The Pivot Fund demonstrates purpose and impact with its new website

The Pivot Fund’s previous website was a humble starter site on a hosting platform that didn’t provide flexibility or opportunity for growth. It consisted of a small selection of static pages and a simple blog that made it difficult to explore content. Most importantly, visitors were left without a clear understanding of The Pivot Fund’s unique approach and effectiveness as a local news funding intermediary.

The website we created positions The Pivot Fund as a leader connecting funders with grassroots news entrepreneurs while supporting grantees and the community-focused news sector. It engages funders and publishers alike with in-depth information, news and resources that are easy to navigate.

Framing The Pivot Fund’s Work

Our most important goal for this new site was to make The Pivot Fund’s work and impact resonate clearly with key audiences. We collaborated with leadership, staff and consultants to map out the clearest way to present The Pivot Fund’s work in this format. Then we structured it into three distinct yet interrelated pillars that play out through the site alongside other specialized content.

Their newly reorganized and expanded website information architecture is intentionally designed to grow with The Pivot Fund over time. The new site provides a meaningful experience for each audience group, including larger funders, grant seekers and other thought leaders in the larger local news philanthropy ecosystem.

Expanding Their New Brand

We designed this website to build out the new brand we previously developed for The Pivot Fund. The website features and design elements reinforce the brand’s clear, energetic, approachable and connective feel to both smaller community-driven publishers and polished larger funders alike. We were careful to maintain this visual language consistently across the site.

News and Resources Powered Up

As an important thought leader in the local news philanthropy space, The Pivot Fund needed an organized way to present a variety of original content. In the News + Resources section, we organized their articles into categories and created a collection visitors can keyword search or filter by category. The detail page for each article includes custom fields for the kind of information it needs to display, whether it’s a news article, analysis or report written by The Pivot Fund, a press article by an outside publication, or other type of content. News and resource content is displayed throughout the site, keeping it fresh and encouraging repeat visitors.

Grantees in the Spotlight

The Meet Our Grantees page spotlights the diverse grassroots newsrooms The Pivot Fund supports, from rural news to Indigenous and Black-led outlets amplifying underrepresented voices. Profiles can be keyword searched or filtered by years active and home state. Each profile shows how The Pivot Fund’s investment fuels real growth—expanding teams, deepening community trust, and building sustainability. It both celebrates grantee success and demonstrates to funders the tangible impact of equitable, community-driven journalism.

Building Credibility

The About Us section highlights important impact metrics, supporters and a diverse leadership team rooted in both journalism and philanthropy. Together, these elements establish credibility and show potential partners how they can work with The Pivot Fund to strengthen democracy through local news.

Positioning for a Strong Future

This new website is a powerful asset and key component of The Pivot Fund’s overall communications strategy. It works together with other materials such as the impact report to further their mission. Moving forward, the site will serve as a foundational platform for building The Pivot Fund’s brand, growing its network, and deepening its impact in underserved communities.

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