Knight Emerging City Champions Fellowship Program

Knight Emerging City Champions Fellowship Program is sponsored by Knight Foundation. Supports young civic innovators with bold ideas to strengthen trust and community connection in Knight communities.

Emerging City Champions - 8 80 Cities & Knight Foundation How Would You Transform Your City? Knight Emerging City Champions is a fellowship and micro-grant program for young civic innovators with bold ideas to transform their communities. This program is powered by 8 80 Cities and the John S.

and James L. Knight Foundation. Applications for the 2025-2026 period are now closed.

We are looking for future city leaders with creative solutions to local challenges. Project proposals should aim to: Enhance Community Connection Building trust in community through projects that create shared public spaces, launch local information-sharing initiatives, or utilize other creative approaches that promote civic engagement.

Foster Creative Expression Celebrating freedom of expression with projects that aim to preserve and advance local arts and culture. Build Community Resilience Benefitting local economies with projects that support and fuel entrepreneurship. The fellowship is open to U.S. residents aged 18-35 with an innovative project idea and the drive to see it through in one of Knight Foundation's 8 resident communities.

Applicants may be community activists, educators, tactical urbanists, designers, artists, entrepreneurs, and more. We want diverse voices with fresh perspectives, talent, and commitment to building vibrant neighborhoods and cities. 1 Year.

$5,000 + $500 Tech Bundle Champions will receive $5,000 in seed funding to implement one community project in one year. Each champion will also receive a $500 tech bundle to support their project activities. We are looking for projects that respond to community needs, build on local assets, and are implemented through collaboration.

The Knight Emerging City Champions fellowship will kick-off with an in-person KECC Studio in Toronto, Canada that will equip participants with the tools they need to begin implementing their community projects and connect them with champions across the U.S. Learn more about the Studio Champions join a supportive and inspiring network of peers from across the country.

They receive ongoing mentorship from experts in diverse fields such as planning, design, communications, technology, and more. 8 80 Cities and Knight Foundation will expose participants to opportunities for additional funding, professional growth, and support. Recognizing the growing influence of technology in our public realm, this year, and for the second time, we have teamed up with Helpful Places.

This Toronto-based social impact organization is internationally recognized as leaders in civic tech, community engagement, and open innovation. By making emerging technologies in public spaces more legible for the public, Helpful Places enables organizations to foster community understanding and trust around their use of technology. Together, we aim to dig deeper and explore how to leverage technology to create thriving communities.

Applications for the 2025-2026 period are now closed! Applicants must be able to attend the Virtual Orientation on August 5, 2025, from 6 - 8 pm EDT. Applicants must live in the U.S., and they must be aged 18-35 years old at the time they apply.

Applicants must be able to travel to Canada between August 13 to 16, 2025, for the KECC Studio. Applicants must propose a project that connects residents in their community, fosters creative expression, and/or builds local resilience. The project must take place in one of the 8 resident communities where Knight Foundation invests.

Thank you to our Alumni Advisory Committee Meet our advisory committee of former champions who support the ongoing development and amplification of the KECC program. Meet the Advisory Committee Amplify is a toolkit and event series that makes it easier for people to interact with local government. The Exhibition District is a wildly ambitious, artist-initiated effort to erect over 40,000 square feet of murals in the heart of downtown.

The Bobby Jones Project organizes community members to re-envision a cultural asset through collaborative planning. Detroit Hives repurposes vacant lots into pollinator way-stations to promote urban sustainability and conservation awareness.

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