• Article

    City Observatory: A new forum for what matters for successful cities

    Published October 20, 2014 by

    Joe Cortright is an economist and director of City Observatory, a virtual urban policy think tank that receives support from Knight Foundation.  Last week we launched City Observatory, a new data-driven platform for sharing, analyzing and discussing the success of cities. The site’s original analysis and in-depth research on cities and urban issues is designed to inform community leaders, policymakers, policy wonks and the rest of us. Today we released “The Young and Restless and the Nation’s Cities,” a new CityReport that analyzes the choices young, educated professionals are making about where they live and how those choices are reshaping the economic development process. Future reports will address topics such as city job growth, neighborhood change, and the ways we create, use and interact with public spaces in cities.  
  • Article

    Voting is open for the South Florida Peoples Choice Award!

    Published October 20, 2014 by

    Starting today, all you need is a cellphone to help a local artist’s dream project come to life. We just launched the Knight Arts Challenge People’s Choice Award in South Florida, where you, the public, helps decide which of six local arts organizations receives $20,000 for their idea. It’s a...
  • Article

    Voting is open for the South Florida Peoples Choice Award!

    Published October 20, 2014 by

    Knight Arts Challenge South Florida 2014 People's Choice Awards nominees are live - Vote now via text message on your mobile device!  Starting today, all you need is a cellphone to help a local artist’s dream project come to life. We just launched the Knight Arts Challenge People’s Choice Award in South Florida, where you, the public, helps decide which of six local arts organizations receives $20,000 for their idea. It’s a text-to-vote campaign: pick your favorite group, and text their code to 22333. You may know some of the nominees, others are newly launched. Our goal with the People’s Choice Award is to bring attention to the small and emerging groups that make South Florida such a vibrant place to live. Here’s a bit on each of the nominees:
  • Article

    A burst of new painting from Glexis Novoa

    Published October 17, 2014 by

    "Se Vende" 2014 from Glexis Novoa. Glexis Novoa is one of Miami’s more prominent and well-known artists. His black-and-white graphite constructs of a utopian metropolis gone wrong – cold, otherworldy, bereft of emotion – often site-specific to gallery and museum walls, have become part of the...
  • Article

    What Knight Foundation funding opportunities are open now?

    Published October 17, 2014 by

    This post has been updated.  Knight Foundation uses challenges to find great ideas across its program areas. In addition, a few opportunities are available year round. Here are the opportunities open now: If you have a news or information idea you want to develop and test, the Knight Prototype Fund may be for you. This Media Innovation initiative provides $35,000 to turn ideas into prototypes. There are several cohorts of winners each year; the most recent winners can be seen here. The next application deadline will be in early 2015. Follow #PrototypeFund on Twitter for more. If you have a new idea to make one of the 26 Knight communities more successful, the Knight Cities Challenge is an option. The current round closed Nov. 14. The challenge is a new program from Community and National Initiatives, and winners will share $5 million. The initial application is simple, and reviewers will look for innovative ideas that can help our communities attract and retain talented people, create economic opportunity, or foster a culture of civic engagement. Finalists will be announced in January 2015, and winners in the spring. The second round of the challenge will open later in 2015. #KnightCities
  • Article

    Nonprofit focuses on creating vibrant street life in San Jose, Calif.

    Published October 17, 2014 by

    Knight Foundation recently announced $150,000 in support for the San Jose Downtown Association to improve public life in the urban core as the city experiences substantial growth. The San Jose Downtown Association plans to use community events and public space improvements to create a better experience for people downtown. Watch the video for more details. This support is one element of the foundation’s efforts to expand opportunities in San Jose, while helping to attract and retain talented people. San Jose is one of 26 Knight communities, places where Knight’s founders, brothers John S. and James L. Knight, once owned newspapers.
  • Article

    An evangelist for entrepreneurship: With events like SIME MIA, Demian Bellumio is promoting Miami’s future

    Published October 17, 2014 by

    Demian Bellumio, chief operating officer for Senzari, a Big Data content recommendation company based in Miami, seems in motion even while calmly answering questions seated at a desk in the company’s conference room. It’s late summer and part of this, no doubt, is because today he’s waiting for a call from a potential sponsor for this year’s SIME MIA, a two-day conference that merges entrepreneurship, media technology and the arts. Senzari COO Demian Bellumio by Carolina Wilson on Flickr. Born in Argentina but raised in Miami, Bellumio has been instrumental in organizing events such as the MIA Music Summit, which brought together people in music and technology, entrepreneurs and investors, and also bringing SIME, a Europe-based event, to South Florida. Last year’s gathering was a partnership between SIME and MIA Collective, of which Bellumio is a founding partner, with support provided by Knight Foundation through 2015. But on this day, he says, more sponsors are needed. And if a potential backer is interested, he’s happy to talk. As it develops an ecosystem for high-tech entrepreneurs and investors, Bellumio is one of Miami’s most enthusiastic pitchmen. He has a success story to tell—and a passion for his hometown.