For Terry Mazany, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina epitomized the importance of information to communities.
As the flood waters rose, many of New Orleans residents were stranded – without access to transportation, emergency shelter, food - and the “information that people need to make good decisions,” said Mazany, president and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, said.
Now Mazany and the Trust are using a Knight Community Information Challenge grant to ensure residents of Chicago’s Southside can access a Web site to get the critical information they need about their neighborhood – from where to buy fresh produce to how to enroll in a food stamp program.
In cities rural and urban across the United States, residents are struggling to find the information they need to make informed decisions about their and their community’s future.
Call it the information paradox. Despite the 24-hour news cycle and proliferation of news sites, finding quality information about local issues is increasingly difficult.
“For the first time in the history of the Republic, it’s easier for a high school student to learn about the crisis in Darfur online than about local corruption through the local media,” said Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of Knight Foundation. “The flow of local news is as important as the flow of jobs, or the flow of traffic, or electricity. It is a resource essential to a properly functioning community – a resource we can no longer take for granted.”
To help meet these information needs, the foundation launched the Knight Community Information Challenge, a $24 million effort that helps community foundations find and co-fund news and information projects.
The challenge’s first year winners show the diversity of information needs across the United States.
Take a moment to think about your community and how you get your civic information. Are your sources adequate? Are there information gaps? How can those information needs be filled?
If you and your community foundation have an idea, Knight Foundation wants to know.
Applications for the third Challenge will be accepted starting February 1, 2010. The application deadline will be March 8th.
- More information for community foundations.
- Interested in applying? Attend our Webinar that will answer your questions about the application process.
