Applications are now open for the third round of grants from Colorado Media Project’s Advancing Equity in Local News fund.
Donor Name: Colorado Media Project
State: Colorado
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 11/27/2023
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The goal of this initiative is to build newsroom and community capacity to address inequities, and to harness a wider array of partners and community assets to create a healthier, more inclusive public square in Colorado.
These grants are intended to catalyze long-term changes in the ways that newsrooms interact with, reflect, and serve communities. Proposals that articulate a long-term vision for what applicants hope to achieve with their projects beyond the year of funding are highly encouraged.
This year’s open-call grant opportunity is made possible through pooled support from The Colorado Trust, The Colorado Health Foundation, Rose Community Foundation, RootED Denver, Gates Family Foundation, Democracy Fund and The Bohemian Foundation.
- Support internal diversity, equity and inclusion capacity-building efforts in Colorado newsrooms
- Strengthen connections and build trust between Colorado newsrooms and the diverse communities they serve
- Support more diverse and inclusive civic news leadership, entrepreneurship, ownership and narratives
Priorities
The third round of Advancing Equity in Local News grants will again support projects that address one or more of these three priorities:
- Support internal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) capacity-building efforts in Colorado newsrooms
- When Colorado newsrooms have inclusive workplace cultures they can successfully recruit, retain and promote reporters who represent the communities they serve, and are better equipped to cover communities with the respect, nuance, and completeness they deserve.
- Strengthen connections and build trust between Colorado newsrooms and the diverse communities they serve
- Local newsrooms can be hubs for trusted civic news, but building and sustaining that trust requires strong, ongoing, two-way connections between newsrooms and the local community members they serve, especially with communities of color, and others whose perspectives and stories have historically been left out of or distorted by coverage. Funding will support newsrooms and community members in developing new projects and durable connections that help meet community needs and amplify diverse perspectives.
- Support more diverse and inclusive civic news leadership, entrepreneurship, ownership and narratives
- Colorado’s current local journalism workforce is overwhelmingly white and concentrated in the Front Range, which narrows the range of issues and voices amplified in our state. When Coloradans read, see and hear about concerns, struggles, triumphs and perspectives from neighbors and families not like their own, it can build common understanding and point to solutions. Funding will support projects that advance equity and shift narratives through projects developed by and for communities of color, rural communities, and other historically marginalized groups.
Funding Information
The total grant amount per project for most projects will range between $5,000 and $25,000, with potential for more funding for projects that involve multiple well-coordinated partners and/or have the potential to deliver significant impact.
Eligibility Criteria
- Colorado nonprofit news organizations and small, locally owned and operated for-profit or public benefit newsrooms are qualified to apply as lead applicants; for-profit newsrooms owned by corporations or investors may access project support by applying as part of a collaborative application with a qualified lead applicant
- Nonprofit community organizations that are proposing to collaborate with one or more Colorado news or media organization/s
- Projects initiated by freelance journalists, storytellers, or media entrepreneurs must apply under a fiscal sponsor, which is a nonprofit or for-profit news organization or nonprofit community organization
- Applicants must be located in Colorado and/or projects must primarily serve Colorado communities
- New applicants as well as current and previous CMP grantees are eligible to apply, including recipients of AELN funds in 2023 who are seeking 2024 continuation grants or funding for new projects. Such applicants will be asked to outline whether the newly proposed project relates to their other CMP-funded work.
For more information, visit Colorado Media Project.
