The Eugene Weekly is distributed free in many locations around Eugene, Springfield and other Lane County communities.
Chris Lehman / KLCC
The Eugene Weekly has received a $100,000 grant to bolster its coverage.
The money is from Press Forward, a national foundation-funded initiative to provide operating support for local journalism outlets.
Eugene Weekly editor Camilla Mortensen said applying for grants is becoming a part of the paper’s new business model, which also includes soliciting donations from readers.
“We’ve already traditionally been ad-based, but now also through our nonprofit arm, we’re trying to develop some community resources to help grow the newsroom and increase the coverage in the area,” she said.
Mortensen said community support was critical after the paper discovered last year that it had lost a significant amount of money to embezzlement.
Two other Oregon news outlets received grants from Press Forward: Underscore Native News and the Lund Report, which focuses on healthcare topics.
According to Press Forward, news organizations with annual budgets of up to $1 million were eligible for the grants. It said a total of 205 grants were distributed, for a total of $20 million. Recipients included at least one news outlet in all 50 states.