Local News Solutions
The Lenfest Institute provides free tools and resources for local journalism leaders to develop sustainable strategies to serve their communities.
Find Your News SolutionApplications for the 2020 Lenfest Next Generation Fund are now closed. Please scroll down to learn more about the Next Generation Fund Leadership Track, which is accepting applications on a rolling basis.
Today, The Lenfest Institute for Journalism is opening applications for the 2020 Lenfest Next Generation Fund. Launched in 2019, the Lenfest Next Generation Fund provides awards to Philadelphia-area journalists and students of color to attend a professional development conference of their choice.
Award winners are eligible to attend one of 12 national conferences of their choice, each listed below. This year, The Lenfest Institute is also introducing the Next Generation Fund Leadership Awards which are designed to support individuals attending leadership development programs, also listed below.
In addition to these grants, Lenfest Next Generation Fund award recipients will benefit from several Philadelphia-based professional development training sessions to make the most of their conference experience and to join our growing network of our Lenfest Next Generation Fund alumni.
Why name it the Next Generation Fund? The U.S. Census Bureau projects that by 2045 the United States population will be majority non-white. In some cities, including Philadelphia, that is already the case. We know that to fulfill The Lenfest Institute’s overarching mission of supporting sustainable business models for important local journalism, news coverage needs to be reflective, relatable, and relevant to diverse communities.
In 2019, twenty-three Philadelphia-area journalists and students won Lenfest Next Generation Fund awards to attend key industry conferences. Here’s some of what they had to say about the experience:
Want to apply in 2020? Here’s what you need to know:
To be considered you have to a journalist or a student of journalism who resides in the Greater Philadelphia Area and self-identifies as a member of a group that has historically been underrepresented in newsrooms.
In addition to the existing Professional and Student Track, we have added a Next Generation Fund Leadership Award to the program. This will allow applicants to attend conferences or trainings that are more focused on developing leadership and management skills. A few examples of trainings that we would consider for funding via this track include:
● AAJA Executive Leadership Program
Here’s how the leadership track works:
For more information about the The Lenfest Next Generation Fund and The Next Generation Fund Leadership Track, we will be holding office hours during which we will walk through your application with you. To schedule an appointment please follow this link.
The Lenfest Institute provides free tools and resources for local journalism leaders to develop sustainable strategies to serve their communities.
Find Your News Solution