John Scarffe, Nederland. The Colorado Media Project recently announced the 25 locally-owned or nonprofit news organizations who have been selected for the 2020 #newsCOneeds Matching Grant Challenge. The Mountain-Ear newspaper in Nederland, Colorado, was one of the recipients.

Through the matching grant fund, they’re poised to raise a quarter-million dollars for trustworthy local news in a single month. The annual year-end fundraiser is part of the #newsCOneeds public awareness campaign, which this year is growing into an audience-building opportunity for all qualified Colorado newsrooms statewide. The fundraiser will spotlight the positive impacts media outlets are making in their communities, as well as build trust in and support for local public-service journalism. 

“Colorado’s local newsrooms are busier than ever in 2020, demonstrating their civic value as an essential public service — providing potentially life-saving information on the evolving COVID public health crisis and Colorado wildfires, fact-checking online misinformation and holding a mirror to our communities in these unprecedented times,” according to the announcement.

The window for the matching challenge will officially launch on Giving Newsday (a.k.a. Giving Tuesday, December 1) and the 25 Colorado newsrooms selected to receive a matching grant will have until December 31 to raise at least $5,000 from individual supporters in gifts of $1,000 or less in order to meet the CMP match.

The 2020 #newsCOneeds matching fund of $125,000 is made possible through operating grants to CMP from Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation, Bohemian Foundation, Democracy Fund and Gates Family Foundation. CMP’s fiscal sponsor, Rose Community Foundation, is providing oversight and administration for the funds.

The other Colorado Press Association grant recipients are the Ark Valley Voice, Aspen Journalism, Aurora Sentinel, Chalkbeat Colorado, Colorado Community Media, The Colorado Sun, The Denver North Star, The Durango Herald, Fresh Water News, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, Ouray County Plaindealer, The Pagosa Springs Sun, the Sopris Sun and Westword. 

For more information check out https://coloradomediaproject.com/blog/2020/10/20/meet-the-2020-newsconeeds-matching-challenge-grant-recipients.