Press Forward Chicago Awards $1.5 Million in New Local Media Grants

CHICAGO (September 10, 2025) – Today, Press Forward Chicago, a funder collaborative dedicated to strengthening and sustaining local news, announces more than $1.5 million in grants to 26 local news organizations.

Housed at The Chicago Community Trust, Press Forward Chicago is a local affiliate of the national Press Forward initiative led by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Knight Foundation to raise unprecedented resources to revitalize local news. The Chicago fund is supported by a growing coalition of civic-minded individuals, philanthropic leaders, and foundations interested in fostering stronger, economically stable organizations that can serve the information needs of their communities and that will inspire more residents to participate in civic life.

Representing the second round of grants from Press Forward Chicago, these funds will support newsroom capacity-building efforts—with a focus on audience growth, audience engagement and business sustainability.

This funding will also launch a first-of-its-kind initiative to support immigration stories. Chicago Public Media will host an immigration reporting hub, increasing original stories about immigrant communities and amplifying related reporting from other local newsrooms.

“We had so many great applicants for this new round of funding,” said Tracy Baim, executive director of Press Forward Chicago. “There is much work to be done, but we hope these funds work to strengthen these outlets. We will also be providing shared services support to these and many more media organizations in the coming months.”

Including this round of funding, Press Forward Chicago has disbursed more than $3 million to local news organizations in the Chicago area. The inaugural round of grants — just over $1.6 million to 13 newsrooms — was announced in May 2024.

Capacity Building Grants

Chicago has a robust news ecosystem that includes hyperlocal and regional news outlets serving the information needs of its communities. However, many of these outlets have expressed the need for support in navigating the complexities of the media landscape, such as adapting to digital changes, diversifying revenue streams, and building sustainable business models. 

These one-year capacity building grants 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. 

Press Forward Chicago focused on applications that sought to grow audience numbers and engagement, as well applications that sought to launch or scale business models with the goal of long-term sustainability.

The following 18 organizations will receive a total of $883,059:

• Better Government Association (Illinois Answers Project)
• Block Club Chicago
• Chalkbeat
• Chicago Access Television (CAN TV)
• Chicago Defender Charities Inc (The Defender Legacy)
• City Bureau
• Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community
• Evanston Roundtable Media
• Free Spirit Media
• New City Communications
• Public Media Institute (Lumpen Radio)
• Reader Institute for Community Journalism
• Record Community News Group
• The Bigs Media
• The NDIGO Foundation
• True Star Foundation
• Westside Health Authority (The Culture)
• YWCA Metropolitan Chicago (StreetWise Magazine)

You can find short descriptions of these projects at the end of this press release.

Immigration Journalism Grants

Press Forward Chicago and a group of funders came together this year to create a funding pool specifically for increased immigration coverage. This coalition of funders includes the Democracy Fund, Field Foundation, Illinois Immigration Funder Collaborative, Joyce Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, Press Forward Chicago, Schreiber Philanthropy, The Chicago Community Trust, and Walder Foundation.

Chicago Public Media will launch a corresponding immigration reporting hub that will amplify the work of WBEZ, Chicago Sun-Times, La Voz Chicago, and other newsrooms around the city. Newsrooms in this cohort will also receive training to support their work covering immigration.

The following 11 organizations will receive a total of $686,500 in support of increased immigration reporting and expanded audience engagement. Of this total, $341,500 is being distributed from funders directly.

• Block Club Chicago
• Borderless Magazine
• Chicago Public Media
• Cicero Independiente
• Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community
• Injustice Watch
• La Raza Chicago
• South Side Weekly
• ProPublica
• Public Media Institute (Lumpen Radio)
• Reparations Media

You can find short descriptions of these projects at the end of this press release.

About Press Forward Chicago
Press Forward Chicago is a funder collaborative housed at The Chicago Community Trust, designed in partnership with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and local and national journalism donors and practitioners. The initiative aims to enrich the quality, reach and diversity of news reporting in the Chicago region, ensuring residents can access relevant, credible and trusted information. Press Forward Chicago is a local chapter of Press Forward, the national initiative led by the MacArthur and Knight foundations. Press Forward Local Chapters are an opportunity for funders to create place-based initiatives for local news driven by the specific needs of their communities.

Press Forward Chicago welcomes and continues to invite additional funders to enhance nonprofit and for-profit news and information. For more information, visit www.cct.org/pressforward.

