Independent publishers in New England to receive one year of coaching to grow your business

Independent publishers know how to do great journalism, but building a sustainable business requires a very different set of skills and knowledge. 

LION’s Sustainability Audits assess news organizations in three pillars of sustainability: operational resilience, financial health and journalistic impact. Our Audit is now a questionnaire that takes about 1-2 hours to complete and publishers receive an automatic report with recommendations on steps you can take to strengthen your business. 

In 2026, LION will offer Sustainability Audits and one year of strategic coaching with industry experts for up to 40 news organizations based in New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island or Vermont). 

This regional program was made possible through the generous support of the Barr Foundation.

Publishers selected for this program will receive: 

• A Sustainability Audit and follow up Audit 

• Strategic coaching with a LION coach who has experience in digital publishing and/or experience working with local publishers (2-3 sessions per quarter) 
• Tools, resources and templates that you can utilize while you work to implement Audit recommendations 

LION has conducted Sustainability Audits with nearly 550 organizations, beginning with our members in 2022. We have found that combining strategic coaching with the Audits is a winning strategy for helping busy publishers create a plan for action that is aligned with their priorities, values and current capacity. 

The New England Audits & Coaching program will run from January 5 – December 1, 2026. 

Eligibility: 

• Participants must be based in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island or Vermont.
• We are looking for news leaders who are seeking to grow your business and have 1-2 goals that you would like to work on with a strategic coach in 2026. 
• This program was designed for news organizations that are primarily digital (including podcasts, newsletters, etc), but we will consider newsrooms that also have print products. 

Program Requirements: 

• Participants must complete a Sustainability Audit in January 2026, which requires that you have access to your organization’s finances and knowledge of any current HR policies and processes your organization uses to track your audience, editorial workflow and fundraising and/or revenue generation.  
• Participants must commit to meeting at least 8 times with your coach (2 times per quarter and one introductory call at the start of the program). 
• Participants will be asked to complete a follow up Sustainability Audit at the end of the program to document your progress 

The application should take 20 minutes or less to complete and the deadline to apply is (updated) December 15, 2025 at 8:00 PM EST.

Note: The cost of the Sustainability Audits and coaching are covered by the program. There is no additional funding.