At a time of growing misinformation and social fragmentation, public interest journalism is a cornerstone for democracy, building social cohesion, and connecting communities. LINA is seeking funding partners to support the 2026 Our News. Your Voice micro-grant program. Now in its third year, this initiative has already proven it can mobilise communities to support local ...
LINA (Local & Independent News Association)
Our News Your Voice 2026
GOAL
$10,000
Australia > National / Multi-state
Field of Interest
- Civic engagement and democracy
- Education/training and employment
Target Population
- General population
LINA (Local & Independent News Association)
LINA (Local & Independent News Association) is a not-for-profit industry body to support a growing movement of local and independent digital news publishers across Australia.
LINA aims to strengthen public interest journalism by ensuring communities have access to independent, original, and high-quality news. It provides capacity-building support through resources, training, shared services, and one-on-one assistance, helping small publishers achieve economies of scale. LINA also works to improve the financial sustainability of member newsrooms by offering revenue-generating programs and advocating for policy changes that benefit independent media.
LINA currently supports 167 newsrooms that reach over 10 million people monthly and produce more than 2,500 public interest stories each week. Since its launch, LINA has contributed to a surge in new newsroom openings and a slowdown in closures, with many members reporting growth in income, staffing, and services. Through advocacy, representation, and practical support, LINA plays a vital role in revitalising Australia’s local news landscape and empowering communities to tell their own stories.
Project Summary
At a time of growing misinformation and social fragmentation, public interest journalism is a cornerstone for democracy, building social cohesion, and connecting communities.
LINA is seeking funding partners to support the 2026 Our News. Your Voice micro-grant program.
Now in its third year, this initiative has already proven it can mobilise
communities to support local journalism. We are now evolving the model to focus on long-term financial sustainability.
To unlock these grants, newsrooms must demonstrate community support by securing donations with a focus on signing up regular, ongoing donors.
Australia has one of the most concentrated media markets in the world. As traditional models struggle, local and independent newsrooms play a critical role:
– delivering fact-based, locally relevant reporting;
– countering misinformation; and
– supporting civic engagement, democracy and social cohesion.
Yet many of these newsrooms operate with very small teams and limited resources. Our News. Your Voice. was created to help them survive, and grow, by unlocking reader revenue at scale.
Benefits of this model include:
– Immediate, and long-term place-based impact;
– Strengthening democracy and civic engagement;
– Growing social cohesion;
– Ongoing sustainability outcomes; and
– Proven results over past two years.
Project Outcomes
Our 2026 goals are to:
a) Raise at least $100,000 in micro-grants through a number of funders donating $10k+;
b) Empower 90+ local and independent newsrooms with education and capacity building in digital campaigning;
c) Increase regular, ongoing donors; and
d) Fund investigative and public interest journalism in communities across Australia.
A significant increase in regular givers is key to fostering long-term financial stability for independent newsrooms.
Donations to most newsrooms are not tax deductible, making regular giving a well aligned form of giving for donors, who are intrinsically motivated by their philosophical belief in the integrity of journalism and values alignment over tax deductibility.
LINA brings DGR1 eligibility for matched donors, however communities are motivated purely by supporting their local news service. The average gift was at the lower end of the spectrum by broader not-for-profit benchmarks at $10 average monthly gift, however this is in line with a news subscription value and matches the media sector expectations.
A key outtake from the campaign is capacity building for small newsrooms who were given the skills and confidence to call on their communities for support. In a sector unaccustomed to fundraising for itself, learning how to deliver a digital fundraising campaign and establishing donation processes for future, self-driven actions increases the sustainability of essential news businesses ongoing, giving this campaign perennial impact.
We intend to build on 2025 results which included 93% of donations coming from new donors and a 216% increase in regular ongoing financial contributions to news services.
Budget Breakdown
TOTAL BUDGET: $100,000
FUNDING
| Funding source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Commonwealth government | $45,000 |
| Funding gap | $10,000 |
EXPENSES
| Expense item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Grants to publishers | $100,000 |
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