The Chestnut Hill Local has been selected as one of 66 new organizations nationwide to receive a Report for America grant for 2025, which will position the newspaper to expand its coverage of environmental issues affecting Northwest Philadelphia. The new cohort will bring the total number of participating organizations to more than 100.

The Local’s grant, announced Wednesday by Report for America, is a three-year commitment to fund half the first year salary of an experienced reporter, who will cover environmental topics that impact residents' health, safety and quality of life. The reporter is scheduled to join the newsroom in July 2025.

The grant is scheduled to cover 33 percent of the new reporter’s salary in the second year and 20 percent in the third year. The Local will be launching a fund-raising initiative to cover the remainder of that reporter’s salary and benefits.

“We are thrilled to have been selected for this award – an honor that recognizes the quality of our news product,” said Daralyse Lyons, publisher of the Local. “I’m incredibly grateful for the devoted leadership of our board and the dedication of our team, specifically the work of Development Associate Samantha Roff and Editor Carla Robinson, without whom this exciting opportunity would not have been possible.”

"Since our program started, we've seen firsthand the impact of helping newsrooms tell their story to help their community better understand the roles and benefits of local news," said Morgan Baum, director of local news sustainability at Report for America. “People are stepping up to generate new ways to fund newsrooms across the country."

"Not only are we recruiting and placing exceptional journalists in communities that need them most, but we're significantly increasing our efforts to help newsrooms become more financially stable," said Kim Kleman, executive director of Report for America. 

Among the 66 new program participants, 65% are nonprofit organizations and 59% have nine or fewer editorial staffers, with the remainder employing 10 to 49 editorial staff members. 

The Local is not alone in seeking to bolster its coverage of the local environment. Environmental reporting, along with coverage of rural communities and local government, ranked among the most requested beats for this year's new participants.

Report for America will accept applications from interested journalists through Feb. 3, 2025. Competition is fierce – last year's process drew more than 1,000 candidates. Selected corps members will join their newsrooms July 7, 2025. 

An initiative of The GroundTruth Project, Report for America focuses on rebuilding local journalism. Since 2017, the program has helped partner newsrooms raise $30 million through local philanthropic support. It has placed more than 600 journalists in newsrooms nationwide, with over 82% continuing in journalism after completing the program. Nearly half of its journalists are people of color, contributing to a more diverse media landscape.

Report for America journalists have exposed Medicaid fraud targeting Indigenous communities, prompted resignations of accused clergy members and helped address critical issues such as rural teacher shortages.

In addition to funding reporters, Report for America will announce up to 20 photojournalism beats in January through its partnership with CatchLight, a collaborative organization of visual journalists.