OUR FOCUS AREAS
Building a Stronger Media Ecosystem
Through five interconnected pillars, URL Collective strengthens the media and information ecosystem serving Black and Brown communities. We invest in the people, organizations, and partnerships that make trusted, community centered journalism possible, helping independent media better inform, represent, and serve the communities they reach.
Training & Leadership
We strengthen the leadership and capacity of journalists, creators, publishers, and media organizations through professional development, leadership training, workshops, fellowships, scholarships, peer learning, and conference attendance. By equipping both established and emerging media leaders with the skills, knowledge, and networks to navigate a rapidly evolving media landscape, we cultivate stronger organizations and a more resilient media ecosystem.
Travel Stipends
URL Collective provides travel stipends to help journalists of color attend educational training opportunities, workshops and journalism convenings of all kinds nationwide.
Organizational Sustainability
We advance the long-term sustainability of independent and community media organizations through capacity-building support, strategic funding, and operational resources. From emergency funding and micro-grants to business development, revenue strategies, and organizational support, we help organizations build resilience so they can continue serving their communities.
Sustainability Fund
Through our Sustainability Fund, URL Collective provides rapid-response funding—often within 48 hours—to help community media organizations respond to urgent operational, financial, and reporting needs. Since launching in December 2025, we’ve supported nearly 20 organizations with more than $100,000 in funding.
Ecosystem Building
We foster collaboration across the media ecosystem by connecting journalists, creators, publishers, funders, and partners to share knowledge, strengthen relationships, and develop collective solutions. Through in-person and virtual convenings, partnerships, networks, and collaborative initiatives, we cultivate a more connected, collaborative, and resilient industry.
Amplify Local: News–Creator Partnerships Convening
Supported by the Joyce Foundation, Amplify Local convened 55+ journalists, newsroom leaders, and independent content creators for a two-day workshop focused on strengthening newsroom–creator collaboration and expanding community-centered storytelling.
Audience & Amplification
We expand the reach and impact of trusted community journalism by amplifying partner reporting, increasing visibility, and connecting stories with broader audiences. Through strategic communications, distribution partnerships, and collaborative campaigns, we help ensure critical information reaches the people and communities who need it most.
Strategic Media Amplification
Through targeted media pitching, URL Collective has secured more than 75 national, regional, and local earned media placements spanning across broadcast, streaming, print, and digital outlets for more than a dozen independent publishers and creators.
Journalism & Civic Information
We support community-centered reporting that informs, empowers, and reflects the lived experiences of underserved communities. Through reporting grants, editorial collaborations, and civic information initiatives, we expand access to trusted journalism on the issues that matter most, including elections, health, economic opportunity, immigration, and other topics that strengthen civic participation and community well-being.
Emergency Response – Immigration Coverage
Funded by the Knight Foundation and in partnership with the Borealis Philanthropy REJ Fund and Latino Media Consortium, URL Collective supported 18 community news organizations with reporting grants to produce trusted, culturally relevant immigration coverage. The initiative expanded access to timely civic information, strengthened collaboration across three intermediary networks, and amplified reporting that reached audiences through multilingual content and distribution channels—including nearly 1 million content loads through the Latino Media Content Hub.