IPM Grants Announcement Dec 2019

Independence Public Media Foundation Announces $4.3 Million in Grants for Creative Media Making Across Philadelphia

(December 18, 2019, Philadelphia) The Board of Directors of Independence Public Media of Philadelphia announced a new round of grants today, including $3.6 million to six organizations representing key partners for advancing the foundation’s vision for the Philadelphia region as a hotbed for creative media makers. Additionally, 17 organizations, either focused primarily on media, or that have innovative media projects, were nominated by community members to receive $25,000 grants each, totaling $425,000.

“With this round of grants, we are exploring the boundaries of creative media making, including media making for movement building, and community-led storytelling to bring new information and narratives to light,” said the foundation’s president Molly de Aguiar. She added, “We are committed to investing in the people and organizations who can build and strengthen networks, and foster wide-ranging, collaborative partnerships across the region.”

$2.6 million in this round will support a large-scale collaborative project between Media Mobilizing Project, Free Press, and the Media, Inequality, Change Center (MIC), focusing on violence, safety, and the impact of criminal justice narratives on the region. The three-year project aims to understand how social change happens, the media’s role in creating obstacles and opportunities for change, and what innovative, community-centered media and media making can and should look like in the region.

Based on outreach and relationship-building with residents and reporters, field scans and other research, the three organizations will tailor interventions with Philadelphia neighborhoods and newsrooms to support communities in telling their own stories, amplifying their solutions, and changing culture and practices within local newsrooms.

The three other key partners in this round include:

• The Leeway Foundation, which will create a program that pairs artists and social justice organizations to produce visually and/or narratively compelling storytelling that highlights and amplifies the organizations’ work. Additionally, Leeway will launch a program to help Philadelphia artists strengthen their use of media, while also increasing funds in support of media artists through their existing grants and awards programs.

• First Person Arts will professionally digitize and archive the nearly 10,000 stories they’ve collected, develop programming with the newly created database, and make the archive available to researchers, publishers, news organizations, media outlets, producers, libraries and others.

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• WLVT – PBS 39 will conduct a survey and analysis of the local content being created by independent artists, community organizations, and local arts and cultural organizations with the goal of successfully launching a television channel, WPPT, to distribute their work.

In addition to the creative media making grants, the Foundation approved grants to:

• Chalkbeat ($250,000) - in support of merger efforts between Chalkbeat and the Philadelphia Public School Notebook, a 25-year-old organization founded by parents and concerned members of the public

• Resolve Philadelphia ($25,000) - for additional capacity-building support

• NewsMatch ($13,000) - for matching funds to eight newsrooms in the region participating in this year-end fundraising campaign which encourages the public to support journalism

Independence Public Media will announce new funding opportunities for the region as it further establishes its grantmaking programs and hires staff.

A full list of the grants in this round is below:

Media Mobilizing Project $1,001,945

Media Mobilizing Project works with movements to amplify the voices of communities fighting for justice, equity and human rights. Through media production, coalition building, training and advocacy, MMP builds relationships of solidarity, power and mutual support.

Through this three-year grant, in collaboration with Free Press and Media, Inequality, Change Center, MMP will convene and connect community-based organizations and local leaders in an educational and strategic visioning process that will lead to action-taking to reshape narratives around safety, trauma and violence. In this work, MMP and their community partners will center, support, and help cohere people impacted by violence and the criminal-justice system.

Website: mediamobilizing.org

Free Press $850,000

Free Press is a nonpartisan organization building a nationwide movement for media that serve the public interest. Through education, organizing and advocacy, they promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications.

This three-year grant supports Free Press’ collaboration with Media Mobilizing Project and Media, Inequality, Change Center to organize journalists, newsrooms and community media allies to bring them into closer relationships with residents who want to take an active role in shaping local news. Free Press will also produce guides and workshops for constituents,

2 support community-newsroom collaboration, and develop strategies to disincentivize the dominant “if it bleeds, it leads” newsroom mentality.

Website: freepress.net

Media, Inequality, Change Center $798,000

The MIC Center occupies the intersection of technology, policy, and social justice. It is committed to studying the political economy of social problems, media, and democracy, while engaging local activist projects, and drawing connections with national and international social movements.

With this three-year grant, MIC will lead two integrated, multi-phase research projects focused broadly on Philadelphia’s media ecosystem and community networks, while convening researchers, practitioners and activists to collaborate on outlining a vision for remaking media in ways that reflect communities’ information needs. Together, with Free Press and Media Mobilizing Project, MIC aims to transform prevailing media narratives and elevate complex stories about trauma, safety, crime and criminal justice in Philadelphia.

Website: miccenter.org

Leeway Foundation $570,000

The Leeway Foundation supports women and trans artists and cultural producers working in communities at the intersection of art, culture, and social change.

This three-year grant provides Leeway the opportunity to make small, community-centered grants to artists at the intersection of media and social justice, and to bring much-needed capital to marginalized communities.

Website: leeway.org

First Person Arts $310,000

First Person Arts seeks to capture and retain the compelling narratives that reflect the collective memory and pressing issues of our time that must be told now. Their mission is to transform the drama of real life into memoir and documentary art to foster an appreciation for people’s unique and shared experiences.

