Latin American nonprofit media long ‘over reliance’ on institutional foreign donors must change with more sustainable models of financing.  

That warning comes from new research from the Reuters Institute, which found that 40 outlets received more than $27 million from the US-based Open Society Foundation (OSF) and Ford Foundation between 2016 and 2022.  

And though Latin American media have a variety of sources for funding, ranging from philanthropic foundations, private companies such as Meta or Google, international organisations such as UNESCO and entities linked to governments or political parties, such as USAID, the two philanthropies dominate the funding landscape.  

Of the 40 outlets studied, 26 of them received grants from OSF and 13 from Ford Foundation.  

‘OSF has been key in giving establishing grants to new outlets and then fostering their growth, while Ford tends to back outlets with a track record,’ says Francisca Skoknic, journalist and author behind the research. 

Volatility from the OSF has caused worry for Latin American publications. An internal shake-up of OSF last year led to a freeze on new funds and so-called exit grants given to existing grantees.

One director of a Latin American outlet, whose main funder has been OSF for years, told Skoknic that he saw a 25 per cent funding shortfall in his budget for next year following OSF’s shake up.

‘They are being irresponsible. Too many people depend on them, they can’t just withdraw from journalism,’ he said.

‘The truth is that OSF is not exactly withdrawing from journalism, but the uncertainty around the future of one of the biggest funders should be seen as a cautionary tale about the risks of a widespread model in the region,’ says Skoknic, adding that it remains unclear as to how OSF changes will impact journalism in Latin America.

‘But, it’s safe to say that it will be different from what it has been over the past couple of decades and will probably not include general funding across the board,’ she concludes.

OSF have previously said that they are shifting away from a regional funding model to one around what they call ‘opportunities’, such as funding journalism researching and exposing disinformation.

The Ford Foundation’s progamme associate for Mexico and Central America says the institution has felt under pressure from media organisations in the region because other funders have left the region.

A ‘funding aggregator’, modelled on the International Fund for Public Media, could help shield Latin American media from the uncertainties of changing donor priorities.

The continent already looks to be heading that way. A national fund aggregator was recently launched in Brazil, supported by the International Fund for Public Media and international philanthropies.

The study also highlights Colombia, where ‘a local NGO is designing a fund that aims to raise money from the government, philanthropic organisations and private companies’.

Shafi Musaddique is the news editor at Alliance magazine.