The Knight Cities Challenge will award $5 million for the best ideas to make the 26 Knight communities more successful. Apply at knightcities.org.

With less than five days left to apply for the Knight Cities Challenge, we know many of you are hard at work putting the final touches on your application!

Even if you haven’t started yet, the process is simple enough (there are just three primary questions, which each require just 100 words or less) that there is still enough time to get your idea in before the noon ET deadline on Tuesday, Oct. 27. But you may want to hurry.

Knight Foundation staff have been in dozens of communities across the country to hear from innovators through a series of in-person events over the past several weeks. We’ve been impressed with how communities are responding to the challenge and can’t wait to read through your ideas. If you came out to a community information session or an event, we thank you.

Here are some of the commonly asked questions we’ve been fielding both online and in-person:

• I don’t live in one of the 26 Knight communities, does that mean I can’t apply with an idea? No, but your project must take place or benefit at least one of them. Keep in mind that you will need a local partner if you’re not based in a Knight community. Don’t have a partner? Go ahead and apply; if your idea qualifies as a finalist, we can help you find one.
• How did you choose those 26 communities? They are all locations where the Knight brothers once owned newspapers.
• When will be I notified if I’m a finalist (or fingers crossed) a winner? Our expert readers and panelists take time to read through each application throughout the review process. The majority of those readers are from Knight communities. You can expect to hear back from us with a decision on your application by early January 2016. We expect to announce winners in the spring of 2016. Last year’s winners were announced March 31, 2015.
• I applied last year to the Knight Cities Challenge, but didn’t win. Should I apply again this year? If your idea relates to talent, opportunity and engagement, we want to hear from you. Remember, this challenge is the place to try something new and bold (so it’s not a good use of your time to request funding to sustain an existing project or organization).
• I applied to the challenge last year and did win. Can I apply again? Sure, as long as your new idea is just as bold as before. Note that you can also apply to the challenge if you’ve received other support from Knight Foundation in the past.
• I have an idea, but it relates to only one of the three key challenge themes, not all of them. Is that OK? Yes, as long as your idea directly relates to attracting and keeping talented people in your community, expanding economic opportunity or creating a culture of civic engagement, apply.
• Actually, I have more than one idea. Can I submit multiple projects? Yes, that’s great; we want to hear them all! You can apply with as many projects as you want, as long as they relate directly to the themes of talent, opportunity and engagement.
• If I’m selected as a winner, do I need to raise matching funds for the project? No.

Knight Foundation Vice President of Community and National Initiatives Carol Coletta also took to the popular social media platform Reddit earlier this month to answer questions about the challenge. Coletta’s answers to them and dozens of additional questions are available via the chat’s full transcript.

We’ll be holding one last set of virtual office hours for anyone with last-minute questions. Knight Foundation’s special assistant to the vice president for community and national initiatives, George Abbott, will be available via phone and video from 10:30-11:30 a.m. ET on Monday, Oct. 26, 2015.  You can RSVP here. Knight also has a full FAQ available here.

Good luck!

For the latest up-to-date information the challenge, be sure to follow @knightfdn and #knightcities on Twitter or sign up for our email newsletter. You can send questions to [email protected]. And you can peruse the winners of the first Knight Cities Challenge and apply – by noon ET on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015 – at knightcities.org.

Elizabeth Miller Tilis is a digital communications consultant based in Kansas City, Mo. Email her at [email protected].