Knight Communities Network

The Knight Communities Network is a community of practice to support local journalism funders working to build sustainable news ecosystems in their communities. The Network was launched by The Lenfest Institute and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in February 2025.

The Network provides a peer-to-peer learning environment for local funders and foundations working to reinvigorate local journalism as part of Press Forward, a national coalition of funders supporting local news ecosystems. The eight participating cities are each home to former Knight newspapers and Knight Foundation community support: Lexington, Ky.; State College, Pa.; Tallahassee, Fl.; Charlotte, N.C.; Gary, Ind.; Miami, Fl.; Wichita, Kan.; and Philadelphia.  

The goal of the Knight Communities Network is to help create sustainable, scalable models for funding local journalism ecosystems. The diversity of communities and the varying stages of their Press Forward chapters position the Knight Communities Network to develop and test models for funding local journalism that can be replicated in other communities across the country.  

The initiative builds on The Lenfest Institute’s work in Philadelphia, where the Institute has pioneered fundraising, grantmaking, and learning efforts to support a broad array of local news and information providers.

The Lenfest Institute provides Knight Communities Network members with a suite of programming, resources, and advisory services. The goal is to support each community as it studies its news and information needs, conducts fundraising feasibility studies, and creates campaigns making the case for supporting local news.

For more information, please contact KCN Program Manager Kristin Traniello.