Small, community-based news outlets that provide important local news, information and perspectives to the communities they serve are invited to apply for a new, multi-year grant opportunity that provides support to help outlets grow or continue serving their communities in ways that address critical information needs and foster civic participation.
Community News Network grants are made possible through generous support from The Colorado Trust, a health equity foundation. The application will open on Wednesday, Nov. 3, and the deadline to apply is 5 p.m. MT Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021.
Strong applicants will be local news outlets currently serving a core audience that, because of language, race or ethnicity, and/or geography, is not adequately served by other news outlets in the state. Strong applicants report and produce original, local, independent, nonpartisan news and information and are important resources for their communities, as well as for local community-based organizations that are working to improve the lives of residents who are most impacted by racial, social and economic inequality and injustice.
Nonprofit news organizations and small, locally owned and operated for-profit or public benefit newsrooms are eligible to apply. Applicants will be required to specify how they will use grant funds; acceptable uses include reporting and production of local civic journalism and/or community engagement activities, including staff time and expenses.
Community News Network grant amounts will vary depending on the total number of outlets funded. The total grant amount per news organization may range between $30,000 and $60,000 per year for three years, with funding starting in January 2022.
Priority will be given to news outlets that:
Are located in the Colorado communities they serve, with staff members that live in and belong to those communities
Regularly produce original, independently reported, nonpartisan, accurate news and critical information on critical topics -- including public health, education, transportation, environment and planning, economic development, civic life, political life and public safety
Play a unique role in the state’s media ecosystem, by serving an audience that is not adequately reached by other news outlets in the state, particularly: communities of color, people with limited English proficiency or language barriers, and/or low-income residents in rural or mountain areas
Center the perspectives of people most impacted by inequities, particularly people of color, non-English speakers, and lower-income Coloradans
Have a track record of financial sustainability and a long-term commitment to serving the community
Application Process and Timeline
Application Opens: Weds. Nov. 3, 2021
Information Session: Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021 from Noon to 1 p.m. MT
Deadline to Apply for COLab or CPA Membership: Monday, Nov. 22, 2021 at 5 p.m. MT
Applications Due: Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021 by 5 p.m. MT
Applicant Notifications: Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Grantee Welcome Meeting (Virtual): Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, Noon-1 p.m. MT
Disbursement of Year One Grants: By January 14, 2022 (pending signed contracts)
Mid-Term Grantee Interviews with CMP: June 2022, 2023, 2024
Annual Reports Due to CMP: Dec. 1, 2022, 2023, 2024
Disbursement of Year Two and Year Three Grants: By Jan. 15, 2023, 2024 (pending receipt of annual reports in December)
All Funds Expended: By Dec. 31, 2024
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.
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 RSVP for our Nov. 11 information session about this opportunity here, or contact Lauren Archuletta, Operations and Communications Manager, Colorado Media Project at larchuletta@coloradomediaproject.com.