ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The New Jersey Civic Information Consortium recently announced its inaugural round of grants, a milestone in the years-long effort by residents, journalists and local organizations to invest public funding to foster more informed communities.
The consortium has awarded 14 news-and-information initiatives with grants of up to $35,000. Grant recipients come from every part of New Jersey; their work focuses on diversifying journalism, improving government transparency and providing community health information, among other issues.
The inaugural class of grantees includes these Essex County organizations:
- The Bloomfield Information Project, which plans to launch a community-reporter corps pilot program that trains residents in news gathering, writing and production, and provides paid reporting assignments that prioritize the information needs of underserved populations in the surrounding community.
- Cosecha, a New Jersey grassroots organization run by and for Latinx immigrants, which plans to work with Rutgers University, which has a campus in Newark, to establish Radio Popular, a twice-weekly Spanish-language internet-radio program for the state’s Spanish-speaking immigrant community.
- The Newark News and Story Collaborative, which plans to train community members to tell their stories and produce news that fills information gaps in other media.
- The Newark Water Coalition, which plans to create Newark Community Voices, a digital-media and community-organizing training program for Newark youth. The program will produce and distribute multimedia health and environment stories that center Newark community-information needs.
The consortium represents a first-of-its-kind state model for public funding to support quality local journalism, promising media startups and other efforts meant to better inform people and promote civic engagement. The state of New Jersey provided $500,000 in funding for 2021.
In 2017, a broad coalition of universities, journalists, advocates, lawmakers and state residents began working together to create the consortium. With state support, the consortium will continue to provide grants for local journalism and civic technology projects, with an emphasis on efforts designed to better serve low-income communities, communities of color, immigrants and rural residents.
“Thanks to the bipartisan foresight of the legislature and governor, New Jersey has set a national precedent for public funding to inform and engage local communities through the groundbreaking legislation that created the consortium in 2018,” consortium board Chairperson Christopher J. Daggett said. “Today’s announcement marks a new beginning for civic information in New Jersey. These grants are funding 14 innovative projects aimed at bolstering access to local news and information, increasing access to community health, and training more people in journalism. We received 74 applications this round, from almost every county in New Jersey, which shows a tremendous interest in the consortium’s mission. We look forward to working with these grantees and thank everyone who applied for this inaugural round of grants.”
“The grants committee had a tough time picking grant recipients from the 74 applications we received,” board member Therise Edwards said. “This is a testament to the creative and civic-minded spirit of groups across New Jersey. The grants awarded in this round touch urban, suburban and rural New Jersey and a wide array of issues. The consortium is thrilled that several of the grantees will be engaging student populations to become active advocates for their communities. We are excited to see the positive impact these programs will have for New Jersey residents.”
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