About Us
The North Carolina Local News Lab Fund is building a sustainable and inclusive news and information ecosystem that benefits all of North Carolina.
We believe that local news is a critical component of healthy communities, and it should be funded like the essential infrastructure it is. Launched in 2017, the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund is a pooled fund that supports organizations working toward a healthier local news and information ecosystem. The Fund started as a component fund at the North Carolina Community Foundation and is now housed at NEO Philanthropy.
The Fund’s central goal is to build a resilient, sustainable news and information network while encouraging deep service to local communities and accessible, inclusive news and information for all North Carolina residents. To date, the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund has invested more than $4 million in 37 organizations and counting.
Our Mission
We support local news and community organizations to ensure that everyone in North Carolina can find, trust, and use the information they need to thrive.
Our Vision
Everyone in North Carolina has the news and information they need to make decisions about their lives, connect with their communities, and participate in our democracy.
Our Values
Equity and Diversity
We believe in the power of a more equitable news and information ecosystem to advance justice across race and class.
We apply a racial and class equity lens to understand the roots of inequities in local news and information, how these structures persist, and how to dismantle them.
We invest in a wide range of trusted messengers in North Carolina that reflect the full spectrum of people and organizations serving our state.
We amplify diverse perspectives and stories often excluded or misrepresented in mainstream media.
Transparency and Accountability
We believe that building trust is as essential for organizations serving communities as it is for funders who back them.
We are open about our grantmaking process and what we learn from the field with our grant partners.
We facilitate opportunities for funders and partners to collaborate in an environment built on integrity and respect.
We deliver on what we say, because being a reliable partner is our first job.
Accessibility and Inclusion
We believe that news and information, coalitions, and philanthropy all work best when we center community needs and leadership.
We invest in organizations that increase access to information across language, geography, and other systemic barriers.
We strive to make philanthropy and funding more accessible at each point in the grantmaking process.
We learn from and regularly engage diverse leaders from across the state in our strategy and funding decisions.