The Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund is designed to strengthen local journalism at scale, with a focus on journalistic excellence and serving the information needs of communities in the U.S. A critical part of achieving this is supporting the work in Philadelphia, which is known as Workstream #3 of the Fund. The Philly-based work in particular is focused on addressing a larger design imperative - How Might We create a more sustainable and equitable news and information ecosystem. This means we are focused on transformative investments that promote quality journalism in support of thriving communities and civic engagement. This contributes to the K-L Fund’s mutual aid approach to journalism where we see news and information as a vehicle for solidarity.

All proposals should address the questions/topics in the document below along with a budget in the Knight-Lenfest Fund template. There’s no need for long narratives in the Submittable form. A bulleted and succinct approach to answering the questions is preferred. This proposal application can include a memo, three pages max, if it would help us understand your vision and implementation plan further. If applicable, please indicate in the application when we should be referencing the memo.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Belonging is central to all of our efforts. This includes not only who is participating in the programming/initiatives of the proposed grant, but also the approaches, techniques and the overall experience.

Please let us know if you have any questions about the proposal process. For technical questions about Submittable, please contact Charles Jun (charles@lenfestinstitute.org) of the Lenfest Institute and cc Diana Lu (diana@lenfestinstitute.org).

Thank you for your interest in applying for a travel grant through the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.

Read the application questions and answer each question directly and completely.

Contact grants@lenfestinstitute.org if you have any questions or concerns about this application or the application process.