New Initiative to Foster Informed, Engaged Communities

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation deepened its financial commitment to fostering informed, engaged communities with its announcement that it is committing $70 million over the next seven years to community foundations serving the cities and towns where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. The $70 million investment in the new Community Foundation initiative doubles the amount that Knight has given to community foundations since 2000. In announcing the new investment, Knight Foundation President Alberto Ibargüen drew a connection to the work of the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy, saying, ”Information is an essential community need and community foundations were established to meet core needs.”