North Carolina Local News Lab Fund announces Press Forward Charlotte
The new Press Forward local chapter will fuel funder collaboration and investments in news and information in Charlotte
September 9, 2024 — The North Carolina Local News Lab Fund today announces the launch of Press Forward Charlotte, a new local chapter of Press Forward North Carolina. Press Forward Charlotte is a platform to fuel investment in Charlotte’s news and information ecosystem and spur collaboration among local funders. The launch comes as several local Charlotte funders make new commitments to the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund, along with a transformational $2 million investment from Knight Foundation.
Press Forward Locals are a network of chapters across the country where funders bring new donors and foundations together to expand resources for local news. These chapters are an opportunity for funders to create place-based initiatives, driven by the specific information needs of their communities. In February 2024, the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund announced it would be the home of Press Forward North Carolina, co-chaired by the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust and Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. Press Forward Charlotte, a subchapter of the statewide affiliate, represents the continued growth of North Carolina’s funding coalition.
“We’re working toward a vision where everyone in Charlotte and across North Carolina has the news and information they need to make decisions about their lives, connect with their communities and participate in our democracy,” said Lizzy Hazeltine, Director of the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund. “Local leaders in Charlotte are modeling what community-centered journalism looks like. Together, we have the opportunity to deepen and expand the movement for news and information delivered by local, trusted communicators that is already underway.”
The launch of Press Forward Charlotte marks the growing commitment of Charlotte’s philanthropic community to supporting journalism and community organizations. Knight Foundation announced a transformational $2 million investment into the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund. Several Charlotte funders have also made new funding commitments to the North Carolina Local News Fund, including Wells Fargo, the C.D. Spangler Foundation, United Way of Greater Charlotte, The Gambrell Foundation and several individual donors and families.
“Investing in news and information is a winning strategy for Charlotte,” said Charles Thomas, Charlotte Program Director at Knight Foundation. “More funders are making the connections between strong local journalism and the issues we all care about in Charlotte — from economic mobility, to affordable housing, to education, to health, to civic participation.”
Since 2017, the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund has deployed more than $5 million in direct grants to 53 news and community organizations, while advising on nearly as much in aligned grantmaking. Over the years the Fund has invested in several leading Charlotte-based newsrooms, community organizations, and collaboratives, including WFAE, the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, QNotes Carolinas, Report for America reporters at the Charlotte Observer, and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.
“Funders are investing in local news at higher rates than ever before. This is not only a recognition of what is at stake but also a testament to the importance and impact of our local newsrooms, trusted communicators, and ecosystem leaders,” said Dale R. Anglin, Director at Press Forward. “For a place-based approach to be effective, we must engage, listen to, and trust community leaders to guide funding decisions and the future of local news.”
The North Carolina Local News Lab Fund extends an open invitation to funders, civic leaders, newsrooms and community organizations to collaborate and strengthen North Carolina’s news and information ecosystem — whether in Charlotte, another North Carolina city or region, or at the state level. The Fund regularly holds office hours and virtual meetings with partners and stakeholders to find ways to mobilize resources to meet community news and information needs and support the people leading North Carolina forward. To learn more, email lizzy@nclocalnews.org.
About the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund
The North Carolina Local News Lab Fund is a pooled fund established in 2017 to build a resilient news and information network that serves all of North Carolina. The Fund invests in a diverse range of news and community organizations so that everyone in North Carolina can find, trust, and use the information they need to thrive. As the home of Press Forward local chapters in North Carolina, the Fund also deepens ongoing partnerships with regional and national funders while continuing to advance the vision of informed, connected, and thriving communities across the state. The Fund was founded by a group of local and national funders at the North Carolina Community Foundation and is now housed at NEO Philanthropy. Learn more at nclocalnews.org.
About Press Forward
Press Forward is a national movement to strengthen our democracy by revitalizing local news and information. A coalition of funders is investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms, close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage, advance public policy that expands access to local news and scale infrastructure the sector needs to thrive. Press Forward is housed at The Miami Foundation. For more, visit pressforward.news.
About Knight Foundation
We are social investors who support a more effective democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy, and in the success of American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once published newspapers. Learn more at kf.org and follow @knightfdn.