Scripps Howard Fund and Scripps Howard Foundation gave $11 million in charitable gifts in 2025

CINCINNATI, Feb. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Scripps Howard Fund and Scripps Howard Foundation, nonprofit organizations, awarded $11 million to community and journalism programs during 2025, a 12% increase from 2024.

The Scripps Howard Fund and Scripps Howard Foundation support communities where The E.W. Scripps Company does business, while their journalism programs and funding reach people across the country. The Fund and Foundation also partner with the Scripps and Howard families to support causes important to them.

“In 2025, we saw communities across the country strengthened through the power of connection – whether it was giving children the gift of books, equipping aspiring journalists with the skills to tell important stories or rallying together in times of crisis,” said Meredith Delaney, president and CEO of the Scripps Howard Fund. “Our vision to uplift communities guided every grant and campaign, and our mission continues to drive this meaningful work.”

The Fund’s 2025 giving included:

$2.3 million invested in communities served by The E.W. Scripps Company

• Scripps-owned local television stations and Scripps Networks held 41 fundraising campaigns in 2025 and received more than 6,700 donations.
• The Fund supported more than 91 charities within Scripps’ communities, providing help to those who need it most.
• In collaboration with the Scripps News Group, the Fund raised nearly $270,000 through disaster relief campaigns – including $127,000 for those impacted by the devastating floods in Central Texas.

​$1.7 million to improve childhood literacy

• In 2025, the “If You Give a Child a Book …” program invested $1.7 million to provide 280,000 books to students in the Fund’s 93 Title I partner schools.
• Additionally, the Fund raised a record-breaking $1.9 million for childhood literacy during its annual campaign, which will provide more than 300,000 books to 34,000 students throughout 2026.

$1.5 million to advance journalism education

• During the 72nd Scripps Howard Journalism Awards, the Fund awarded $140,000 across 12 categories, recognizing news organizations and journalists who produced some of the most impactful journalism in 2024. For the first time, winners received a travel stipend/honorarium to visit universities and engage directly with journalism students.
• Twenty-five paid interns gained real-world experience working in newsrooms across the country.
• The Fund provided grants to four community colleges to support journalism education programs and foster experiential learning with the goal of empowering students from a variety of backgrounds and equipping them with the necessary skills to thrive in the media industry.

The Foundation’s 2025 giving included:

$5.4 million to advance journalism education

• The Foundation invested $2.7 million to continue its support for the Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland and Arizona State University. In collaboration with The Associated Press and Frontline, the Howard Centers’ investigation ‘Lethal Restraint’  received a 2025 Edward R. Murrow Award and was named a finalist for a 2025 Pulitzer Prize. In 2025, the Foundation awarded each of the Howard Centers with a three-year grant that will allow the schools to test and pilot several AI tools that support local news.
• The Foundation funded more than $410,000 in grants for Roy W. Howard fellows, helping them refine their journalism skills.
• In 2025, the Foundation launched the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center at the University of Southern Mississippi.  During its inaugural year, the Center trained 47 student journalists, produced 200+ local stories and partnered with more than 60 media outlets to strengthen news coverage across southeast Mississippi.

Media contact: Molly Miossi, The E.W. Scripps Company, 513-977-3713, molly.miossi@scripps.com  

About the Scripps Howard Fund
The Scripps Howard Fund, a public charity established by The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP), is dedicated to creating informed and engaged communities through journalism education, childhood literacy and local causes. At the crossroads of the classroom and the newsroom, the Fund is a leader in supporting journalism through scholarships, internships, minority recruitment and development and First Amendment causes. The Scripps Howard Awards stand as one of the industry’s top honors for outstanding journalism. The Fund’s annual “If You Give a Child a Book …” childhood literacy campaign has distributed thousands of new books to children in need across the nation. The Fund partners with Scripps brands to create awareness of local issues and support organizations that build thriving communities. The Scripps Howard Fund administers funding for the Scripps Howard Foundation, a private foundation established in 1962 to advance charitable causes important to The E.W. Scripps Company and the Scripps and Howard families.  

About the Scripps Howard Foundation
The Scripps Howard Foundation is a private foundation established in 1962 to advance charitable causes important to The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) and the Scripps and Howard families. The Foundation is dedicated to creating informed and engaged communities through journalism education.