AI Education Innovation Grants

AI Education Innovation Grants is sponsored by Trusting News. Trusting News offers innovation grants and coaching to help newsrooms educate their communities about AI. Selected participants receive funding and one-on-one support to plan, execute, and evaluate an AI education project.

Apply now: Innovation fund and AI cohort Helping journalists earn news consumers’ trust Our research shows that people want to be educated about AI and that they would welcome that education from journalists. Is your team ready to help your community better understand artificial intelligence and build trust in your journalism while you do it? Why we’re doing this: People associate relevance, helpfulness and usefulness with trust.

We see AI education as an opportunity for journalists to earn trust by providing needed public service resources. Questions? Contact Lynn Walsh: Lynn@TrustingNews.

org Trusting News AI Education Cohort When: The cohort will begin September 30, 2025 and finish on March 31, 2026. Attach short audience surveys to those materials to gather data on how the materials affected news consumers’ understanding of AI and trust in news. Track and share engagement metrics of the educational content materials shared.

Meet once or twice a month (Tuesdays at Noon Eastern) from September 30, 2025, to March 31, 2026. Have or be willing to create a public-facing AI use policy by the end of the cohort. (Trusting News will help you create this or make changes to an existing policy.)

Want to educate your audience about AI and how it’s showing up in the world around them. Want to serve as a helpful and useful resource for your community by educating them about something that is constantly changing and complicated to understand. Are open to experimenting with audience engagement strategies and sharing back what you learn.

Want to contribute to industry-leading research about trust in journalism and emerging technologies. Use this form to apply by Aug. 29.

Questions? Contact Lynn Walsh: Lynn@TrustingNews. org Trusting News AI Education innovation grants When: The innovation projects will begin at the end of September and end March 31, 2026.

Meet with Trusting News staff and researchers to stay on track with a timeline agreed upon and developed collaboratively. (All ideas must be implemented by March 31, 2026.) Attach a research element to your education idea so the industry can learn about the effectiveness of different strategies.

(We’re open to a variety of approaches depending on the project and will have a research partner to help develop and execute the research.) Have or be willing to create a public-facing AI use policy. (Trusting News will help you create this or make changes to an existing policy.)

Want to lead innovative community engagement and education projects around artificial intelligence. Have experience engaging directly with your audience. Have previously talked publicly about your use of AI in news (or are ready to).

Want to create meaningful, trust-building experiences around emerging tech, especially for communities who may feel left out of or confused by AI. Use this form to apply by Aug. 29.

Questions? Contact Lynn Walsh: Lynn@TrustingNews. org lynn@trustingnews.

org | + posts Bio Assistant director Lynn Walsh (she/her) is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has worked in investigative journalism at the national level and locally in California, Ohio, Texas and Florida. She is the former Ethics Chair for the Society of Professional Journalists and a past national president for the organization. Based in San Diego, Lynn is also an adjunct professor and freelance journalist.

She can be reached at lynn@TrustingNews. org and on Twitter @lwalsh. How Bay City News Foundation builds trust through transparent AI experimentation Use a quick video to show why you’re trustworthy Answer your community’s questions about AI How do you know something is true?

Bring your receipts