National Contest to Fund Local Information Experiments

MIAMI (Feb. 1, 2010) — The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is accepting applications from community and place-based foundations seeking to fund news and information projects. The deadline for the Knight Community Information Challenge, a matching grant program, is March 8.

Representatives from community or place-based foundations with questions about the Challenge can participate in one of two live chats to have queries answered online by Knight Foundation program officers. The live chats will take place at noon EDT Feb. 16 and 22 at www.informationneeds.org. Visit the site to learn more and sign up for a reminder.

Knight Foundation created the five-year contest to help local foundations find creative ways to fund media projects that inform and engage residents about pressing issues. So far, the Challenge has awarded $7.3 million for 45 ideas in communities large and small. The projects include funding public interest online news sites, creating online hubs to engage communities around specific issues and filling gaps in the types of news and information available locally.

To read the complete news release or to apply, go to www.informationneeds.org.