Grant will help expand coverage of underserved communities and education in southwest IL
The BND’s 2021 funding campaign to support expanded coverage of underserved communities and K-12 education in the metro-east has received a major contribution.
Ameren Illinois has awarded a $25,000 grant to the nonprofit Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project, to support two reporter positions at the BND. The positions are funded by RFA, community contributions and the BND.
This is the third grant from the Ameren Cares program to RFA since we launched our coverage expansion project in June.
Richard Mark, chairman and president of Ameren Illinois, explained his company’s support of the project in a statement Friday.
``Too often residents living in smaller communities throughout our region do not get the information they need to be aware of critical issues impacting their own towns and counties, the state, and the country, “ Mark stated. ”It’s vital to have dependable journalistic coverage to keep them informed.
“Sometimes these residents only receive coverage of negative news that affects their community. They also need to receive timely and relevant information that affects their day-to-day lives.”
We thank Ameren Cares for its continued support of RFA and the BND’s coverage project - now totaling $45,000 since last year - and hope that it inspires others to consider contributing to the 2021 funding campaign.
The news industry across the nation has faced tremendous financial challenges as it navigates and embraces digital transformation. As a result, we are increasingly turning to foundations, companies and citizens to help financially support strong local news coverage in the communities that we serve.
A key part of ensuring a sustainable future for independent, local journalism is support from organizations like Ameren Cares and individuals who live in southwestern Illinois.
These investments have helped us provide more news coverage where it’s needed most.
At the BND, we’ve been able to fill coverage gaps with the June 2020 hiring of two RFA corps members, DeAsia Paige and Megan Valley, as our newest reporters. Paige covers East St. Louis, Cahokia Heights and nearby communities and curates our newest newsletter, Mother Baltimore. Valley covers K-12 education, which includes everything from area school boards to issues important to parents, teachers, taxpayers and students.
Their contributions have been significant. Together they have produced more than 225 bylined stories about news and information that helped readers participate in the civic life of their communities.
The BND is committed to this project for the long haul. In fact, we hope to expand it in the months and years ahead, including identifying other coverage gaps and developing plans to fill them.
We can only do that with the financial support of the community.
If you would like to join Ameren Cares in this movement to build a bridge to audience-supported local journalism and expand coverage in areas that need it most, please contact me at jcouch@bnd.com or 618-239-2500.
Thank you for considering this request and for supporting the BND and the future of local journalism.