Press Forward Chicago Grant Recipient Project Descriptions

Capacity Building Grants

Better Government Association (Illinois Answers Project)
Illinois Answers Project will audit its audience funnels to build reach and engagement with Chicago’s South and West Sides.

Block Club Chicago
Block Club Chicago will launch a direct mail campaign to reach new South and West Side audiences.

Chalkbeat
Chalkbeat Chicago will grow its audience through a one-year brand awareness campaign.

Chicago Access Television (CAN TV)
CAN TV will engage a consultant to create a fundraising strategy and donor engagement roadmap.

Chicago Defender Charities Inc (The Defender Legacy)
The Defender Legacy is a journalism initiative by Chicago Defender Charities that will train residents in journalism, publish monthly feature stories and launch a resident story submission portal.

City Bureau
City Bureau will revamp its newsletter distribution with a focus on giving context behind important local policies and how people can get involved to address civic issues in their neighborhoods.

Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community
Chinatown Spotlight will expand editorial capacity and increase print news volume, frequency, and distribution.

Evanston Roundtable Media
Evanston Roundtable will grow the audience of Raising Evanston, a new parenting-focused newsletter designed to engage younger families.

Free Spirit Media
Free Spirit Media will launch a weekly podcast series produced in part by young adults in FSM’s creative workforce development program.

New City Communications
Newcity will upgrade its technology stack to improve and diversify its membership, subscription and audience revenue streams.

Public Media Institute (Lumpen Radio)
Lumpen Radio will strengthen audience development systems, multilingual programming, and new audience outreach strategies that will help focus efforts on underserved listeners in Chicago—particularly immigrant communities on the Southwest Side.

Reader Institute for Community Journalism
The Chicago Reader will diversify its revenue streams and grow its audience with a data-driven plan that builds off previous analyses of its content and audience distribution.

Record Community News Group
The Record North Shore will grow its audience and revenue streams, aiding its expansion into suburban Skokie.

The Bigs Media
The Bigs will expand its newsletter offerings and launch a social media advertising campaign to target new potential followers.

The NDIGO Foundation
NDIGO Studio will engage a consultant to focus on audience viewership and sponsorship strategies.

True Star Foundation
True Star Foundation will grow the audience and impact of its youth-led, weekly video podcast.

Westside Health Authority (The Culture)
The Culture will hire part-time audience and membership staffers, host an event series for the public and hire a small newspaper delivery team in the Austin neighborhood.

YWCA Metropolitan Chicago (StreetWise Magazine)
StreetWise Magazine will expand its speakers bureau and grow its contributor network.

Immigration Journalism Grants

Block Club Chicago
Block Club Chicago will expand immigration coverage with funds for freelance reporters and photojournalists, translation and public outreach.

Borderless Magazine
Borderless Magazine will launch a visuals team with a full-time editor and photojournalist.

Chicago Public Media
Chicago Public Media will launch a hub for immigration journalism and resources in Chicago, commission freelance stories from journalists with connections to immigrant communities, and expand bilingual and multilingual content, particularly through La Voz Chicago. It will also amplify the work of other members of the cohort, through its newsletters, newspaper, and radio programming.

Cicero Independiente
Cicero Independiente will deepen immigration coverage in Cicero and Berwyn by funding a full-time youth and schools reporter, freelance reporting resources, translation services, and audience engagement efforts.

Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community
Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community will bolster Chinatown Spotlight’s audience development strategy and expand immigration coverage capacity.

Injustice Watch
Injustice Watch will expand its immigration court-related reporting, in addition to translations, community engagement work, and related operational/security costs.

La Raza Chicago
La Raza will launch a multipronged project to catalyze Spanish-language immigration journalism in Chicago.

South Side Weekly
South Side Weekly will hire a full-time immigration reporter and editor, responsible for coordinating a cohort of freelancers to expand human-focused coverage of immigrants on the South Side.

ProPublica
ProPublica will embark on a major immigration-related reporting project in Chicago.

Public Media Institute (Lumpen Radio)
Lumpen Radio will develop 10 episodes of Boletín Migrante, its Spanish-language radio series, publish know-your-rights media, and host live pop-up events.

Reparations Media
Reparations Media will publish short-form audio features about immigrant communities in Chicago through the Change Agents Podcast Journalism Lab.