This two-year grant will underwrite the professional digitalization, centralization and cataloging of FPA’s archived stories, allowing them to utilize archived material to expand their programming, demonstrate the archive’s value to people across the region and beyond.

Website: firstpersonarts.org

3 PBS 39 / WLVT $87,500

Lehigh Valley Public Media is a community-owned public media organization serving eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey and home of public television station PBS39/WLVT, the local NPR news station WLVR, and the television station WPPT. PBS39 acts as a catalyst to promote civic engagement, and to fulfill the regional needs of the Greater Lehigh Valley through its dynamic communication platforms and resources.

This one-year planning grant will allow WLVT to explore launching a channel that is robust, local and community-centered, through implementing a survey and analysis of content creators in the region (primarily video content), including the barriers that keep media makers from creating longer form content.

Website: wlvt.org

Chalkbeat $250,000

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization committed to covering one of America’s most important stories: the effort to improve schools for all children, especially those who have historically lacked access to a quality education.

This three-year grant will support Chalkbeat's efforts to merge with the Philadelphia Public School Notebook, a 25-year-old media organization founded by parents and concerned citizens, and create Chalkbeat Philadelphia, a new education news nonprofit.

Website: chalkbeat.org

Resolve Philadelphia $25,000

Resolve Philadelphia is a journalism project built on equity, collaboration among multiple media properties, and the elevation of community voices and solutions.

This one-year grant supports continued capacity building, in order to help Resolve build an organizational structure that is value-aligned, a team that is mission-driven, and governance policies and practices that center equity, collaboration, and transparency.

Website: resolvephilly.org

$25,000 Grants to Nominated Organizations

Asian Arts Initiative Asian Arts Initiative is a multi-disciplinary and community-based arts center in Philadelphia that advances racial equity and understanding, activating artists, youth, and their communities through creative practice and dialogue grounded in the diverse Asian American experience.

4 BlackStar Film Festival The BlackStar Film Festival is an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora and of global indigenous communities, showcasing films by black and brown people from around the world.

Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia CAGP specializes in providing innovative and unique bilingual programs and services to meet the combined social, economic, health and educational needs of Cambodians in Philadelphia, many of whom are survivors of the Cambodian genocide or descendants of survivors.

CCATE CCATE’s mission is to develop and empower the Latinx community through multi-disciplinary programs using diverse modalities of media, arts, and technology to promote culture, work- training, and education.

Community College of Philadelphia CCP is launching a first of its kind Community Journal on Social and Economic Inclusion with research done in teams between community members and academics.

Philadelphia Young Playwrights Philadelphia Young Playwrights taps the potential of youth and inspires learning through playwriting.

G-town Radio G-town Radio is a community radio station (WGGT-LP) serving the people of Germantown with local content, community news, and a diverse spectrum of music.

Healthy NewsWorks Healthy NewsWorks empowers elementary and middle school students to become researchers, writers, critical thinkers, and confident communicators who advance health understanding and literacy through their factual publications and digital media.

Juntos Juntos is a community-led, Latinx immigrant organization in South Philadelphia fighting for their human rights as workers, parents, youth, and immigrants.

Lil Filmmakers Media Lil Filmmakers Inc. trains young underserved artists to use media and the arts as a tool to overcome societal and personal barriers and prepare them for career opportunities in the arts and media industry.

Love Now Media Love Now Media is a storytelling and media-based organization that is focused on increasing mental wellness, empathy, and change in the Philadelphia region.

Mural Arts Philadelphia – Trash Academy The Trash Academy initiative is a “collaboratory” between community members in Southeast Philly, artists, environmental activists, and high school students from all across the city who inspire a wellspring of actions around trash issues.

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Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists PABJ is the nation’s oldest professional association of Journalists of Color. With over 100 active members, they are also one of the largest & the founding chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Philatinos Radio Philatinos is a community radio station based in South Philadelphia that uplifts stories and music of the Latinx community.

Science Leadership Academy - CTE Digital Video This three-year high school-based program provides students with real-world opportunities to gain new skills and demonstrate existing skills in media production.

The Colored Girls Museum The Colored Girls Museum is located in the heart of Germantown and is devoted to celebrating the lives, creativity and work of "colored girls." Through art and artifacts, this museum tells the stories of Black women and girls, placing their lives at the center of our experience, something rare in the art and media world.

WJYN – Uptown Radio WJYN Uptown Radio is a low-power community radio station operating in north Philadelphia that features a variety of educational and non-commercial programming. The station is run by volunteers, mostly people of color who are residents of the community.

Newsrooms Eligible for NewsMatch Matching Funds From IPMF

Hidden City Philadelphia Next City PA Post Philadelphia Public School Notebook Spotlight PA Tarbell WHYY PBS 39 / WLVT

About Independence Public Media IPM was formerly a public broadcaster operating WYBE Channel 35 in the Philadelphia market. In 2017, it relinquished its broadcast license as part of the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadcast Incentive Auction and received a one-time payment of $131.5 million. The organization is investing these funds in a permanent endowment and will henceforth operate as a private grant-making foundation strengthening media and media making, connecting diverse voices, and fostering greater understanding across the Greater Philadelphia region.

For more information, visit: www.independencemedia.org

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