Local journalism plays a very critical role in our communities. It helps to shape our communities’ stories, which impacts our economy, education, health, homes, jobs transportation, and more by providing relevant content that connects us to each other as we address issues affecting the community.
In an effort to support local journalism the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia is excited to announce it has made a $12,500 grant through its Build Back – Dream Forward initiative to InsideNoVA to hire a reporter solely dedicated to writing stories that elevate voices within our community that are often underrepresented.
Update: In Early 2022, InsideNoVA was awarded a second grant, which will also go towards staffing a reporter dedicated to writing stories that uplift underrepresented persons in Northern Virginia. A third and final grant will be given next year.
“The goal of this grant is to provide a platform to help build a common understanding of the region’s opportunities, challenges, and shared humanity. In the process, there is an opportunity to highlight the good work that our nonprofits are doing every day,” said Sari Raskin, Vice President of Grants and Community Leadership at the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia.
InsideNoVa will use the grant to support a new part-time reporting position that will focus on covering underserved communities across the region, with a specific focus on southern Fairfax County. The reporter will cover issues such as affordable housing, access to transportation, educational opportunities, and the challenges faced by local businesses.
“We expect to be able to offer additional coverage about the impact that many of the area’s nonprofit organizations have had in addressing these issues, as told through the eyes of individuals who have benefited from their assistance,” said Bruce Potter, Publisher, InsideNoVa.
Articles will be published on InsideNoVa.com and in their Prince William County weekly newspaper. InsideNoVa.com averages over 800,000 unique visitors a month and has 100,000 Facebook fans and 80,000 opt-in email subscribers. The Prince William paper has a circulation of 25,000 copies a week and is going to provide some additional distribution in southern Fairfax.
“We appreciate the support of the Community Foundation for this position. We believe this provides a tremendous opportunity to spotlight the challenges faced by many individuals and businesses in Northern Virginia post-COVID, as well as to identify programs and services that are working well in those communities,” said Potter.
The first article supported by the grant is a story on COVID-19 vaccine equity in Fairfax County. Here is the link: https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/fairfax-officials-step-up-efforts-to-vaccinate-vulnerable-populations/article_421c67da-b8e1-11eb-9e9b-afa47352c1cb.html
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