Narrative Change Grantmaking

About the Narrative Change Collaborative: 

The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation (TGKVF) is seeking proposals for its “Changing the Narrative:  Youth and Belonging” grant program. This program will support organizations and the creatives who  work with them in documenting and amplifying stories about young people and their experiences and  understanding of belonging in communities across the Kanawha Valley. 

Part of TGKVF’s Narrative Change Collaborative, the program is designed to strengthen the capacity of  local organizations, including the journalists and/or creatives who work with them, to drive place-based  narrative change, a strategic effort to reframe and redefine the stories we tell about residents and  communities.  

Priority will be given to proposals that: 

• Elevate the voices of young people 
• Explore and advance themes of young people and belonging in communities
• Share stories across the Kanawha Valley region 

The Purpose of This Grant Opportunity is to: 

• Support organizations, journalists, and creators to further skills and build tools to tell  impactful, influential stories. 
• Surface youth perspectives on belonging in West Virginia. 
• Coordinate the release of stories and projects to help spark place-based narrative change. 

To learn more about the Narrative Change Collaborative, click here: https://tgkvf.org/special initiatives/narrative-change-collaborative/  

Grant Opportunity Information: 

Eligibility: 

• Grants will focus on organizations that operate within Boone, Clay, Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln,  and Putnam counties in West Virginia. 
• Applicants must be a 501c3 nonprofit, government entity, or use a 501c3 fiscal sponsor. Only  one application per organization is allowable. 

Please note: individual creatives such as (but not limited to) freelance journalists,  documentarians, and creative agencies are encouraged to consider this grant opportunity.  TGKVF can award grants to projects that have fiscal sponsorship or that are housed at an  eligible nonprofit organization. The eligible nonprofit is required to be the lead applicant listed  on the application.

(See notes below in the technical assistance section about how to apply if you are an individual  creative using a fiscal agent.) 

Use of Funds  

Grant awards will average $10,000–$20,000 with the potential for smaller awards as well as flexibility  based on project need and availability of funds. Grant funds may be used for the following kinds of  activities:  

• Creative, journalistic, or documentarian projects or initiatives that create opportunities for  youth voices or reflect what it means to be young in the Kanawha Valley AND that will be  distributed publicly.  
• Operating funding for nonprofit organizations whose primary focus in mission is to  document West Virginia people and culture (nonprofit newsrooms, civic media, etc.). 

*Please note that organizations receiving general operating funding must agree to publish at least one  piece related to the theme of “Youth and Belonging in West Virginia.” Editorial discretion for the angle  and approach to this theme will be the prerogative of the organization receiving general operating  funding.