© Media Forward Fund
The Media Forward Fund is the first cross-border fund for journalism support in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The fund addresses the structural funding gap in public-interest journalism by supporting media organizations as they transition from innovative ideas to sustainable business models.
The Media Forward Fund’s call-for-proposals rounds reveal the current state of public-interest journalism in the German-speaking world. The applications demonstrate a strong drive for innovation and journalistic ambition, but they also reveal structural shortcomings. This was particularly evident in regions such as eastern Germany and French-speaking western Switzerland, from which significantly fewer eligible applications were received. Where journalistic offerings are lacking or disappearing, it is often not the idea that is missing, but rather the structural foundation needed to develop new projects in the first place.
The transnational MFF was established as a nonprofit fund at the initiative of the Rudolf Augstein Foundation, the Schöpflin Foundation, the Mercator Switzerland Foundation, the Volkart Foundation, the ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS, the Allianz Foundation, the Foundation for Media Diversity, the ERSTE Foundation, the DATUM Foundation for Journalism and Democracy, as well as the impact investors Karma Capital and Publix – House for Journalism & Public Engagement. The development of the fund was supported by a project grant from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. Based on insights gained from the first rounds of funding, the Media Forward Fund’s funding model was further developed into a phased, comprehensive concept that systematically links different stages of development.
| Funding period | 2024-2026 |
| Funding amount | 312.500 Euro |
| Website | www.mediaforwardfund.org |