The Monadnock Ledger-Transcript is one of three papers under the Newspapers of New England umbrella selected to take part in the 2026 Lab for Journalism Funding.
The Ledger-Transcript, Concord Monitor and Valley News will take part in the six-month program run by the Local Media Association, aimed at helping local newsrooms build sustainable fundraising strategies.
The lab, which runs from August through February, pairs each newsroom with dedicated coaches to help set a fundraising goal, develop a philanthropy-backed journalism project and pitch it for possible seed funding. Participants will also gather for an in-person training session.
The Google News Initiative supports the program and, since launching in 2020, has helped more than 200 news organizations raise upwards of $40 million for local journalism nationwide.
“Developing a sustainable philanthropy strategy is vital to our future, and we are excited to participate in this LMA program,” said Ledger-Transcript Publisher Heather McKernan. “We appreciate the opportunity to hone our fundraising skills and prepare to take our next steps.”
The Concord Monitor is returning to the lab for a second time. Publisher Steve Leone said the paper’s first run through the program, five years ago, helped it learn how to align its journalism with philanthropic support — work that produced a reader advisory board, an annual impact report and an ongoing environmental reporting project, all of which are still active today. This time, he said, the Monitor hopes to weave philanthropy more deeply into its mission and structure.
The Valley News is approaching the lab looking to build on the momentum of individual fundraising campaigns. Publisher Rich Wallace said the goal is to move past one-off efforts and develop long-term strategies that make philanthropy an enduring part of the newsroom’s mission.
Melanie Plenda, executive director of the Granite State News Collaborative, said no single newsroom can solve the challenges facing local journalism alone, and that the cohort gives New Hampshire outlets a chance to test new fundraising ideas together and bring lessons back to strengthen local news statewide.
The New Hampshire cohort is one of three regional groups in this year’s lab, alongside newsrooms in Oklahoma and Wyoming. All three states’ cohorts will work with a shared team of coaches, including former Record-Journal publisher Liz White Notarangelo and former Seattle Times philanthropy strategist Joaquin Alvarado. They will be led by LMA’s chief innovation officer, Frank Mungeam.
LMA says it plans to publish case studies drawn from the cohort’s work that other newsrooms across the industry can apply to their own fundraising efforts.
