The Kyiv Independent launches support program to help regional Ukrainian newsrooms diversify revenue

The Kyiv Independent has partnered with Estonian media group Delfi Meedia, one of the leading media companies in the Baltics, and MTÜ Mondo, an Estonian organisation aiming to reduce global inequality, to launch a consulting program for independent regional media outlets in Ukraine to help newsrooms build sustainable revenue streams and reduce their dependence on grant funding.

The Kyiv Independent relies on community and diversification when it comes to ensuring sustainable revenue streams. The Kyiv Independent’s membership program became a model of how independent media can sustain itself through community with reader support accounting for approximately 70% of total revenue in 2025. The team has also launched its own e-commerce business, scaled philanthropy-driven fundraising and commercial projects. The team keeps experimenting with new revenue streams, like syndication, research, book publishing, and more. With this program our team would like to share the experience and insights to support the colleagues in the field and development of independent media in Ukraine.

Program details

Five independent Ukrainian outlets will be selected to take part. Each will receive one-on-one consulting sessions with media managers from the Kyiv Independent and Delfi Meedia, who will help identify the most viable ways for that specific newsroom to diversify income and build a concrete implementation plan.

Outlets that complete the consulting phase will be eligible for grants of €10,000 to launch a new revenue stream or scale an existing one. In August MTÜ Mondo will offer journalists an opportunity to join a training retreat in the Carpathians, and in November 2026 — a study tour to Estonia.

Eligibility requirements and timeline

Regional and local Ukrainian media outlets can apply. Preference will be given to newsrooms that already have ideas and experience diversifying their revenue and are ready to launch or scale an income stream immediately.

Applications close on July 8, 2026, at 23:59 Kyiv time. Selected outlets will be notified by email no later than July 15. The consulting program will begin shortly after selected newsrooms confirm their participation.

REGISTRATION IS AVAILABLE VIA THE LINK

This isn't the Kyiv Independent's first effort to back fellow Ukrainian newsrooms. In 2025, when the suspension of USAID funding threatened to shut down dozens of independent regional outlets across Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent ran a crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $66,000 to support three local newsrooms: Tsukr in Sumy, Gwara Media in Kharkiv, and MykVisti in Mykolaiv.

“Supporting other independent media in Ukraine is something we care deeply about here at the Kyiv Independent. This program is one more effort we make in this direction” says Zakhar Protsiuk, COO of the Kyiv Independent.

The new consulting program builds on the commitment of moving regional media from emergency relief toward durable, diversified business models.

The program is supported by ESTDEV, the Estonian Centre for International Development.