Knight Foundation
At a glance
Key takeaways
- Knight Foundation, based in Miami, funds journalism, arts, community impact and information and society, so a request should clearly fit one of these areas and show a clear theory of change and measurable outcomes.
- Its typical grant band runs from $9,400 to $670,000, and half of its grants to organisations are $100,000 or less, so a modest request in that range is realistic, though its largest grant was $12,000,000 and the band is not a ceiling.
- Repeat funding dominates: in the latest filing, 85% of its grant dollars to organisations went to groups it had also funded in the two earlier filings, so a newcomer should expect a harder path, though a first approach is still worth making.
- It accepts applications on a rolling basis but also issues open calls for proposals, so check the eligibility, deadlines and selection criteria on each call's website before writing.
- Do not apply for fundraising events, operating deficits, scholarships for individuals, international work, memorials, or lobbying or campaign activity, as these are excluded.
Overview
Knight Foundation is a US private foundation based in Miami, FL.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
Knight Foundation funds four interconnected areas: journalism, community impact, arts, and information and society. In journalism, it strengthens the systems, strategies and safeguards that enable news organisations to serve the public, including sustainable business models, audience development, technology and product innovation, and First Amendment protections. Its arts work strengthens cultural ecosystems and supports artists and cultural organisations as civic leaders, while connecting creative economies to local opportunity. Through Information and Society it supports research, evidence, dialogue and access to reliable information, free expression and civic understanding. Its community impact investments are place-based and community-driven across Knight communities, focusing on local economic mobility and resilience, trust in government and civic institutions, and public spaces and programmes that help people connect and exchange ideas. Across its work it values clear outcomes, community relevance and organisational capacity.
Themes
- Journalism
- Arts and culture
- Reliable information
- Economic mobility
- Civic institutions
- Community spaces
Geographic Focus
Priority: Aberdeen; Akron; Biloxi; Boulder; Bradenton; Charlotte; Columbia; Columbus; Detroit; Duluth; Fort Wayne; Gary; Grand Forks; Lexington; Long Beach; Macon; Miami; Milledgeville; Myrtle Beach; Palm Beach County; Philadelphia; San Jose; St. Paul; State College; Tallahassee; Wichita.
What They Don't Fund
- Support for or opposition to political candidates for public office, including contributions or other support that would constitute political campaign intervention
- Grants earmarked for lobbying or political campaign activity, which can trigger private foundation excise tax rules
- Requests for support of fundraising events
- Requests to cover operating deficits
- Charities operated by service clubs
- Medical research or organizations or projects whose mission is to prevent, eradicate, or alleviate the effects of a specific disease
- Requests from hospitals, unless for community-wide capital campaigns with defined start and end dates or for specific projects that meet foundation goals
- Activities to propagate a religious faith or that are restricted to one religion or denomination
- Memorials
- International programs and organizations
- Conferences, group travel, and honoraria for distinguished guests, except in foundation initiatives
- Scholarships for individuals
How to apply
The foundation issues open calls for proposals; each call's website details set out eligibility, deadlines and selection criteria.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 85% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 1,323 grants to organisations were $100,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- Requests should align with Knight's strategic focus areas and programme priorities.
- Requests should present a clear theory of change and measurable outcomes.
- Requests should demonstrate community relevance and impact, especially in Knight communities and fields.
- Organisations should have the capacity to execute the proposed work effectively.
- Knight values innovation, learning potential or field-building value.
- Community Impact proposals should be place-based, community-driven and aligned with Knight Foundation’s focus areas.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
6 other states: 21%
Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 10%
- The largest single recipient received 10% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 85% of grant dollars went to organisations Knight Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- <1% of grant dollars went directly to organisations outside the US (Canada, Switzerland, United Kingdom).
- 15% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 505 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $100k (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Associated Press · To support the associated press to ensure state-based, public-service journalism is available in 50 states while ap devises a new local news business strategy to better position it for long-term sustainability.$5,000,0002024 tax year
- Georgetown University · To sustain the institute, which will convene, support and provide accessible, actionable, nonpartisan insights to the stakeholders and institutions that design, operate, study and govern the digital information environment.$4,000,0002024 tax year
- GroundTruth Project · To recruit, hire, train and place reporters from a variety of experiences and backgrounds into local newsrooms, and build durable local revenue streams atop those positions to assure long-term support for community journalism.$3,000,0002024 tax year
- Miami Foundation · Support the growth, adaptation and diversification of newsmatch in the press forward era, to increase the competency of non-profit publishers seeking earned reader revenue.$2,859,5542024 tax year
- Miami Foundation · To foster healthy communities by aiding local news publishers in the production of fact-based state and local election reporting, with a focus on swing states in which this coverage will be particularly relevant and useful.$2,800,0002024 tax year
- Miami Foundation · To help local news organizations poised for statewide growth expand into new markets.$2,703,0002024 tax year
- Pew Charitable Trusts · To support a five-year, co-branded partnership between knight and grantees subsidiary, the pew research center to study and widely share research on how americans absorb civic information; form beliefs, identities and community; and engage in civic action.$2,500,0002024 tax year
- Lenfest Institute for Journalism Special Assets Fund of TPF · Create an accelerator supporting technology solutions essential for publishers and journalists to achieve their educational mission and help demonstrate the viability of solutions supporting local publishers' missions by accelerating the market.$2,249,5002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Ashley Zohn — VP / Learning & Impact
- Victoria Rogers — VP / Arts
- Juan J Martinez — VP / Cfo & Treasurer
- Jorge Martinez — VP / Cto
- Kelly Jin — VP / Communities & National
- Alejandro De Onis — VP / Communications & Digital Strategy
- Terese Curiel — VP / Administration & Secretary
- James M Brady — VP / Journalism
- Maribel Perez Wadsworth — President & CEO
- Matthew Stephen Stepka — Trustee
- Charles Frank Olson — Trustee
- Anna Spangler Nelson — Trustee
- Austin Clements — Trustee
- Adriana M Cisneros — Trustee
- Shona Brown — Trustee
- Stephanie Bell-Rose — Trustee
- Martin Baron — Trustee
- Christopher M Austen — Chairman And Trustee Effective 3/2024
- Christine Amer Mayer — Trustee
- Michael Marsicano — Trustee
and 2 more
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $147,423,086 | $102,293,248 | $2,465,124,931 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $222,846,065 | $120,142,770 | $2,533,365,916 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $239,590,667 | $147,682,903 | $2,533,415,674 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
🎯 You've done the research. Now write an application they can't refuse.
Hinchilla combines funder's specific priorities with your organisation's past successful grants and AI analysis of what reviewers want to see.
Data privacy and security by default
Your organisation's past successful grants and experience
AI analysis of what reviewers want to see
A compelling draft application in 10 minutes instead of 10 hours
Spotted something that needs correcting? Let us know
At a glance
Applying to Knight Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (305) 908-2600
- Miami, FL
- knightfoundation.org
Applying to Knight Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (305) 908-2600
- Miami, FL
- knightfoundation.org