Call for 2023 Projects that Respond to Community-Based Calls for Action
Well-informed, engaged communities are vital to a well-functioning democracy and key to addressing many challenges facing our state – public education, economic inequality, public health and wellbeing, climate change, and more. Trustworthy, rigorous, nonpartisan local news is a fundamental component of healthy, thriving communities. Coloradans rely on local journalists and newsrooms to monitor, uncover and amplify important issues that hold the powerful to account, mobilize communities, advance causes, and inform strong policies. The best civic news also spotlights humanity among neighbors and builds a foundation for collective problem-solving.
Since 2020, Colorado Media Project (CMP)’s Informed Communities Fund has supported dozens of local news outlets and projects that put community listening and information needs at the center of the journalism process — with a special emphasis on better service to and coverage of communities of color, linguistically diverse communities, rural communities, and others not adequately served, reached or represented.
On October 20, 2022, CMP will open applications for the second round of grants from our Advancing Equity in Local News fund. The purpose 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.
The application deadline to receive funding for 2023 projects is December 1, 2022; a third grant cycle will open in Fall 2023, to fund 2024 projects. This opportunity is made possible through support from The Colorado Trust, Gates Family Foundation, The Colorado Health Foundation, Rose Community Foundation, Democracy Fund and The Bohemian Foundation.
CMP’s Advancing Equity in Local News grants will support projects that are informed by and responsive to the types of recommendations put forth by Black Voices and Latinx Voices working groups convened by Free Press, COLab and CMP in 2021, and the ongoing work of the Indigenous Voices and AAPI Voices working groups convened by COLab in partnership with local community groups and journalists in 2022. CMP’s first round of AELN grants in 2022 supported journalists and community members in leading these 19 projects across the state; grantees shared their learning at the 2022 AELN convening in September. (Look out for session videos, coming soon!)
The second 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. The Colorado Trust is providing funding to support DEI capacity-building in Colorado newsrooms aimed at creating inclusive workplace cultures. Project examples: DEI training for newsroom leaders and reporters; content audits or projects to examine trends in sourcing, framing and/or language; leadership development for journalists of color or representing diverse perspectives or abilities; and more.
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. Project examples: Community engagement or reporting projects co-designed by newsrooms and community groups; support for public accountability boards that provide ongoing and actionable community feedback to newsrooms; systemic approaches to connect newsrooms with expert sources, storytellers and collaborators from diverse communities; and more.
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. Project examples: Capacity-building that develops media leadership, entrepreneurship, storytelling or reporting skills among journalists, content creators and residents of color, low-income residents, or those from rural or other underserved communities; support for media ownership transitions, innovations or growth that significantly impact communities of color, rural or other underserved communities; editorial projects led by and for those whose stories are not being told; and more.
With these priorities, Colorado Media Project aims to support ideas, new models and experiments that build trust and expand the tent for local news in tangible ways, and also yield lessons and best-practices for the field. These grants are not aimed at solving overall capacity or sustainability issues at Colorado’s media organizations, but authentic and intentional expansion of service to diverse audiences should be a core part of the project’s design. While proposals should emphasize one of the above themes or topics for exploration, we are equally interested in finding new strategies and tools to deliver content and engage diverse audiences.
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.
Grant amounts will vary depending on the scope of the projects and the total number of outlets funded. 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 partners and/or have the potential to deliver significant impact. Applicants will be asked to identify additional organizational resources (eg: staff time, material support from leadership, in-kind or financial resources from other sources or partners) that they plan to dedicate to the project, in addition to the requested grant funds. Organizations that received 2022 AELN grants are eligible to reapply for new work or continuation of their existing projects.
Colorado Media Project will host a Zoom information session on Thursday, Nov. 3 from 10 to 11 a.m. MT to answer questions about this opportunity and the application and selection process. RSVP below!
Who May Apply?
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
Current and previous CMP grantees are eligible to apply, including recipients of AELN funds in 2022 who are seeking 2023 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.
Application Process and Timeline
Application Opens: Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022
Information Session: Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022 from 10-11 a.m. MT
Deadline Reminder: Monday Nov. 28, 2022
Applications Due: Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022 by 5 p.m. MT
Applicant Notifications: by Friday, January 6, 2023
Grantee Welcome Meeting (Virtual): Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, 2 to 3 p.m. MT
Disbursement of Grants: By January 20, 2023 (pending signed contracts)
Mid-Term Grantee Interviews with CMP: June 2023
Grantee Convening (Grantee Learning and Presentations): Fall 2023
Final Report Due to CMP: Dec. 1, 2023
All Funds Expended: By Dec. 31, 2023
Additional Notes
Applicants should base the amount requested on the scope of the project. While all applications need to be strong to be competitive, the larger the amount requested, the stronger the application will need to be.
Proposing to utilize grants as matching funds to leverage other resources is encouraged.
It is important for us to understand what your organization and/or partners are able to contribute to your project from your existing resources. Project budgets should reflect the total cost required to achieve your goals, including any staff time, in-kind contributions, and/or funding from other sources.
Proposals that involve multiple outlets and/or community groups are encouraged, with a goal of creating efficiencies, leveraging strengths and expanding impact.
Grantees will be invited to participate in additional learning and capacity building facilitated by CMP and COLab, and to share their project progress and learning at a convening planned for Fall 2023.
About CMP’s Informed Communities Fund
Colorado Media Project’s Informed Communities Fund supports journalism outlets, community groups, and projects that put community listening and information needs at the center of the journalism process — with a special emphasis on better serving communities of color and other marginalized groups.
CMP offered its first round of Informed Communities grants in early 2020, to address gaps in COVID-19 news reaching communities of color, immigrants, and other non-English speakers as the pandemic was at its height. In 2021 we offered grants to reach these same communities who have been disproportionately impacted by the virus, to ensure they received accurate information about how to access the vaccine, and answers to their questions to address reluctance, from trusted community voices and local news sources. In 2022, we launched the first round of Advancing Equity in Local News grants, in addition to the three-year Community News Network grant designed to support local newsrooms that reach underserved audiences.
Colorado Health Foundation, The Colorado Trust, Democracy Fund, Gates Family Foundation and Rose Community Foundation are contributors to CMP’s Informed Communities Fund.
Questions?
Please review the recording of our information session here or contact Sam Moody, CMP Learning and Grants Manager, at sam@coloradomediaproject.com.