Press Forward Locals: Trust Begins Close to Home.
Local chapters are an opportunity to create place-based initiatives, driven by the specific information needs of their communities.
Press Forward Locals
Press Forward Locals are a network of chapters across the country where funders bring new donors and foundations together to expand resources for local news.
These chapters are an opportunity to create place-based initiatives, driven by the specific information needs of their communities.
Locals are also key to Press Forward’s success. These chapters are closest to their communities, and can identify authentic approaches that meet their information needs, while rallying supporters around a shared vision for local news.
To date, 17 communities across the country have raised their hand to form a local chapter and reinvigorate local news in their own backyards.
Meet the Press Forward Locals
The chapters and their lead funders are:
Alaska – Atwood Foundation
Chicago – John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and The Chicago Community Trust
Colorado – Gates Family Foundation and the Colorado Health Foundation
Lancaster, PA – The Steinman Foundation
Lexington, KY – Blue Grass Community Foundation
Minnesota – McKnight Foundation
Mississippi – CREATE Foundation
New Jersey – New Jersey Civic Information Consortium and Community Foundation of New Jersey
New Mexico – Thornburg Foundation and the New Mexico Local News Fund
North Carolina – North Carolina Local News Lab Fund, Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust and Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
Philadelphia – The Lenfest Institute for Journalism
Pittsburgh – Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University, Benter Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, Henry L. Hillman Foundations and The Pittsburgh Foundation
San Antonio – San Antonio Area Foundation
South Florida – The Miami Foundation
Springfield, Illinois – Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln
Wichita – Wichita Foundation
Wyoming – Wyoming Community Foundation
Each chapter gets support from Press Forward, including access to Catalyst Funds of up to $250,000 to help grow their efforts, technical assistance, including coaching and training, and peer networks to cultivate shared learning.
Meeting the Press Forward Alaska chapter in Anchorage.
Press Forward:
A Guide for Local Funders
For communities that are eager to begin investing in local news, Press Forward also published a new toolkit, Press Forward: A Guide for Local Funders, that offers approaches, case studies and resources.