News and Press

Independence Public Media Foundation Announces 2021 Grant Open Call

May 16, 2021

a grant open call graphic made up of six photos

The Independence Public Media Foundation (IPMF) is pleased to announce the 2021 grant open call for the Community Voices Fund and Digital Equity Fund. The Community Voices Fund initially launched last year as a response to the need for documenting, sharing, and preserving people's experiences and stories during the pandemic, as well as strengthening information networks and community-led media across the Greater Philadelphia region.

Together with the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund and HealthSpark Foundation, IPMF is inviting proposals for the 2021 Community Voices Fund. The $1.3 million fund includes $250,000 from the Knight-Lenfest Fund, $40,000 from HealthSpark Foundation, and $1 million from IPMF. Applications to the fund will be accepted through June 11.

The fund aims to support a range of media organizations and media making projects in the region, with an emphasis on community-owned media, and community-connected news, information, and journalism addressing systemic inequities and systems that need to change.

“As HealthSpark Foundation works to build a more equitable and resilient social safety net in Montgomery County, we recognize that our collective ability to create responsive, just public policy is fundamentally tied to the breadth, complexity, and inclusivity of the stories we hear,” said Russell Johnson, President and CEO of the foundation. “Investing in those stories through our partnership on the Community Voices Fund will help to change the narrative—so that our efforts can truly lead to lasting change.”

In partnership with the HealthSpark Foundation, a portion of the Community Voices Fund will be dedicated to organizations working in Montgomery County, PA. In partnership with the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund, a portion of the Fund will be dedicated to projects focused on news, information, and journalism.

“In such an important period of reinvention and re-imagination, we have an opportunity to make sure that news and information, grounded in community, addresses systemic inequities and creates narratives and new approaches that lead to solidarity and a just future. The Knight-Lenfest Fund is proud to be partnering with IPMF once again and now with the HealthSpark Foundation through the Community Voices Fund,” said Roxann Stafford, Managing Director of the Knight-Lenfest Fund.

IPMF is also inviting proposals that focus on advancing digital equity throughout the Greater Philadelphia region. The pandemic has underscored the urgency of digital equity and its intersections with structural inequality. Through the $1 million Digital Equity Fund, the foundation is seeking proposals that help communities get and stay connected to the internet and access the information and resources they need to have agency and thrive.

“Like storytelling and media making, digital equity is an arena that intersects with a broad spectrum of issues-- from healthcare and education, to employment and social justice,” IPMF's Program Officer Nuala Cabral stated. “We understand that this issue will not be solved in one year or decade, but what we do now can help shift the current reality for future generations in the Philly region and beyond.”

About Independence Public Media Foundation

The Independence Public Media Foundation funds and supports creative, community-centered media and media making across Greater Philadelphia. The Foundation's goals reflect an expansive definition of media, including journalism, digital literacy, and creative expression, as a pathway for communities building power. Through grant-making and other programs, IPMF supports building and strengthening networks of people who are creating and sharing information, ideas, and stories for change and justice.

About HealthSpark Foundation

HealthSpark is a private, independent foundation in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia. Their mission is to invest in nonprofit organizations, networks, and coalitions promoting a more just and healthy community.

About Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund

With a focus on sustainability and equity, The Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund, is designed to strengthen local journalism at scale through supporting journalistic excellence and serving the information needs of communities. The Knight-Lenfest Fund collaborates with news organizations, leaders, and communities to grow capacity; meet the technology, business, and audience realities of the future; and produce outstanding journalism that helps communities thrive by increasing their agency. The Knight-Lenfest Fund uses a mutual-aid approach to journalism, where news and information can be a vehicle for solidarity. The Fund believes that journalism is at its best when it is of service.

The Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund is an independent joint venture fund formed by the Knight Foundation and the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.

For more information, contact Enni Aigbomian, enni@independencemedia.org

###

Author

Enni Aigbomian

Enni uses storytelling and visual media to advocate for disenfranchised communities in the U.S. and abroad. Her work focuses on the African diaspora and Indigenous communities in the Americas, as well as the socio-economic rights of women and children. A communicator for social change, Enni has collaborated with international community media and nonprofits such as World Young Women’s Christian Association, Fundación CEDESOCIAL, Vokaribe Radio, and HOPE Worldwide, Bolivia.

Enni has worked with Philadelphia community media and nonprofits such as the American Friends Service Committee, FunTimes Magazine, and Philatinos Radio. She also served as the first head of communications at Read by 4th, Philadelphia’s grade-level reading campaign managed by the Free Library of Philadelphia. She sits on the board of Shelterforce Magazine, an independent publication that covers the worlds of community development, affordable housing, and neighborhood stabilization.

See Profile