As part of its latest round of grants, Glick Philanthropies has awarded $100,000 to Free Press Indiana, the nonprofit news organization that launched Mirror Indy late last year.
Free Press Indiana CEO Bro Krift said the one-year grant will support Indy Documenters, a program that trains and pays residents to take notes at public meetings.
The money also will go toward a planned rural Indiana election project this summer and fall.
“Glick Philanthropies continues to help make Indiana a better place for all,” Krift said. “I’m grateful that they recognize the need to get Hoosiers more connected civically. I’m even more thankful that they recognize local journalism as a priority for a better functioning society and that they support the work that Mirror Indy has done since its launch last December to elevate our neighbors’ opportunities to be heard.”
To date, Krift said Free Press Indiana has raised more than $11.5 million from a combination of individuals, foundations and reader membership donations.
Free Press Indiana is one of seven nonprofits that received funding through Glick’s Healthy Democracy initiative, with the goal of supporting local journalism, protecting civil rights and strengthening voter access.
The awards totaled $550,000.
The focus on democracy comes as Indiana continues to lag behind other states in civic health — or the way people participate in their community.
In 2022, for example, the Indiana Bar Foundation’s Civic Health Index report shows the state ranked 50th out of 51 states and Washington, D.C., in voter turnout. And in the most recent primary election, turnout in Marion County was only about 13%.
“Everything we care about — affordable housing, arts, basic needs, economic mobility, education, and the Jewish community — relies on a functioning, healthy democracy,” David Barrett, president and CEO of the Glick Family Foundation, said in a statement. “While we wish that philanthropic organizations didn’t need to step up to support democracy, the current landscape requires it.”
Two other local nonprofit media organizations — WFYI and Chalkbeat Indiana — also received grants.
Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers economics. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick.
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