The Media Justice Fund of the Funding Exchange is seeking proposals for Capacity Building and Community Media Collaboration grants.
Deadline: Applications may be submitted by email or ground mail. Applications must be postmarked by Friday, July 25, 2008.
Grant Amount: Up to $25,000 for one year.
Community Media Collaboration (CMC) grants support campaigns that change the structure of the media and a community’s right to use and be fairly represented within it. Specifically, the CMC supports projects that work within communities to increase community access to media; promote corporate media accountability, and/or to change the regulations that govern media. Projects must include substantive collaborations between media or cultural advocacy groups and community activists organizing for social justice. This grant is not intended for the creation of specific pieces of media unless these pieces are part of a larger community organizing effort.
Criteria for Funding CMC proposals must impact one of the following areas: (1) Media and/or telecommunications policy; (2) Expand and/or establish community media infrastructure (i.e. increasing access to low-power radio-frequencies (LPFM), expanding community access to broadband and wireless Internet services, creating a community newspaper by disfranchised communities, etc.); or (3) Promote and advocate corporate and industry media accountability.
Priority will be given to proposals that: (1) Strengthen and build media, Internet and/or telecommunications capacity for low-income communities, communities of color, community-based organizations, immigrants, limited-English communities, youth, seniors and other social justice constituencies; (2) Prioritize networking and alliance building; and (3) Promote the involvement and leadership of communities affected by the project.
Proposals should include an analysis of the power relationships in communities involved and state how social justice organizing advances changes in the media. Proposals should clearly describe how the groups would evaluate the success or failure of their campaigns.
If requesting support for on-going projects, funding should support new activities that will enhance the scope or effectiveness of existing activities.
Core areas of interest for CMC proposals may include but are not limited to: • Holding corporate media accountable Example: A San Francisco Bay Area media justice organization campaigns to hold local Clear Channel radio stations accountable to the community demand that the public airwaves promote justice and peace rather than violence and war. • Directing attention to biased coverage of specific constituencies or issues Example: A media justice organization in Brooklyn organizes against negative media portrayals of Afghan, Muslim and immigrant women. • Broadcasting formally marginalized voices in the media Example: A media justice organization in Falls Church, VA works to bring the voices and perspectives of the Vietnamese American community to the mainstream media. • Creating community-based media Example: A media justice organization out of Philadelphia launches a nationwide campaign to train community members in creating their own radio stations. • Addressing city, county, state, or federal media policy Example: A San Francisco media justice organization builds a cross-sector coalition to ensure public interest was protected in the city’s agreements with Comcast.
Capacity Building (CB) Grant: The Media Justice Fund (MJF) of the Funding Exchange (FEX) seeks proposals for the Capacity Building grants.
Deadline: Applications may be submitted by email or ground mail. Applications must be postmarked by Friday, July 25, 2008.
Grant Amount: Up to $25,000 for one year.
Many media justice groups are not financially sound due to scarcity of funding sources for grassroots media policy and accountability organizing. Operating on the edge in this way prevents them from building the necessary infrastructure to become sustained and powerful forces in the social justice movement.
In response to these needs, the Media Justice Fund established the Capacity Building Grant. Capacity Building (CB) grants provide organizations with support for specific general operating needs, and technical assistance opportunities. The purpose of this grant is to assist organizations in establishing themselves as secure and growing participants in the Media Justice Movement through building organizational and administrative infrastructure.
Criteria for Funding Priority will be given to proposals that: (1) Build on the strengths of the community involved; (2) Lead to a substantial improvement in organizational effectiveness; (3) Further the participation of communities most affected by the existing unfair media system; or (4) Lead to more sustainable agency management, operations and programs.
Proposals should include an analysis of the power relationships in communities involved. Proposals should clearly describe how the groups would evaluate the success or failure of their capacity building effort.
If requesting support for on-going projects, funding should support new activities that will enhance the scope or effectiveness of existing work.
Core areas of interest for Capacity Building proposals may include but are not limited to: • Board governance. Board assessment, training, restructuring, or strengthening. • Human resources. Volunteer management, executive coaching, staff training/development. • Planning. Strategic planning, community media needs assessment and your organization’s role in the assessment, program outcome/evaluation to create accountability. • Organizational alternatives. Planning for changes in program direction, joint projects, or community collaboration; developing a plan for long-term sustainability and reliable funding streams. • Information technology. Creation of a management information system (database, accounting, etc.), Web site design, organizational assessment of technology needs.
