Cumberland Community Foundation has awarded a grant to CityView News Fund, a charitable organization providing local news coverage in Cumberland County and the surrounding area.
According to a foundation news release on Thursday, the grant will be paid by the Innovative Fund for Community Progress and the Dr. Lucile Hutaff Community Advancement Fund, two endowments created by an anonymous donor to support innovative and nontraditional projects in Fayetteville and the surrounding area.
Mary Holmes, CEO of Cumberland Community Foundation, said the organization’s board recognized the need to boost local news coverage in 2022.
“Current news is essential for a healthy society,” Holmes said. “We started researching the many models for nonprofit news agencies. We were happy to find CityView News Fund available to step in and fill a gap in local news coverage.”
The $150,000 grant is a multiyear, declining-balance award and is designed to strengthen the local news systems. The first year will be a challenge grant and will match donations to CityView News Fund up to $50,000.
“This grant acknowledges the changing landscape in journalism across the country and the importance of philanthropy’s role in supporting in-depth coverage of local issues,” Holmes said.
Tim White, vice chairman of the CityView News Fund, said he is “delighted and deeply grateful” for the foundation’s support.
“The core mission of the News Fund is to provide vigorous coverage of government and the other institutions that determine the quality of life in Fayetteville and Cumberland County,” White said. “Nonprofit funding for newsrooms appears to be a key part of the future of journalism across our country, and we’re excited to see our community’s enthusiastic support of our efforts.”
Established in 1980, Cumberland Community Foundation is a nonprofit charitable foundation that accepts donations and administers endowments that benefit the community. The foundation manages 650 individual charitable funds totaling more than $120 million. It awards scholarships to local students and grants to charitable organizations to improve the quality of life in Cumberland County.
For more information go to www.cumberlandcf.org or call 910-483-4449.
