All U.S.-based LION members who have been in existence for at least twelve months prior to beginning the Audit cycle are eligible for the Sustainability Audits and Funding program. However, if you received a Sustainability Audit in 2022 or 2023, you are not eligible for an Audit in 2024. LION members who previously received a Sustainability Audit are eligible to participate in the Audit Booster/Progress Report program. If you are not currently a member, you can apply here.

There are three steps to the Audit process:

• A leader of the news organization fills out a questionnaire that details the business’s operational readiness, financial health, and journalistic impact. 
• The organization leader(s) participate in an interview with one of our Audit analysts to dig more deeply into questionnaire responses, goals, and organizational practices. 
• Together with the analyst, the LION team produces an Audit report that includes:
  • A summary of where the publication is on its path to sustainability
  • A selection of its strengths and how to capitalize on them
  • A list of sustainability indicators the publication has completed and those it has yet to complete
  • A prioritized list of recommended actions to become more sustainable, tailored to the needs and ambitions of your business

We developed this Audit to help LION members assess where they are on their journey to sustainability and what steps to prioritize in becoming more sustainable. In our experience, news leaders benefit tremendously from taking a thorough and holistic look at their business, articulating their goals and challenges, and having an outside perspective on their progress.

Here’s a look at what we’ve learned so far.

We will conduct Audits in four cycles in 2024:

• February-April (limited availability remaining)
• May-July
• July-September
• October-December

Applications are now open on a rolling basis.

To be eligible to participate in Cycle 1, please apply by January 29.

To be eligible to participate in Cycle 2, please apply by April 15.

To be eligible to participate in Cycle 3, please apply by July 8.

To be eligible to participate in Cycle 4, please apply by August 30. This is the final deadline for 2024.

We will look for the following when selecting publishers for each cycle: 

• The ability to benefit from Audit insights
• The level of organizational commitment to the Audit process and capacity to implement the Audit recommendations
• A mix of publications across organization size, geographic locations, missions, and audiences served to reflect LION's overall membership

The Audit process from start to finish takes about 10-12 weeks, with an overall time commitment of about six hours for your news organization. Participants will have two weeks to fill out the questionnaire, which takes about three hours to complete for most organizations. The 90-minute interview takes place shortly after the questionnaire deadline, and you’ll receive your completed Audit at the end of the audit cycle. 

LION is pleased to be able to offer this service free of charge to LION members.

Yes. Funds up to $20,000 per organization are available to news businesses that meet the following criteria: 

• Act on at least two recommendations outlined in the Sustainability Audit report.
• Submit a funding request that outlines what recommendations the news business will act on and a breakdown of how the funds will be used.

Publications that received an Audit in 2022 or 2023 are not eligible to receive a new Audit in 2024.

Publications that received an Audit in 2021 are eligible to receive a new Audit in 2024.

LION staff will have access to each organization's individual data. Audit analysts will have access only to their assigned organizations' individual data. LION may share aggregated data publicly and with strategic partners. We will never share individual data without your permission.

Yes. We’ll publicly announce the participants selected for each cycle, which we hope will be beneficial for news businesses to share with their funders, audience, board members, and other stakeholders.