MISSION
The mission of the Consortium is to provide financial resources to support and grow trustworthy, community-based news and information sources throughout New Jersey.
VISION
The Consortium envisions a future in which every person in New Jersey has access to thriving, representative local news and information that enhances their lives and communities.
VALUES
The Consortium believes:
- Everyone deserves trustworthy, representative sources of news and information.
- Trusted, accurate, and representative news and information is empowering – and critical to a multi-racial democracy.
- Collaboration, transparency, and sustained funding are key to building thriving news outlets and lead to a more informed and civically engaged New Jersey.
- Equity, accessibility, and justice are essential to effective grantmaking.
The New Jersey Civic Information Consortium is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that funds initiatives to benefit the State’s civic life and meet the evolving information needs of New Jersey’s communities.
A first-in-the-nation project, the Consortium builds on the foundation laid by public media in the United States, and reimagines how public funding can be used to address the growing problem of news deserts, misinformation, and support more informed communities. The consortium provides grants for projects that achieve the following goals:
- Improve the quantity and quality of civic information in New Jersey communities.
- Give residents enhanced access to useful government data and public information through innovative applications, platforms, and technologies.
- Train students, professionals, and community members in the practice of community storytelling, journalism, and media production.
- Nurture better civic engagement and dialogue inside and between New Jersey communities.
- Better meet the information needs of low-income communities and racial and ethnic communities that have been underserved by the media.
- Invest in research and practices that can help media outlets become more closely connected to their audiences and more sustainable without government support.
To date, more than $7.5M have been awarded in more than 80 grants to more than 50 organizations in 16 of New Jersey’s 21 counties.
Under state law, the Consortium and the State of New Jersey do not have any ownership in any project funded by a Consortium grant. In addition, under state law the State of New Jersey and the Consortium cannot exercise editorial control over any project funded by the Consortium.
The state of New Jersey created the Consortium in 2018 in response to the growing local news crisis impacting communities across the state’s 21 counties. Led by the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization Free Press, a broad stakeholder coalition of thousands of residents, universities, journalists, lawmakers and more crafted the Civic Info Bill as a way to fund innovative media and civic-technology projects in New Jersey for decades to come.
The Consortium has its roots in a history of projects and advocacy to grow access to local news and information across New Jersey, including work by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University.
The Consortium brings together six of New Jersey’s leading institutions of higher education – The College of New Jersey, Montclair State University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rowan University, Kean University, and Rutgers University – in partnership to address the lack of access to local news and information. The Consortium is eligible for funding from the State of New Jersey and can obtain funds from private foundations, individuals, and other charitable organizations. Montclair State University serves as the host university for the Consortium.
The Consortium, housed within Montclair State University, is governed by a 16-member Board of Directors, which includes representatives of the six member universities. By bringing together these six comprehensive public universities the Consortium can leverage the individual strengths of each university and utilize them in a unique synergy to benefit New Jersey residents.
Materials and recordings from public hearings and info sessions:
Sept. 24, 2021
Sept. 27, 2021
Sept. 29, 2021
Feb. 8, 2022
Feb. 17, 2022
Sept. 13, 2022
Sept. 15, 2022
Sept. 20, 2022
Oct. 23, 2023
Oct. 24, 2023
Nov. 1, 2023
Notes and other meeting materials:
Click here and request access to view the Google Drive folder.
Follow the Consortium on social media:
The Consortium is a proud member of the Council for New Jersey Grantmakers
