Increase sponsorship revenue through this results-driven training program from the Google News Initiative
Nonprofit news organizations have an enormous, largely untapped opportunity to engage sponsors who want to reach their highly targeted and engaged audiences. In 2021, sponsorships and advertising made up 15% of total revenue in the nonprofit news sector. This revenue source is particularly growing across local newsrooms, where 20% of revenue is earned.
The GNI North America Sponsorships Lab is a 14-week program designed to help INN members and other public service newsrooms increase revenue from event sponsorships, sponsored content and other earned revenue sources. The program is a part of Google News Initiative’s (GNI) Digital Growth Program, which helps news organizations grow their digital businesses through free training, consulting and support.
Newsrooms that join this year’s program will receive intensive training, resources, and individualized coaching from Blue Engine Collaborative, a consortium of independent consultants and advisers with deep experience in driving audience and revenue, along with access to INN’s earned revenue resources.
Apply to this year’s program.
Now accepting applications for the 2022 GNI North America Sponsorships Lab.
INN members and other public service newsrooms may apply by Thursday, August 18, to participate in this year’s program.
Application Deadline: Thursday, August 18 at 11:59 pm EST
Program Dates: September to December 2022
Enrollment Fee: Free
Is your organization ready to apply for this opportunity? This program is designed for newsrooms that:
Have produced original reporting for at least 2 years
Have a strong digital presence and demonstrated investments in long-term digital growth
Have some experience generating sponsorship revenue to date and see sponsorships as a key opportunity for future revenue growth
Can commit a team to dedicate 5 to 10 hours per week during the course of the program
Are relatively small or medium-sized, having between 2 and 100 full-time employees or journalists
For questions about GNI North America Sponsorships Lab, please contact the Digital Growth Program team at gnidigitalgrowth@google.com.
Full Eligibility Criteria
News organization based in the United States or Canada that has produced original content for at least 2 years.
Non-profit news organization OR for-profit local news organization focused on public service .
Existing digital presence and organization-wide investment in long-term digital growth. If selected, a letter of support from an executive sponsor is required before the start of the program.
Commitment to devoting operational and technical resources to the program, along with the willingness to test, improve, and iterate on how you work and your existing products/collateral/technology, etc.
Commitment to providing data and access to requested platforms as required to receive personalized recommendations and track progress. Platforms include Google Ad Manager, Google Analytics, Google Search Console, a CRM if applicable and a CMS.
GNI Labs are open to newsrooms with a minimum of 2 full-time employee (FTE) journalists, up to a maximum of 100 FTE journalists.
Eligible applicants need to have a focus on core news provision, i.e. not lifestyle, sports.
Commitment of 5-10 hours per team per week. A dedicated project manager will be responsible for ensuring your team attends all program and coaching sessions, and completes all assignments. We recommend a team of 3-5 people that may be involved at different points of the Lab, which includes at least the following roles: a) Sales/Marketing, b) News/Editorial and c) Product/Tech/Data.
Willingness to share business insights and openly collaborate with cohort members.
Willingness to share learnings with the greater news industry after the completion of the program.