ANF is dedicated to the promotion and support of independent journalism.

ANF was founded by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (now known as AAN Publishers) in 2002, and continues to maintain a close relationship with the group. 

• ANF serves as a fiscal sponsor to independent entities that are in the business of building and sustaining news and information infrastructure across the country. 

• ANF collaborates with the Black Press (National Newspaper Publishers Association, NNPA), the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP), and AAN Publishers to advance the mission behind the Fund For Equity In Local News, a sponsored project of ANF that supports more than 500 Black and Latino-owned news outlets, local alternative publications, and online news sites.

• ANF works side by side with AAN Publishers to support the core principles of the alternative press: Speaking truth to power, telling stories that would otherwise go untold, and giving voice to those who would otherwise go unheard.