June 17, 2021

Today, the Google News Initiative (GNI), in partnership with the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), announced the second cohort of the GNI-INN Sponsorship Lab. GNI Sponsorship Labs help news organizations become sustainable by providing news leaders with the knowledge and skills to develop relationships with businesses, build their sales strategy and secure underwriting. 

This new cohort was selected from hundreds of nonprofit or public-service oriented news organizations that applied from across North and Latin America. 

As Ben Monnie, Director of Global Partnerships Solutions at Google, explained when the expansion of the initiative was announced in May. “There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to digital transformation, and we are grateful for the opportunity to work with publishers dedicated to public service, equipping them with tools and strategies to fuel their growth.” 

The INN members participating in this GNI-INN Sponsorship Lab are:

• Bridge Detroit and Bridge Michigan (MI)
• El Paso Matters (TX)
• The Forward (NY)
• Sahan Journal (MN)
• Mississippi Today (MS)
• Spotlight (PA)

The other public-service oriented news organizations are:

• Atlanta Black Star (GA)
• The Atlanta Voice (GA) 
• Confidencial (Nicaragua)
• The Discourse (Canada)
• El Mundo Boston (MA)
• Energetic City (Canada)
• Projeto Colabora (Brazil)
• Mutante (Colombia)

Sponsorship Labs are delivered in partnership with Blue Engine Collaborative — a consortium of mission-driven consultants and advisors focused on driving digital audience growth and revenue of all kinds. Participants are also eligible for up to $1,000 of implementation grants after the Lab to build systems and workflows to apply their learnings.

All lessons generated from this Lab will be shared with other news organizations through the GNI Digital Growth Program.