DENVER — Colorado Media Project is pleased to announce a new grant opportunity for local Colorado newsrooms. The 2026 Closing Colorado Coverage Gaps Grant provides flexible support to newsrooms serving Colorado’s BIPOC, linguistically diverse, and rural communities. These grants provide general operating support to newsrooms with strong, existing relationships in these communities, helping them build on those relationships with their audiences and strengthen their editorial coverage of issues vital to the communities they serve.
Colorado’s BIPOC, linguistically diverse, and rural communities face some of the largest gaps in local news coverage, are more likely to reside in news deserts, and tend to be disproportionately affected by mis- and disinformation. The newsrooms that do serve these communities provide them with vital, often irreplaceable or unduplicated civic information services, and tend to have strong, trusting relationships with their communities. However, these newsrooms also tend to face more extreme challenges. These can include financial and organizational instability, difficulty hiring and retaining staff, barriers to diversifying revenue streams through mainstream fundraising practices, and a lack of organizational bandwidth to plan and implement investments and to respond effectively to changing community information needs while continuing to report the daily news.
Who May Apply?
Applicants must meet all of the following requirements:
- In operation and publishing since at least 01/01/2024
- A commitment to editorial excellence, editorial independence, and transparency
- Located in Colorado, and/or projects must primarily serve Colorado communities
- Have a budget of less than $1 million
Applicants can be:
- 501(c)(3) nonprofit newsrooms and organizations
- University or college student newsrooms producing original reporting that is community-facing
- For-profit organizations with an established 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor
Grant Application Process and Timeline:
- July 7, 2026: Announcement of Open Call
- July 15, 2026: Virtual Information Session & Applications Open
- 11:59 p.m. Aug. 14, 2026: Application deadline
- Aug. 17-Sept. 4, 2026: Application review process
- Week of Sept. 14, 2026: Grant decision notifications sent
*Please note that past grant recipients are eligible to apply, but will be required to submit outstanding final reports before submitting their application for the 2026 grant cycle.
More Information
We will be hosting an information session on Wednesday, July 15, at 11 a.m. to provide an overview of the grant and answer any questions. Applications will open on July 15, the deadline to apply for the grant is 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time, Friday, August 14, 2026.
REGISTER HERE for the Information Session on July 15.
If you have questions about this funding opportunity or the online grant application form, please contact Libbie Randolph, Colorado Media Project Grantee Relations Manager, at libbie@coloradomediaproject.com or 804-815-9904.
