This investment will help us strengthen the Documenters program’s infrastructure and expand pathways to civic participation for more communities nationwide.
By City Bureau
New Chicago Documenters attend an orientation at City Bureau.
We are excited to share yet another milestone in City Bureau’s Documenters Network, one that represents the need to support the growing number of civic-minded people who want to meaningfully contribute to their communities.
We are honored to be one of the 22 recipients to receive a grant from Press Forward, a national initiative to strengthen our democracy by revitalizing local news and information.
The need for accessible, trusted information is more critical than ever, yet local newsrooms are burdened by shrinking staffs against an always-on news cycle. At the same time, we’re seeing significant demand for programs like Documenters and incredible impact all around the network.
This Press Forward investment recognizes both the challenge and the opportunity–and City Bureau’s role as the foundation that enables our deeply trusted local partners to do this work alongside us. This grant will enable City Bureau to strengthen the infrastructure that supports our network of 20+ local partners–the newsrooms, community organizations, and civic groups that are running Documenters programs across the country. It will help sustain our role as a conduit for Documenters overall–including developing the program model, creating training frameworks and materials, strengthening support services, designing spaces for shared learning and gatherings across the network, and maintaining and expanding the award-winning Documenters.org platform. It will also allow us to keep equipping curious Documenters across the country who are hungry to learn civic skills that improve their communities.
Documenters have collectively spent thousands of hours covering local public meetings and creating resources for their neighbors via the Documenters platform. There are more than 4,500 Documenters in 24 cities across the country who have been trained to cover local government meetings since its founding. Press Forward’s funding will help to ensure that the important and impactful work produced by Documenters, staff and editorial partners will expand the program’s reach.
Press Forward is investing in 22 projects nationwide that will strengthen the infrastructure of the field. Made up of a growing coalition of funders, Press Forward is committed to investing in local newsrooms. These grants will close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage, advance public policy that expands access to local news and scale infrastructure the sector needs to thrive.
City Bureau reimagines how people access, create, and engage with local information, igniting the collective civic power that’s needed for structural solutions. Documenters exemplifies the power of meeting information needs in service of communities; of generative relationships and creating spaces for learning and dialogue; and equipping people for self-directed futures.
We are humbled by this grant award, and we’re excited about what’s to come. This infrastructure grant will help us strengthen the systems, resources, and collaboration that’s critical to network success. By participating in Documenters – getting trained, going to public meetings, sharing what you’ve learned – the hope for a more participatory democracy that works for more people is stronger with each and every submission.
To learn more about City Bureau’s growing Documenters Network and how to get involved, check out Documenters.org.