ELi to Expand Reporting, Grow Staff After Receiving Large Grant

Recently, ELi received word that we have been chosen as the recipient of a large grant from The Online Journalism Project, a nonprofit organization that promotes hyperlocal journalism. 

The grant has already provided $250,000 to improve our operations, with the opportunity for continued funding in future years. The ELi team is incredibly grateful to The Online Journalism Project for this funding, which will greatly increase ELi’s ability to provide coverage of city government, local schools and the community as a whole. 

“Gifts of this nature can truly transform an organization, and all of us at ELi are grateful for the opportunity to grow and do what we do best; bring East Lansing the news,” ELi Executive Director Beth Peck said. ”This grant marks the beginning of a new, robust chapter for ELi!”

The grant will substantially increase ELi’s reporting capabilities. 

For more than a decade, ELi’s mission has been to bring quality, in-depth reporting about the most important things happening in East Lansing. While we have provided the kind of important, in-depth local reporting that has become harder and harder to come by in recent years, resources have always limited the number of topics we can zero-in on at any given time.

The resources provided by The Online Journalism Project grant changes that.

Right now, ELi’s only full-time employee is Managing Editor Luke Day. Along with editing and publishing stories, Luke is ELi’s primary city government reporter and writes the weekly newsletter. 

The grant funding will be used solely for editorial purposes. It will greatly expand our reporting capabilities – starting by hiring two full-time reporters. One reporter will focus on city government and the other will report on schools and important community happenings. 

We are also planning to increase our spending on photography, keep more money on hand to pay for Freedom of Information Act requests and increase our budget to pay freelancers. 

Additionally, for the first time in ELi’s history, we are looking for an office! As our staff will remain relatively small, we are looking for a modest space that will give our reporters a place to collaborate and meet with members of the community. 

This is just the beginning! We are weighing other avenues to maximize these funds and deliver the best local news possible. 

This is the start of a new, exciting chapter for ELi. 

The engine driving ELi has always been our team’s belief that access to reliable, thorough reporting is essential for a healthy community. This funding helps make this mission more sustainable, and will expand our reach almost immediately. 

ELi is incredibly grateful to you, our readers. It has been your support that has allowed us to report for more than a decade. We are excited to continue to work with you to deliver stories that matter!