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Grant to Aid in Informing Communities to Ensure Equitable Access to the COVID-19 Vaccine

Colorado Media Project is offering grants of $5,000 to $10,000 to selected Colorado news outlets to support the dissemination of accurate, culturally relevant info about the COVID-19 vaccine to communities of color and other marginalized groups.

Communities of color and other marginalized groups have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 in Colorado. These same communities also face increased challenges accessing the COVID-19 vaccine due to structural barriers, including a lack of culturally responsive and accurate information, limited interpretation or translation services, and limited access to technology. Some individuals also may be reluctant to get vaccinated due to concerns about vaccine side effects, immigration-related fears, experiences with racism and bias, or lack of trust and confidence in health care and other systems.

To help address these barriers and concerns, Colorado Media Project (CMP) is offering grants to Colorado journalism organizations that have existing, trusted relationships with communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

Eligible applicants must:

Be a Colorado news outlet that is regularly producing original, locally focused, nonpartisan journalism. Both nonprofit and for-profit newsrooms are eligible to apply.

Have a history of providing culturally responsive and trusted information in at least one of the following communities highly impacted by COVID-19: Communities of color, immigrant and refugee, people with limited English proficiency/language barriers, people with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness/housing instability, LGBTQ+ individuals, people without health insurance, minimum or low-wage employees, older adults living on low income.

Be willing to partner with Colorado Media Project and the Colorado News Collaborative to share content (of your choosing) and lessons learned on engagement strategies, journalism approaches, and other creative ideas that help your journalists build trust in communities of color and/or communities facing inequities and barriers.

Funding can be used to support journalism and/or community engagement projects that:

– help meet a specific marginalized community’s critical information needs about the vaccine
– directly address mis- and disinformation about the vaccine in culturally responsive ways, and/or
– leverage partnerships between newsrooms and community-based organizations that are helping to implement vaccine rollout.

Join CMP for a Zoom information session on Monday, April 5 from Noon to 1 p.m. Attendees will learn more about which types of organizations and projects are most aligned with this grant opportunity, hear research about barriers to vaccine access among communities of color in Colorado, and be able to ask questions of CMP and other funders. Key dates will also be discussed at this meeting.

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