Deadline: 18 May 2020
The Philadelphia COVID-19 Community Information Fund was created by The Independence Public Media Foundation (IPMF), The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and The Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund (Knight-Lenfest).
The Philadelphia COVID-19 Community Information Fund was created to support Philadelphia-area media and other community organizations as they work tirelessly to meet the information needs of Philadelphia’s most vulnerable communities at this time of acute need.
Purpose
To support Philadelphia-area media and other community organizations as they work to meet the news and information needs of Philadelphia’s diverse and marginalized communities that leads to informed decision-making and resiliency both at this time of acute need and for the long-term.
Focus Areas
Philadelphia area communities need reliable, accurate news and information that is responsive to needs and creates opportunity for dialogue, reflection and informed decision-making. As a result, grants will be made in the following areas:
- News and Information on public health and economic relief for vulnerable communities that addresses health and other structural disparities (economic, social or environmental) and contributing factors
- News and information generated by and for diverse communities with emphasis on sharing their stories, experiences, expertise, and solutions
- Infrastructure needs of news and media organizations required to better cover the health, social, and economic impact of COVID-19, to be responsive to community needs and to support new forms of storytelling – amplifying the lived experience, utilizing data, deepening engagement, listening to and co-creation with communities
- Civic and community systems needs by providing news and information that addresses the evolution and reinvention of key systems such as, but not limited to, food security, health care, employment/economy, education, mass incarceration, or the 2020 election and Census
Grant Information
Any of the Community Information Fund Focus Areas could apply to the following terms and amount:
- Immediate Information Needs – Up to $50,000 for 6 months
- Resiliency & Reinvention Efforts – Up to $100,000 for 12 months
Criteria
The Community Information Fund will prioritize support for organizations meeting the following criteria:
- Who: Organizations or existing collaborations (This can be multiple organizations or individuals working with organizations.) They also encourage small and independent organizations, those that aren’t owned by a larger parent company or have an annual budget under $2 million annually, to apply. Organizations outside of Philadelphia are eligible to apply if their project will be based in and serve the Philadelphia area and they are collaborating with at least one Philadelphia area organization.
- Audience: Based in and principally serving residents of the Philadelphia region (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania; and Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Mercer in New Jersey); with preference for those serving and increasing the agency of historically marginalized communities.
- Focus: All funded projects, whether new or existing, must meet at least one of the Community Information Fund’s Focus Areas and have a clear tie to solving vital community information needs in order to be considered. Preference will be given to organizations that allow their content to be publicly accessible.
- Sustainability: Projects that have impact on the organization and/or the community served in the longer-term wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information, visit https://www.lenfestinstitute.org/covid19fund/