Moldova Resilience Fund Q1 Update

Thank you so much for your interest in the Moldova Resilience Fund (MRF) and our mission to support grassroots, civil society organizations and independent media in their struggle for an open, accountable and democratic society in Moldova. In a time of global uncertainty and continued hybrid attacks against Moldova, your contribution helps to support the people on the ground who make a huge difference in support of Moldova’s democratic resilience. 

What Your Donations Made Possible 

Since our launch in November 2025 MRF has been raising money and deploying funds with a simple philosophy - we trust the partner organizations we work with and help them fill the gaps left by larger donors. That allows us to give grants that partners use to support their sustainability and invest in projects that bigger donors rarely fund. Here’s what we’ve done so far: 

• Funds Raised: Since launch we have raised $39,800 from 43 donors. This includes $6,855 in our fall campaign supporting media outlets Cu Sens and Zona de Securitate, $7,945 raised for the MRF general fund and a $25,000 major donation. 

• Key Partnerships: We directly funded 3 independent media outlets, including $3,500 each to Cu Sens and Zona de Securitate based on our fall fundraising campaign and a grant of $3,500 was made to Moldova.org based on a separate donor’s directed request. 

• Investigative Journalism Prize: MRF co-sponsored the Media Guard award "For Excellence in Corruption Investigation - Impact" 2025 edition. The independent jury selected 3 journalists based on their impactful investigations and awarded them a cash prize. Prizes like these help value this important work and support the people who make it possible.  

• Patreon Project: MRF has purchased Patreon subscriptions to a list of independent media organizations that we believe represent the best journalism in the national news, regional news and investigative fields. We have published this list on our website to encourage people to directly donate and support these group’s sustainability. 

Behind the Scenes

MRF’s all-volunteer board has been busy meeting with independent media organizations, NGOs and other donors to map out our key stakeholders and partners and to identify where we are most needed. This has included around a dozen interviews and discussions where we discuss each organization’s current donor structure and gaps - especially after the destruction of USAID. Here are some of the key insights from our meetings that will inform our 2026 strategic planning and programming: 

• Lack of resources and a complex donor environment: USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) were some of the largest and most stable donors to Moldovan independent media. With USAID gone, and NED rebuilding itself after near destruction by DOGE, other donors - including the EU and partner countries - have come under strain. Major support was offered in the run-up to Moldova’s elections but long term priorities remain unclear and many grants are operating under short (3-6 month) timelines. 

• Sustainability concerns: No media outlets in Moldova are financially sustainable businesses yet. The most sustainable get around 40% of their income from subscriptions and advertising. The least sustainable are 97%+ reliant on grants. The reasons are complex, and include an unwillingness by public interest outlets to aggressively paywall content and the fact that advertisers don’t want to buy ads with outlets focused exclusively on reporting corruption or human rights abuses (e.g. in Transnistria). At the same time, grant agreements are inflexible and do not allow for experimenting with new business ideas and investments in long term sustainability. This is a key area where our operating model can be different.

• Burnout, staffing and retention: The biggest issue most organizations flagged was staffing. Journalists work long hours for low pay and are often subject to threats and harassment. Retention is a challenge, but the key issue is recruitment and staffing. Moldova’s journalism schools are currently ineffective at producing employable graduates so most training of new reporters is done in house at considerable expense in time and resources. 

• Adapting to AI: Everyone in this field is aware that AI is going to change just about everything. Organizations worry about falling behind in training their staff and understanding both the risks and opportunities of this new technology. 

• Adding a global lens: Moldovan journalists are adapting to a new reality where Moldova sits in the middle of Europe’s geopolitical crisis. This means making new partnerships and training staff on following stories and looking for disinformation and hybrid attacks against Moldova that might happen far away - including stories planted in English language media outlets and complex social media campaigns. 

These meetings are already shaping out 2026 programming. We’re continuing to meet with key stakeholders and will build future programming based on what we learn and where MRF is uniquely positioned to make a difference. 

What’s Next

Thanks to your generous donations, and the $25,000 major gift, our team is preparing to launch our first major programming in 2026. In parallel we are working to expand our board of directors in order to build a more diverse team that can help MRF grow and better fulfill our mission. 

We’re also going to announce some volunteer opportunities for people interested in being more involved and with skills in fundraising, social media, and communications. Stay tuned to emails and social media posts for more information!  

Stay Involved

Help us grow the Moldova Resilience Fund and provide more support to the people on the ground in Moldova who are making the real difference: 

• Follow us on Facebook, Linkedin and subscribe to our mailing list

• Share MRF with friends and contacts that you think would support our mission

• Get in touch - have questions? Interested in getting more involved? Reach out to us!

Sincerely, 

David Smith

Chair of the Moldova Resilience Fund Board