Updated Sep 18, 2025 - Business

Exclusive: AP running ahead of plan on $100M fundraising goal, CEO says

Ben Berkowitz

Two women seated on white armchairs on stage in conversation; left woman in white blouse and brown skirt, right woman in black jacket and boots, with a clear table holding water bottles between them. — AP CEO Daisy Veerasingham at the Axios Media Trends Live event. Photo: Vita Phoenix/Edin Studios on behalf of Axios

The Associated Press is doing better than it had expected raising money toward a $100 million goal for its news philanthropy fund, AP CEO Daisy Veerasingham said at the Axios Media Trends Live event on Thursday.

Why it matters: The AP fund is intended to support local journalism at a time local newsrooms are consolidating and closing at an accelerating rate.

What they're saying: "We're probably slightly further along than we thought we would be," Veerasingham said.

She said there would be some major announcements in coming months on philanthropic support for the AP Fund for Journalism.

The big picture: It has been a historically difficult year for the AP, with a high-profile access fight with the White House, and more recently an Israeli strike in Gaza that killed journalists working for the AP and other outlets.

Veerasingham said Israeli authorities have not yet answered a late August letter asking for an explanation on what happened.
"We are still in discussions, let's put it that way, we have not had a definitive answer for that," she said.
"At the moment I'm going to take them at their word that they are trying to give us an answer for what happened."

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Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional comments.

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Exclusive: AP running ahead of plan on $100M fundraising goal, CEO says

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