to business stability, and then support publishers as they implement.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We audited 55 organizations in 2021 as we refined our product and process. Those early adopters rated the audit\u2019s overall usefulness at a 4.3 out of 5, and reported that it\u2019s been immensely helpful as a way to gain perspective and guidance on their news businesses. Since then, we\u2019ve made even more improvements to prioritize the usefulness of the audit. Here\u2019s what some of those organizations have said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis was a phenomenal process. It’s a wonderful way to gauge my progress and prepare for my future.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/p>\u2014 Travers Johnson, founder & CEO of Queerency<\/a><\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI found it to be very helpful and gave me great ideas to strengthen our community engagement. I look forward to exploring the ideas and advice I received.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\u2014 Shannon Shaw Duty, editor of Osage News<\/a><\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was a unique opportunity for us to get an objective look at our organizational sustainability, and benchmark us with our peers. What a gift!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\u2014 Kelsey Ryan, founder and publisher of The Beacon<\/a><\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Apply for the LION-GNI Sustainability Audits and Funding program here<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Want to learn more? Here are answers to some common questions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Who is eligible? <\/strong>All LION members are eligible to participate in the sustainability audit program. If you are not currently a member, you can apply here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does the audit entail? <\/strong>There are three steps to the audit process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n