WyoFile partners with Wyoming Community Foundation

Thanks to Wyoming readers and its media partners, WyoFile has had an amazing year. And we’re pleased to announce two recent grant awards.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced Wednesday (Sept. 5) that it has awarded the Wyoming Community Foundation a $62,000 grant for the nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization, WyoFile, to expand coverage of critical issues in Wyoming. The Knight Community Information Challenge is an initiative to help community and place-based foundations find creative ways to use new media and technology to keep residents informed and engaged. WyoFile.com was one of just 20 organizations across the nation to receive awards totaling $3.67 million in matching funds for 2012. A full list can be found on the Knight Foundation website at www.knightfoundation.org.

WyoFile also was awarded $75,000 from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation (EEJF) which gave $1.84 million in grants to 23 journalism organizations nationwide. Founded by Edith Kinney Gaylord, Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation’s mission is to invest in the future of journalism by building the ethics, skills and opportunities needed to advance principled, probing news and information.“Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation is pleased to support such high quality, innovative grantees this cycle,” said Bob Ross, president and CEO of Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. “We are especially excited to provide critical funding to non-profit investigative journalism organizations, each providing credible content while informing and engaging the communities they serve.”

WyoFile is extremely proud to be partnered with the Knight Foundation and the Wyoming Community Foundation as well as the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation to expand WyoFile’s news coverage of people, places and policy in Wyoming.

“Wyoming is a special place, with amazing people,” said WyoFile editor-in-chief Dustin Bleizeffer. “Five years ago, WyoFile and nonprofit online news was just an idea in Wyoming. Now that the model for WyoFile and its mission to provide in-depth news to Wyoming media outlets has proven its potential, we’re pleased to have the investment from our readers and supporters to increase our coverage.

“But it takes a lot of investment to build a new enterprise and give it staying power,” Bleizeffer continued. “So now we’re asking our readers to match the generous donations by the Knight Foundation and Ethics and Excellence in Journalism organizations.”

Since it was established in 2008, WyoFile has produced many reports critical to fostering an engaged and informed public in Wyoming, including a three-part series examining the shifting role of Wyoming’s hispanic community, Sen. John Barrasso’s quick rise in the GOP’s ranks, and ongoing coverage of Wyoming’s energy industry and environmental policy decisions.

“We are pleased that the Wyoming Community Foundation was selected by the Knight Foundation for their matching grant program. The Wyoming Community Foundation welcomes the opportunity to partner with national organizations interested in supporting Wyoming communities and local non-profit organizations,” said Wyoming Community Foundation President, Craig Showalter. “We congratulate WyoFile on this successful partnership and we thank the Knight Foundation for investing in Wyoming.”

WyoFile is an associate member of the Wyoming Press Association. WyoFile content has been republished by several news outlets, including: The Gillette News-Record, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, The Billings Gazette, The Powell Tribune, Rawlins Daily Times, Jackson Hole Weekly, Jackson Hole News & Guide, the Torrington Telegram, the Little Chicago Review, High Country News and the Rural West Initiative.

For more information about WyoFile, contact: Dustin Bleizeffer, WyoFile editor-in-chief, (307) 577-6069, or dustin@wyofile.com.

To learn more about the Wyoming Community Foundation, visit www.wycf.org.

For more information about the Knight Community Information Challenge, this year’s challenge winners, and about the Media Learning Seminar, go to informationneeds.org.

Click here for more information about the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.