What We Do

Overview

A First-of-Its-Kind Initiative

Created by the State of New Jersey in 2018, the Consortium emerged from a broad stakeholder coalition led by Free Press, building on prior initiatives by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and Montclair State University's Center for Cooperative Media.

We fund projects that improve civic information access, support government data platforms, train media professionals, strengthen community dialogue, serve underserved populations, and research sustainable media practices.

State law prevents New Jersey and the Consortium from owning funded projects or exercising editorial control, ensuring the independence and integrity of every project we support.

$12M+

Invested in local news across the state since 2021, supporting newsrooms in 19 of 21 counties.

How We Work

Our Approach

We take a collaborative, community-centered approach to strengthening New Jersey's information ecosystem.

Investing in Communities

We provide grants up to $100,000 per project to nonprofit organizations working to fill information gaps in underserved communities.

Building Partnerships

Six public universities partner with us: TCNJ, Montclair State, NJIT, Rowan, Kean, and Rutgers. A 16-member Board of Directors governs operations.

Ensuring Independence

State law prevents New Jersey and the Consortium from owning funded projects or exercising editorial control over any grantee.

Centering Equity

48% of our funded projects are BIPOC-led. We prioritize equitable access to news and information for all New Jersey residents.

Program Priorities

What We Fund

Our grantmaking focuses on three core priority areas that strengthen the local news ecosystem.

We fund initiatives focused on high-quality news reporting and dissemination of accurate, timely, verifiable information for New Jersey communities. This includes investigative journalism, community-focused reporting, multilingual news operations, and projects that bring transparent, trustworthy information to underserved areas of the state.

Funded projects in this area help ensure that residents across New Jersey — regardless of where they live, what language they speak, or their socioeconomic status — have access to the civic information they need to participate fully in their communities.

We support organizations and projects that train students, professionals, and community members to produce news and civic information, enabling them to become community storytellers and newsroom reporters.

This includes university training programs, community media workshops, mentorship initiatives, and our first statewide paid internship program — all designed to build the next generation of journalists and ensure newsrooms reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.

We fund organizations that actively encourage and support civic engagement, with an emphasis on historically marginalized and/or underserved communities with limited or no access to news and information.

Projects in this area include community dialogue platforms, civic participation tools, voter information initiatives, and efforts to bridge the information gap in communities that have been historically excluded from mainstream media coverage.

Our Framework

Guiding Principles

We seek projects that embody these principles in their approach to strengthening local news and civic information.

01

Public Service

Projects that perform a meaningful public service for New Jersey communities.

02

Community Centered

Work that centers community information needs and amplifies local voices.

03

Diverse & Inclusive

Media that supports diverse and inclusive representation in all forms.

04

By, With, and For

Promoting media by, with, and for the communities being served.

05

Training & Education

Providing training and education to build capacity in local news ecosystems.

06

Networks & Infrastructure

Strengthening networks and infrastructure for sustainable local journalism.