Sustainability 360 Program Application

LION is piloting a new Sustainability 360 Program in 2024. This initiative was designed to make the independent news industry more accessible for LION members by connecting them with high impact support and resources that can help entrepreneurs move their businesses toward sustainability.

This program will include coaching time with experts who can provide strategic and tactical advice, consultants who can increase your capacity, discussions with other publishers, and access to our team who will offer our knowledge of how to navigate existing resources and opportunities in the independent news ecosystem.

Apply to participate by completing the application below. We will accept applications until October 14, 2024, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. (You will receive a copy of your application via email after you submit.)

Are you a LION member?

Have you received a Sustainability Audit or Booster in 2023 or 2024?

Unfortunately, you're not eligible to participate in this program. You can apply to become a LION member here

Please review this list https://www.lionpublishers.com/members and check if your organization is listed. If you don't see your organization listed and think this is a mistake, please contact our membership team at membership@lionpublishers.com .

Unfortunately, you're not eligible to participate in this program.

Please contact Andrew Rockway, our Associate Director of Sustainability Audits, at andrewrockway@lionpublishers.com. He will assist you in finding out whether you received an Audit or Booster in 2023 or 2024.

First Name

Last Name

Email address

Please use the email associated with your LION membership if possible

What is your title/position? Please select all that apply.

We ask that a person in your organization's executive leadership please fill out the application form

Other Title

What is the name of your publication?

Where is your publication located?

City

State

Province

When was your publication founded?

Please include month if founded after 2023.

Is your LION membership up to date?

What was your organization’s annual revenue in 2023?

How many full-time staff do you employ?

How many part-time staff do you employ?

How many contractors/freelancers do you employ?

Where would you like your organization to be a year from now? We’d like to hear about three key accomplishments you would like to have achieved.

Limit: 100 words

What do you believe is the primary challenge that prevents your organization from achieving those accomplishments?

We’d like to hear more about that challenge. What is the specific challenge? How do you know it's a challenge? What have you done so far to address it? How will you know when you've overcome it? Be as specific as possible.

Limit: 200 words

We anticipate that this program will take up to 8-10 hours total per month for 9 months (November 2024 - June 2025), including meetings and asynchronous activities that align with your existing work and inform your participation in the program. Why is it important for you to focus on this work and how would you optimize your existing resources, capacity and time to make it happen?

Limit: 200 words

Which definition best describes your stage of sustainability?

Preparation: Beginning to implement a minimum viable product (MVP).

Building: Iterating products based on audience and market research while building a foundation for the supporting revenue and operations.

Maintaining: Increasing journalistic impact and audience growth while still seeking operational and financial stability.

Growing: Steadily and simultaneously growing revenue, audience and operations.

Will you be participating in a journalism or business training program offered by an organization other than LION at the same time as this program, or do you plan to? If yes, please share the name of the program(s) along with a brief description and the time and bandwidth commitment.

Limit: 200 words

Has your organization faced historical institutional barriers to building a sustainable news business? Barriers could include, but are not limited to, inequitable access to funding, systemic discrimination, and exclusion based on gender identity, location, race, ethnicity, or religion. What steps has your organization taken to address these challenges, and how do these efforts align with your overall mission?

Limit: 200 words

Is there anything else you’d like to share with us about your hopes for participating to know as it relates to your participation in this program?

Limit: 200 words