The Granite State News Collaborative has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. This general operating grant will fund the reporting and management of the Collaborative’s Race and Equity project.

“The Collaborative is grateful for the continued support of the NH Charitable Foundation,” said Melanie Plenda, Collaborative Director. “We are so appreciative that the folks at NHCF see and know the value of and vital role that local journalism plays in the civic health of our state.”

New Hampshire PBS is the fiscal sponsor for the Granite State News Collaborative. “It is gratifying to see this kind of support for the vital local news ecosystem across the state. It’s healthier as a result of NHCF support,” said NHPBS President and CEO Peter Frid. “We’re proud to be stewards of these funds on behalf of the Collaborative.”

Through this multi-year initiative, the Collaborative and its more than 20 media, community and educational partners, will highlight the stories of people of color in New Hampshire and work with them to amplify their voices. Through the Race and Equity project,  The Collaborative and its partners will investigate the policies and systems in place that have had disproportionately negative impacts on communities of color. 

As part of the project, The Collaborative and its partners will gather the data that will help analyze where disparities exist, rigorously report the impact of those disparities on communities and the solutions that may address those areas of concern. The areas of focus will include policing/criminal justice, economic opportunity, affordable housing, health, education and access to civic engagement. The Collaborative will do this work in regular consultation and partnership with community members.

In addition to managing, organizing, and providing additional resources for the project, The Collaborative is assembling a small team to provide in-depth, statewide, solutions-focused stories as well as data sets for the project. These will be shared with, and distributed by to partners and can be used as building blocks for additional original reporting by partner outlets. The goal is to provide coverage and data partners would otherwise be unable to produce on their own.

About The Granite State News Collaborative

The Granite State News Collaborative is a collective of more than 20 local media, education and community partners working together to produce and share news stories on the issues that most impact New Hampshire. 

The hope is that together we can provide more information to more communities across the state than we could individually.

Collaborative partners include The Berlin Daily Sun, Business NH Magazine, The Concord Monitor, The Conway Daily Sun, The Eagle-Tribune, The Keene Sentinel, The Laconia Daily Sun, Manchester Ink Link,  The Marlin Fitzwater Center at Franklin Pierce University,  The Nashua Telegraph, NH Bar News, NH Business Review, New Hampshire Press Association, New Hampshire PBS, NH Public Radio, The Monadnock Ledger Transcript, ParentingNH Magazine, Seacoast Media Group and The Valley News. 

For more information, visit www.collaborativenh.org or email melanie.plenda@collaborativenh.org

About the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation

The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation is New Hampshire’s statewide community foundation, founded in 1962 by and for the people of New Hampshire. The Foundation manages a growing collection of nearly 2,000 funds created by generous individuals, families and businesses, and awards nearly $40 million in grants and more than $6 million in scholarships every year. The Foundation works with generous and visionary citizens to maximize the power of their giving, supports great work happening in our communities and leads and collaborates on high-impact initiatives. For more information, please visit www.nhcf.org or call 603-225-6641.