Knight Foundation

This past Sunday, I was honored to host Knight Foundation’s Board of Trustees, our President & CEO Maribel Perez Wadsworth and my colleagues from across the organization. Each year Knight’s trustees visit one of our 26 Knight Communities. It’s an opportunity to reconnect and learn about our work on the local level. During the trip, trustees met with Mayor Vi Lyles and former Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, toured Historic West End and learned about the future direction of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. We also hosted a dinner and celebration for Charlotteans at The Mint Museum. At the dinner, Knight Foundation announced $17M in grants to bolster Charlotte’s development in the #HistoricWestEnd, the arts and local journalism. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eGXprXyW The $9.75M in new investments for Historic West End supports building a new resident owned grocery store, flexible capital for small business expansion and attraction and capacity building support for Historic West End Partners and LISC Charlotte. We are also excited to announce $5M to support the redevelopment of the Charlotte Ballet's campus enabling a new facility and mixed use development along the N. Tryon corridor and $2M to launch #PressForwardCharlotte in partnership with North Carolina Local News Lab Fund to advance local news & information in our city. I’m so grateful to our partners particularly those in Historic West End, LISC Charlotte, Historic West End Partners, West Side Community Land Trust (West Side CLT), For the Struggle, Inc, Johnson C. Smith University - JCSU, #5PointdCollaborative and NC Local News Lab Fund. I also appreciate our funding partners, the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County,?Fifth Third Bank, United Way of Greater Charlotte, Wells Fargo, JPMorganChase, and many more.? Truly a testament to our community's ability to collaborate and foster trust based philanthropy. ? I want to thank the many people from Charlotte who made this visit a success, including: Marcellus Turner, Jenni Gaisbauer, CFRE, Clay Grubb, Ralphine Caldwell, J'Tanya Adams, Dianna Ward, Henry Stepp, Terry Shook, Chandra Scroggins, Albert "Rusty" Mills, Harold Lloyd, Jordan Braswell, Charis Blackmon, Charles Bowman, Alesha S. Brown, Chef Greg&Subrina Collier, Dena Diorio, Giovanna Torres Nieves, Doug Singleton and Alejandro Cerrudo. Photos by: Jonathan D Strayhorn

Is AI stealing from artists? Anna Tumadottir, CEO of Creative Commons says that the future of copyright should not be the same as the future of creativity. At Knight, we understand that media and technology are critical components of our democracy. We recognize that the growth of a digital public sphere includes both possibilities and challenges as it connects people with information and each other. Since 2019, we have committed more than $94 million to catalyze a field of research that can improve our understanding of the growing role of digital media in our democracy. Learn more: https://kf.org/3AFfip0.

To fuel economic and cultural vitality in Charlotte, Knight announced $17 Million in new grants at an event held last night at The Mint Museum. This latest commitment brings the foundation's total investment in Charlotte to more than $100 million over the past 20 years, underscoring its enduring support for the city’s vibrant future. “We’re proud to support and accelerate transformative projects like the Charlotte Ballet’s new dance facility, a resident-led food cooperative in the Historic West End, and the launch of Press Forward Charlotte to strengthen local news,” said Knight president and CEO Maribel Perez Wadsworth. “We believe in the power of people. We invest in their ideas, their visions, and their capacity to shape their futures.” ? Read more in The Charlotte Observer here: https://kf.org/47mAjkI Charlotte Ballet, LISC Charlotte, North Carolina Local News Lab Fund, Historic West End Partners, Press Forward, Vi Lyles, Anthony Foxx, City of Charlotte Photo Credit: Jon Strayhorn

? Are you a journalist covering elections in Nevada? Join us virtually on Sept. 11, from 4:30 - 6 PM PT, for the Knight Election Law Forum and gain non-partisan, fact-based knowledge on Nevada’s election laws to better inform your community in the lead-up to the 2024 elections: https://kf.org/3XdFK0x A collaboration between Knight Foundation, the American Bar Association's Task Force for American Democracy and the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, this webinar is tailored to local journalists and designed to prepare you to cover critical election issues. Save the date for upcoming forums in additional battleground states, and explore resources for journalists covering elections across the country–including free and subsidized services for newsrooms–here: https://kf.org/3XrvYcv

Art connects people to place and to one another. By integrating technology, artists and arts organizations are finding new ways to connect with a digital audience and foster community. Learn more about how institutions are leveraging tech to enhance the experience of art in ARTnews: https://kf.org/4dRYI3Y Knight Foundation invests in the application of digital technology within the arts to enhance the modern audience’s experience—deepening the reach and impact of art in communities.

Student journalist and former Knight intern, Charlotte Calmès appeals to college administrators to listen to their students and foster dialogue on campus in Teen Vogue. "Students are denied the opportunity to practice disagreeing with others respectfully and productively—a necessary skill that will serve us far beyond the classroom," Calmès writes. She’s not alone. Only 43% of college students say that freedom of speech rights are secure on campus, according to our new study. Read the full article here: https://kf.org/47hhy1U

In an era marked by misinformation and waning trust in institutions, Knight Foundation is working to engage and resource the best minds to help us navigate these challenges. That’s why we’re excited to support the launch of the Penn Center for Media, Technology, and Democracy at the University of Pennsylvania, established with a $5 million grant from Knight and a matching commitment from the University. ? Led by Professors Duncan Watts and Christopher Yoo, the Center will bring together multidisciplinary expertise from across the University for research, collaboration, and knowledge exchange that will deepen our understanding of the information ecosystem and enable more informed policy. ? Knight is proud to partner with Penn to create this essential space for empirical research and thought leadership. We are eager to see how the Center’s work will inspire innovation that can strengthen democracy. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/excYwDMq

Penn has launched the Penn Center for Media, Technology, and Democracy to address the evolving challenges of media and technology on public trust and democracy. With $10 million in funding, including $5 million from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Center will foster interdisciplinary research across six Penn schools—serving to establish Penn and Philadelphia as a global hub for research on today’s media ecosystem.

Did you know that 1 in 5 households in the country aren’t online? Alan Davidson of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) explains America’s broadband gap and what it would take to close it. At Knight, we understand that media and technology are critical components of our democracy. We recognize that the growth of a digital public sphere includes both possibilities and challenges as it connects people with information and each other. Since 2019, we have committed more than $94 million to catalyze a field of research that can improve our understanding of the growing role of digital media in our democracy. Learn more: https://kf.org/4cIK0ee

Book restrictions — and the related debates — often make headlines. Surprisingly, however, few Americans have engaged on the issue, with 1% of people taking steps to have books restricted in their communities’ public schools, and 2% percent taking steps to maintain access to books. Read the full report here: https://kf.org/4ea0PzZ.