In 2009-2011, despite the recession, U.S. foundations significantly stepped up their funding of media-related projects. New research shows that 1,012 foundations invested a total of $1.86 billion during that time -- making media the seventh largest area of foundation funding. 12% of media funding came from community foundations.

But foundations still can do more to help meet the information needs of communities, says Knight's Eric Newton.

The report, Growth in Foundation Support for Media in the United States, is a collaborative effort of the Foundation Center, Media Impact Funders and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. It provides the most comprehensive view so far of philanthropy's role in five areas of the media funding landscape:

• Journalism, news, and information
• Media access and policy
• Media applications and tools
• Media platforms
• Telecommunications infrastructure

The report does not specifically call out funding for community-focused media. Also, it addresses only investments made by traditional private and community foundations; not gifts from individual supporters of nonprofit news outlets.

"Just 10 foundations invested 42% of the total, so there's room for more large investors as well as growth within the other thousand," wrote Newton in a Knight Blog post. He suggested that the members of Media Impact Funders (a network of funders working broadly on media and technology issues in order to create social change) might be able to spur further growth in media-related foundation giving.

What's hot? Foundations appear to especially value digital media projects. Overall, foundations invested four times as much in web-based and mobile projects, compared to legacy media (print, television and radio).

Also, foundations are investing more in "journalism" than in any other subcategory of media grants -- totaling roughly $527 million, or 28%, over three years. However, Newton observes that this is far from enough. "The cost of traditional journalism being lost from the system is more than 10 times that," he wrote. "Venture philanthropists who focus on the democratic functions of media and the social good that technology can do should take note: When considering growth, do we have an appropriate sense of urgency?"