This week, the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund announced 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.”
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.