2024 Grant Application Details
We envision a North Carolina in which everyone has the news and information they need to make decisions about their lives, connect with their communities, and participate in our democracy.
We’re opening this round of grants to news and community organizations to whom we’ve previously made grants in any grant application round, as well as new grant seekers.
These grants will provide general operating support for non-profit organizations and for-profit entities with appropriate fiscal sponsorship for projects with a charitable purpose. Read more about these terms below.
Our average grant size has been ~$39,000. We expect the largest grants this cycle to be no more than $40,000.
Note: As of July 18, we added more details to our application instructions for current grant partners and new grant seekers. Find the updated instructions in our “How to Apply” section.
We will prioritize funding organizations and projects that reflect:
Equitable ways of working with and for people and communities through listening, learning, direct engagement, and transformative approaches to serving news and information needs
Team diversity, and specifically teams who reflect the people and communities they serve
Service of NC’s rural areas, youth, communities of color, Indigenous peoples, Hispanic/Latino communities, LGBTQ communities, people whose primary language is not English, communities disconnected by the digital divide or other information barriers, and/or people living in poverty
Little-d democratic goals, including free and fair elections, community connection, and topics like public health, mutual aid, and public accountability
Efforts to build on existing organizational strengths by expanding access to the work beyond current audiences
Diversifying and earning revenue for your organization (only applicable for 501c3 public charity applicant organizations)
Outcomes that will move more than one organization forward
The deadline for application submission is 12 pm ET on Aug 8, 2024.
Selection Process
A selection committee will review applications and make recommendations to the Fund about grants in September. We hope to inform you about the status of your application soon thereafter and write checks in October.
To support your preparation, we are answering questions about the application process during our office hours. Book time with us here: Lizzy Hazeltine | Jagmeet Singh Mac.
How to Apply
For applicants who received a grant from our Fund in 2024:
Your organization should have received an email from NEO Grantee Community (grants@neophilanthropy.org) with the subject line “Welcome to NEO's Grantee Portal”. This is the platform where you will apply for funding from the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund. (A second email from NEO Philanthropy will invite you to complete the application.)
Click the link in the email to set your login credentials.
Once inside the platform, click the tab “open proposals” and find the “link to proposal.” This is where your organization will apply.
Submit your application via the platform no later than 12 pm ET on Aug 8, 2024.
For all other applicants:
Click here and fill out this interest form no later than Aug 2, 2024.
After you submit the form, if your organization is eligible, NEO Philanthropy will email you a link to the grant application platform within a few business days. While your platform access is pending, you can start preparing your answers to our application questions here.
The email that grants platform access will come from NEO Grantee Community (grants@neophilanthropy.org) with the subject line “Welcome to NEO's Grantee Portal”. This is the platform where you will apply for funding from the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund. (A second email from NEO Philanthropy invites you to complete the application.)
Click the link in the email to set your login credentials.
Once inside the platform, click the tab “open proposals” and find the “link to proposal.” This is where your organization will apply.
Submit your application via the platform no later than 12 pm ET on Aug 8, 2024.
Submit your application via the platform no later than 12 pm ET on Aug 8, 2024.
Have questions? Email Jagmeet Singh Mac: jagmeet@nclocalnews.org
Grant Application Questions
The platform for submitting this application is now open. Learn more about accessing the platform above.
You can also download or make a copy of the application questions here.
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We’d like to understand the financial picture of your organization through two main budgets. We welcome you to use our budget template, but it is not required. Download or make a copy of the budget template here.
Please share:
Last fiscal year’s budget
This fiscal year’s budget
Project budget (for fiscally sponsored projects)
These budget documents are optional and will not affect your eligibility or competitiveness for a grant:
Last fiscal year’s budgeted revenue and expenses versus actual revenue and expenses
Next fiscal year’s budget
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Please select the roles that your organization plays. This can be more than one of the following:
Provide service to NC’s rural areas, youth, communities of color, Indigenous peoples, Hispanic/Latino communities, LGBTQ communities, people whose primary language is not English, communities disconnected by the digital divide or other information barriers, and/or people living in poverty
Provide news and information for additional specific populations and communities
Expand reach and distribution of information
Help NC residents to tell our own stories
Use the power of narrative to tell a complete, accurate story of NC
Build infrastructure, tools, or other supports for open, accessible NC public life and local democracy
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Please choose all that apply.*
in-person outreach
text/SMS
broadcast or streaming radio
email
social media channels (please list which channels you utilize below: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, etc.)
print
broadcast tv
digital publication focused on a website
partnerships
live events, community meetings
other (type out)
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Note: our average grant size has been ~$39,000. We expect the largest grants this cycle to be no more than $40,000 and encourage organizations to request any amount up to $40,000 when applying.
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You may share structure, size, and composition of the audience/community served, team composition and size, mission, strategies, results of your work, or how your organization contributes to the news and information ecosystem. Feel free to include links to save space. (Recommended up to 400 words)
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We’re interested in geographic, population, and demographic descriptions, and what your audience does with what you share. Please tell us if there is a difference in the audience you currently reach and the communities you seek to serve. (Recommended up to 400 words)
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What information needs, reporting gaps, distribution solutions, or narrative work do you address? How do you address them? How do you know people are using your work in their lives? (Recommended up to 400 words)
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Tell us how this grant helps you provide a service your communities need, extends your reach, or enables your organizational survival or viability. Please be specific about the organizational and community impacts of a potential grant from us.
