The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has promised $70 million over the next seven years to community foundations that serve cities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers.

“Information is an essential community need, and community foundations were established to meet core needs,” said Alberto Ibargüen, the Knight Foundation’s president. “They also only exist and thrive because of community engagement and contributions. That makes them ideal partners to help us understand and advance local community engagement, focused on ensuring that these communities have the information they need to manage their affairs in our democracy.”