The Adirondack Community Trust (ACT) in partnership with North Country Public Radio (NCPR) has received a $300,000 challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to invest in the future of NCPR’s ability to expand regional broadcast and digital news and information services with a special emphasis on creating the next generation of public media professionals according to a statement issued to the press. With the required match, the project is expected to bring $650,000 to $700,000 into the work of these organizations over the next three years.



“The objective of the project, 21st Century Public Media on a Rural Map, is to make all NCPR platforms part of a single, integrated resource for the people of the Adirondack region – a resource that they can increasingly play a part in imagining and shaping. As part of the challenge, this grant has to be matched with local dollars from local residents,” the press statement said.

The funding is part of the Knight Community Information Challenge, which encourages community and place-based foundations to support news and information projects that inform and engage residents.

“The Adirondack Community Trust and others like it are part of a growing number of community foundations working to ensure residents have the information they need to make important decisions about their communities,” said Trabian Shorters, Knight Foundation’s vice president for engaging communities. “Ultimately, our democracy will thrive only if we have informed and engaged communities.”

The new funding is hoped to raise the level of NCPR services, by “expanding its work on existing and emerging platforms and by deepening the integration of community participation in public media.” “More residents will have access to information on a variety of platforms; they will participate in creating content and sharing information,” the statement said, “young people will have an opportunity to work under the guidance of proven professionals to learn the skills of public media; and more people will connect with other residents of the region.”

Ellen Rocco, Station Manager for NCPR said, “With this Knight Foundation grant, ACT is making it possible for NCPR to do leading-edge work for our community. And, as an active collaborator on the project, ACT brings expertise, access to and input from people across the region, and a great reputation—contributions that are essential to the project’s success.”