All three things need not be included in your explanation.
(Recommended up to 400 words)
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Is there anything else you want us to know about your organization and who you serve? If so, please provide that information here. Feel free to include links to your work online, reports, examples of your work, or stories. (Recommended up to 400 words)
Frequently Asked Questions
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News and community organizations that support North Carolina’s communities in one or more of the following roles:
Provide service to NC’s rural areas, youth, communities of color, Indigenous peoples, Hispanic/Latino communities, LGBTQ communities, people whose primary language is not English, communities disconnected by the digital divide or other information barriers, and/or people living in poverty
Provide news and information for additional specific populations and communities
Expand reach and distribution of information
Help NC residents to tell our own stories
Use the power of narrative to tell a complete, accurate story of NC
Build infrastructure, tools, or other supports for open, accessible NC public life and local democracy
Additional eligibility considerations:
501c3 public charity nonprofits and for-profit organizations with projects serving a charitable purpose with appropriate fiscal sponsorship from a nonprofit organization are eligible. For organizations that applied with a fiscal sponsor, fiscal sponsorship must still be active and verified through a signed sponsorship agreement from both parties. Learn more about fiscal sponsorships in our glossary below.
The North Carolina Local News Lab Fund prioritizes funding for news and community organizations that serve people in our state. This doesn’t exclude national organizations with a project in North Carolina; at the same time, we tend to focus funding on locally based and focused organizations.
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Those who are not eligible for this funding include:
Organizations that do not serve North Carolina’s communities
Individual people without an organization to receive the grant.
For-profit organizations that do not have a project that serves a charitable purpose and/or appropriate fiscal sponsorship from a 501c3 public charity nonprofit
501c4 organizations that engage in partisan political activities
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You can email Associate Director Jagmeet Singh Mac at jagmeet@nclocalnews.org for further support determining your eligibility.
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Organizations of any budget size are eligible to apply.
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The application opened on July 8 at 12 pm ET and closes on August 8 at 12 pm ET. Following the selection committee’s review, you’ll receive an update on the status of your application in September. We plan to distribute funding to grant recipients in October.
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The NC Local News Lab Fund Director Lizzy Hazeltine and Associate Director Jagmeet Singh Mac are hosting office hours to support grant seekers as they prepare to apply. You can sign up for office hours with the Fund team here: Lizzy Hazeltine | Jagmeet Singh Mac. Note: Lizzy and Jagmeet will be available to answer questions about our application process, but cannot offer explicit coaching or guidance on refining or tailoring an application to the Fund.
For those seeking grant writing support, you can access The Lenfest Institute’s free virtual course, “Introduction to Grant Writing for News Organizations.” -
An email with instructions on accessing the application portal will come from NEO Philanthropy, the Fund’s fiscal sponsor. If you’ve followed the instructions to access the application portal and are still having trouble accessing your account, reach out to Jagmeet Singh Mac at jagmeet@nclocalnews.org for support.
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On average, our grant partners have spent about 3-5 hours on our previous applications.
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Our selection committee, which represents a wide range of diverse perspectives and expertise, will review your application and make recommendations about grant distribution.
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Yes. The Fund is the home of Press Forward North Carolina, and Press Forward North Carolina dollars are included within the funds that the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund will distribute to grant recipients. There is no separate application to apply for Press Forward North Carolina funding.
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No. While the Fund is a collaborative partner to Press Forward, our grantmaking is entirely separate from theirs. Press Forward recently closed applications for their first round of grant proposals on June 12 and does not currently have an open call for grant proposals. You can subscribe to Press Forward’s newsletter to stay in-the-know about their future open calls for proposals.
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In 2023, a coalition of national funders and donors launched Press Forward, an initiative to strengthen communities by infusing more than $500M into local news over the next five years. In December 2023, Press Forward announced a network of local chapters: affiliates of the national initiative that are anchored and driven by local funders. The North Carolina Local News Lab Fund is the home of the Press Forward North Carolina. We deepen and expand partnerships with regional and national funders to advance the vision of informed, connected, and thriving communities across North Carolina.
Glossary
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General operating support grants "help advance a nonprofit organization's mission rather than specific projects or programs." These grants support an organization's day-to-day operations and give it the flexibility and agency to use funds in the most effective way to serve its communities—including, but not limited to, hiring for a new position, investing in database software, or launching a new program.
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The IRS defines “charitable purpose” as the following:
“The term charitable is used in its generally accepted legal sense and includes relief of the poor, the distressed, or the underprivileged; advancement of religion; advancement of education or science; erection or maintenance of public buildings, monuments, or works; lessening the burdens of government; lessening neighborhood tensions; eliminating prejudice and discrimination; defending human and civil rights secured by law; and combating community deterioration and juvenile delinquency.”
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A fiscal sponsor is a 501c3 public charity nonprofit organization that manages and oversees charitable activities and projects. A fiscal sponsorship is an arrangement between a for-profit organization and nonprofit organization, where the nonprofit oversees a charitable project or activity on behalf of the for-profit. As part of the fiscal sponsorship arrangement, the 501c3 ensures that funds are properly used for a charitable purpose (see definition for “charitable purpose” above).
A for-profit organization that holds an active fiscal sponsorship arrangement with a non-profit organization is eligible to apply to the Fund’s active grant cycles and will be required to include a signed fiscal sponsorship agreement in the application. Learn more about fiscal sponsorships between for-profits and nonprofits and nonprofit organizations that will fiscally sponsor new businesses.
