2025 Local News Accelerator

In partnership with the Local Media Association and with support from the Google News Initiative, the New Mexico Local News Fund is equipping 14 local newsrooms with the tools and training to grow philanthropic support and strengthen community-centered journalism across the state.

NM Local News Fund partners with Local Media Association to launch 2025 Local News Accelerator cohort

The New Mexico Local News Fund (NMLNF), in partnership with the Local Media Association (LMA), is proud to announce the 14 news organizations selected for the 2025 New Mexico cohort of the Lab for Journalism Funding. This initiative is a key part of our 2025 Local News Accelerator program, designed to strengthen the sustainability of independent local journalism across the state.

With support from the Google News Initiative, this six-month accelerator (April–September 2025) brings national best practices in philanthropic fundraising to local newsrooms in New Mexico. Through intensive training and one-on-one coaching, participants will build the knowledge, tools, and strategies needed to develop long-term fundraising infrastructure rooted in community engagement and civic impact.

This year’s cohort includes a wide range of newsrooms—from legacy institutions to new and emerging outlets—working across New Mexico to inform, empower, and connect the communities they serve:

The cohort will be led by Liz White Notarangelo, a seasoned media leader and alum of LMA’s journalism funding labs. Participants will also receive tailored coaching from a national team of experts, in close collaboration with the New Mexico Local News Fund.

“This partnership with LMA builds on our commitment to ensuring that local journalism in New Mexico not only survives but thrives,” said Rashad Mahmood, executive director of the New Mexico Local News Fund. “Through the Accelerator, we’re investing in long-term capacity for local outlets to raise philanthropic dollars and continue producing high-quality, community-responsive journalism.”

Since launching in 2020, the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding has helped nearly 150 newsrooms raise more than $28 million to support local news efforts. In 2025, state-based cohorts in New Mexico, Illinois, and California will expand this impact even further, alongside a new national cohort supported by the Knight Foundation.

This initiative is part of NMLNF’s broader mission to support a robust, diverse, and sustainable news ecosystem in New Mexico. We look forward to seeing how these 14 newsrooms will deepen their community relationships and strengthen their operations through this transformative program.

LMA has also published two industry reports, Pathways to Philanthropy and Sustaining Philanthropy for Journalism, free to newsrooms to download to help local newsrooms apply best practices from the lab to their own philanthropic efforts.

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