RFP: Press Forward Chicago – Capacity Building Grant

The Press Forward Chicago Capacity Building Grant supports local media organizations in enhancing their reach and sustainability. Funded by The Chicago Community Trust and the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, this initiative aims to address current challenges in local journalism by fostering innovative practices and financial investments. Eligible applicants include nonprofits and governmental units serving the Chicago area. The grant prioritizes audience engagement and the development of new revenue models to strengthen the local news ecosystem.

RFP: Press Forward Chicago – Capacity Building Grant 2025
Press Forward Chicago is a grantmaking initiative administered by The Chicago Community Trust and designed in partnership with the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and local journalism donors and practitioners. By making philanthropic investments in diverse local news outlets in the Chicago region, Press Forward aims to catalyze innovative solutions to the challenges facing local news, amplify impactful journalism practices, and grow financial investments into the media ecosystem to ensure residents have access to relevant, credible, and trusted information.
Through its investments, Press Forward Chicago seeks to:
Scale proven strategies and innovations that address the challenges of today’s media environment; andRevitalize the local news infrastructure, ensuring robust reporting on critical issues facing Chicago's communities.
The goals of this funding opportunity are to:
Support hyperlocal or local media organizations seeking to increase their current reach through audience expansion and the adoption of new business strategies and approaches; andExperimenting with practices to build sustainable revenue models.
Priority Strategies and Activities:
Press Forward Chicago is eager to consider proposals that address one of the funding priorities below.Grants will recognize organizations’ ongoing efforts to utilize civic journalism and storytelling platforms that amplify the voices of community residents and storytellers, expose critical issues identified by the community, and ignite and inform resident-driven actions.Audience Growth and Engagement: Efforts to increase audience numbers across various platforms, including newsletters. Additionally, growth of audience engagement across platforms.Sustainability: Organizations developing new, scalable business models for their own stability and financial sustainability in local news.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a grant award, an applicant must be:
A nonprofit organization with evidence that it (a) has been recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Code; (b) is fiscally sponsored by a Section 501(c)(3) organization; or (c) is a governmental unit within the meaning of Section 170(c)(1) of the Code; Described in Section 170(b)(1)(A) of the Code, other than a “disqualified supporting organization” within the meaning of Section 4966(d)(4) of the Code; andBe located within and/or primarily serving residents of Chicago and/or nearby suburbs within Cook County.Sponsored organizations without 501(c)(3) status must identify a fiscal sponsor as soon as possible and ask them to complete and certify an organization profile in The Chicago Community Trust’s grants management system, GrantCentral, before the sponsored organization’s application submission. Log in to GrantCentral at https://community-cct.force.com/grantcentral/s/.

Ineligibility

Political lobbying or campaigning
Activities not aligned with the stated goals or objectives of the grant programPersonal expenses or benefits to individuals unrelated to the project or organization's missionPayment of outstanding debt
Those receiving the first-round 2024 grants from Press Forward Chicago