Articles by

Knight Foundation

  • Article

    50 ordinary men doing extraordinary things for our communities

    Published May 14, 2013 by

    2013 BMe Leadership Award Winners from Knight Foundation on Vimeo. Several groups of black males were spotted today near you, helping to build, protect and educate the community. The groups were spotted in Detroit, Philadelphia and Baltimore and ranged in ages from 19 to over 60.  The only thing the men apparently had in common was a personal commitment to the well-being of other people's children, strangers and neighbors. A total of 50 men were spotted by BMe: "The network of inspired black men and their friends" and awarded a total of $600,000 in small grants paid for by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Open Society Foundation's Campaign for Black Male Achievement. The men weren't awarded the grants just for what they do, but for who they are and what they represent. RELATED LINKS View BMe Leadership Award winners in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Detroit They represent our chance to live in communities where people look out for each other, turn their talents into income, vacant lots into playgrounds, hopelessness into confidence, and death into new life. These 50 BMe Leaders are among 400 other BMe Brothers who applied for funding and are also making a difference. Those 400 hundred are part of over 3,000 black men who have posted video testimonials of things that they consistently do to make a difference. All of whom do so simply because they can and because they care. Now that BMe exists, we invite anyone of any race or gender to connect to local men like these on the interests that we share in common. Whether its youth development, entrepreneurship, health, education, homelessness, the environment and more we can each do our part and do even more together.   By Trabian Shorters
  • Press Release

    Philadelphians gain greater access to digital literacy classes, affordable high-speed Internet and low-cost computers

    Published April 22, 2013 by

    PHILADELPHIA —(April 22, 2013) — Today, Philadelphians will gain greater access to the technology and skills they need to compete in the 21st century workforce, through the local launch of EveryoneOn, a nationwide campaign to connect Americans to free digital literacy training classes, discounted high speed Internet and affordable computers. The EveryoneOn campaign is sponsored […]

  • Press Release

    Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Launches Today

    Published April 18, 2013 by

    The following is a press release about the launch of the Knight-funded Digital Public Library of America Related Link  “Now live: the first Digital Public Library of America” by Jorge Martinez on Knight Blog (April 18, 2013) — The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) launched a beta of its discovery portal and open platform today. […]

  • Article

    YouthBuild: sharing a recipe for community progress

    Published April 17, 2013 by

      This year, 300 low-income California youth will have the opportunity to become community leaders and contribute to a plan that promises to change the lives of high school dropouts across the country. The students will participate in a Knight-supported program launched by YouthBuild USA, a national organization known for helping disadvantaged young people get a GED and job skills by engaging them in community development efforts, like building affordable housing. They will also be part of the first wave of students to benefit from the replication of YouthBuild’s successful national model at the state level. The plan for expansion was announced today at the annual California YouthBuild Coalition State Capitol Day event— Knight Foundation will provide $1.4 million to grow YouthBuild’s capacity and influence. Knight has supported YouthBuild since 2011. In that time we have not only witnessed clear results of YouthBuild's power to change people and communities for the better, we’ve also documented them. RELATED LINK "What works in engaging disadvantaged youth in civic life" on KnightBlog In June 2012, Knight funded a study on YouthBuild’s impact, which was conducted by Tuft’s University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). It revealed that a significant number of YouthBuild graduates transform their lives, leaving behind troubled backgrounds in drugs, gangs, or homelessness. Significantly, a majority become leaders in their community—serving as church directors, public officers or youth workers and going on to become college graduates. The bottom line: YouthBuild has developed a recipe for community commitment and progress, within a group that is especially difficult to engage. YouthBuild's challenge however is scaling success. While 10,000 young people take part in its basic program annually, only 100 are able to move on to their alumni leadership program, which increases their prospects for becoming positive contributors to their community. — By Jeff Coates, Knight Staff