By Leah Taylor

With traditional media business models from newspapers to television under assault, more organizations have been turning to foundations for support. The experiences of even the biggest and most successful news organizations with foundation backing show that it’s not a panacea. But in desperate times for news outlets, foundations are showing that they can provide an unparalleled level of autonomy and stability.

More journalists have called for foundations to step up to support in-depth news reporting. Among the most prominent is Steve Coll, president of the New America Foundation and a writer for The New Yorker. He recently called for billionaires like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates to get the endowment ball rolling by stepping forward and investing in media organizations with promises that “the rest of us will get busy raising the rest.”

In the meantime, foundation money isn’t so easy to find. “Obviously, it is attractive as a relatively stable yearly source of revenue from its earnings. But, it’s not just something that you can just decide to do,” said Scott Lewis, chief executive of the nonprofit Voice of San Diego.

Lewis is right. In order to have an endowment there needs to be a willing investor involved, as in the case of the Kroc Foundation and National Public Radio (NPR). Philanthropist Joan Kroc gave $200 million to the news organization because she believed in the importance of its role. “An endowment must also be large enough to provide not only operational expenses, but capital for reinvestment in the enterprise over time,” said media economics analyst Robert Picard.

Even one of the most high-profile successes in foundation-backed journalism isn’t counting on foundation support alone. Pro Publica was funded by philanthropists Herb and Marion Sandler with a $10 million a year commitment for three years, with the expectation that it will continue. But general manager Richard Tofel says that the company is currently focusing on modifying its annual funding base.

But some analysts believe that Pro Publica might be a prime candidate for additional foundation money. “In my mind it has already proved itself with the quality of its investigative reporting, and the impact that some of its stories have had,” said media consultant and columnist for Editor and Publisher Steve Outing. “If I were Bill Gates, I’d consider endowing Pro Publica.”

New York University journalism professor and PressThink author Jay Rosen is slightly more pessimistic about whether or not such large sums of money can be raised, if at all. “If you could raise that much money, or had a zillionaire waiting in the wings to donate it, then it’s worth discussing how an endowed news organization might effectively and responsibly operate. But I see no evidence that the amounts necessary can actually be raised.”

But simply securing an endowment won’t necessarily put an end to an organization’s challenges. “There is a lot of wishful thinking about news financing,” Picard said. Most foundations are willing to support initiatives for a while, but they eventually expect their recipients to stand on their own feet.”  Additionally, contrary to the thoughts of financial stability that an endowment can bring, times of economic hardship can also jeopardize endowments. “It’s dangerous to rely too much on an endowment even if you’re lucky enough to get one,” said Outing.

In light of all of these concerns, organizations like the Voice of San Diego have raised other issues with the method. “An endowment could also have the negative effect of lessening the sense of urgency we have to continue to justify our existence in asking the public to support the service we provide,” said Lewis.

Questions such as these will continue to be raised as long as media companies keep grappling with the best ways to survive. The endowment is just another suggestion on the “to try” list of some organizations dealing with the changing media landscape. Maybe one day Mr. Buffet or Mr. Gates will really take Coll up on his offer.