Chicago-based news organization is one of three awardees in $22 million grant competition

CHICAGO, July 7, 2022 – City Bureau has been named a recipient of the Stronger Democracy Award for its work creating the Documenters Network, which equips local residents to cover public meetings in their communities. As one of three recipients, it will receive $10 million of the $22 million award.

“When people think about democracy, they think about the voting booth, but public meetings do more to shape the actions of local governments than state or national elections,” said Darryl Holliday, co-founder and executive director of national impact at City Bureau, where he manages the Documenters Network. “We've shown that enlisting local residents to cover public meetings can be transformative, and there's no reason it can't be done in every city and town."

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Launched in 2015 on Chicago’s South Side, the Documenters Network now operates across Chicago as well as in Cleveland, Detroit and Minneapolis, where the sites are operated by local partners. Three new cities, Atlanta, Fresno and Omaha, will be launching later this year. The teams who run each site recruit and train Documenters who reflect their diverse communities. 

The award will allow the network to deepen its work in Chicago, expand to several additional cities, and hold up a model that can be replicated nationwide.

The Stronger Democracy Award is a grant competition designed to address systemic barriers and advance structural reforms in three key areas: voting and elections, policymaking, and civic engagement. The award is managed by Lever for Change in collaboration with ICONIQ Impact, and sponsored by Additional Ventures, The Patchwork Collective, and philanthropists Cipora and Vlado Herman.

In addition to City Bureau, $10 million went to The Center for Ballot Freedom, and $2 million went to Accelerate Change, Inc. Read more about the awardees at strongerdemocracyaward.org.  

The award received 172 submissions from nonprofit organizations across the U.S. Applications were evaluated during a four-month review process involving peer applicants and multi-disciplined experts from around the country who evaluated the submissions based on four criteria: whether they were transformative, feasible, innovative, and scalable.

“We need the ingenuity of these problem solvers now more than ever,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. “The crisis of democracy and representation that we face presents an opportunity to reimagine our systems and help our government more effectively represent all of its citizens. We look forward to following the work of the Stronger Democracy Award recipients and hope to find more funding for all of the outstanding projects in this competition.”

Read more and get involved with the Documenters Network at citybureau.org/documenters. 

City Bureau 
City Bureau is a journalism lab reimagining local media. We do this by equipping people with skills and resources, engaging in critical public conversations and producing information that directly addresses people’s needs. Drawing from our work in Chicago, we aim to equip every community with the tools it needs to eliminate information inequity to further liberation, justice and self-determination. We created/convened Documenters, a network of newsrooms and community organizations committed to participatory civic media. We train and pay hundreds of people to attend under-reported public meetings and publish the results.

Additional Ventures
Additional Ventures is a purpose-driven organization leveraging evidence-based research and deep subject matter expertise to make an outsized impact. Our fierce optimism powers bold, high-risk innovations to solve some of humanity’s most complex challenges.

The Patchwork Collective
The Patchwork Collective is a family philanthropic effort supporting locally-led solutions to global challenges. We fund diverse, bold, community-driven organizations and leaders across social equity, global health, and climate justice. Our mission is to empower the most vulnerable and marginalized communities, wherever they may be. We view each solution as one unique patch of a quilt. When brought together, they create a stronger, more vibrant, and more equitable future for all. By placing local leaders and communities at the center of our work, we preserve community agency, address inequity, and stitch together a brighter future for all…one patch at a time.

ICONIQ Impact
ICONIQ Impact is ICONIQ Capital’s global platform for collaborative philanthropy. We connect founders, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists from our community who have a shared social impact goal. Together, we tackle the world’s most urgent challenges, with the goal of creating a more just and equitable world. 

Lever for Change
Lever for Change connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, access to economic opportunity, and climate change. Using an inclusive, equitable model and due diligence process, Lever for Change creates customized challenges and other tailored funding opportunities. Top-ranked teams and challenge finalists become members of the Bold Solutions Network—a growing global network that helps secure additional funding, amplify members’ impact, and accelerate social change. Founded in 2019 as a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lever for Change has influenced nearly $950 million in grants to date and provided support to more than 145 organizations.