Dear Grice Connect readers,
We are thrilled to announce today that we have received $100,000 in a challenge grant from Press Forward, the nationwide initiative strengthening communities through local news! One of the primary goals of the grant is to help us increase our financial sustainability and expand our local news coverage across the region.
Press Forward is a national movement to strengthen our democracy by revitalizing local news and information. A coalition of funders is investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms, close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage, advance public policy that expands access to local news, and to scale the infrastructure the sector needs to thrive.
Since 2019, we have been on the frontlines in Statesboro and Bulloch County, bringing you the news you need when you need it. In fact, over 60,000 of you depended on us to help get you through Hurricane's Helene and Debby.
Our team is dedicated to keeping the people of our community informed and engaged with the news and community information that matters most. We work hard to be connectors of people – a place where our readers can come together and truly become engaged with our community.
We are grateful and humbled that so many of you have come to rely on us for your local news, and we simply would not be where we are today without you.
A review panel of national foundation and journalism leaders reviewed our application about how our stories make a difference right here at home and awarded us $100,000 in challenge funding.
And we're in great company. Our newsroom is one of five in Georgia out of 205 small, local news outlets — including one in every U.S. state — that are receiving a share of $20 million to close persistent coverage gaps, thanks to funding from Press Forward.
Motivated by the extraordinary quality and number of proposals, Press Forward is funding twice as many news organizations as it originally anticipated through its first open call. More than 900 proposals were received!
We are grateful and proud to be part of a bright mosaic of independent, non-partisan sources that are reimagining what local news looks like across America. Our peers include newer nonprofits — launched as information needs became evident during the pandemic — and enduring for-profits continuing to adapt and innovate after a century in business.
Some newsrooms are reporting on the vast American countryside, where they are often the only news source for hundreds of miles, while other outlets are covering people of color and linguistically diverse communities that traditional news sources have overlooked. Each produces the everyday stories people need to make decisions about their daily lives.
We are truly honored to be a part of this remarkable group of organizations that are changing the face of local news.
The $100,000 that we are receiving from Press Forward is more than just a challenge grant, though. It’s a symbolic gesture that national funders are investing in Grice Connect and ultimately, in Southeast Georgia and its residents.
This challenge grant is wonderful news, but we will also need local support to sustain this work for the long term — for all of us. Will you help us celebrate this moment and prepare for what’s ahead by making a gift to Grice Connect today? No contribution is too small, and every single one is appreciated.
We only need 400 of our over 30,000 Bulloch Daily email subscribers to give $10.00 per month by November 15, 2024 to help us meet our reader revenue goal as part of the challenge grant of $4,000 per month.
Can we count on you now to help us receive the full impact of this $100,000 challenge grant?
CLICK HERE to Support Grice Connect
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for believing in us and in Grice Connect. We look forward to serving Bulloch County for years to come.
With gratitude,
H. DeWayne Grice
Founder/Publisher
Learn more about our grant and others at pressforward.news/grantees.
Grice Connect is funded by Press Forward, the nationwide movement to strengthen communities by reinvigorating local news. Learn more at pressforward.news.