The LPC Playbook:
A start-up course for civic media

As part of the Listening Post Collective’s commitment to developing civic media + power-building resources, we’ve launched a free, self-paced, digital learning platform that guides you through launching your own civic media project. Scroll to the bottom of the page to enroll.

Whether you are a concerned community member or group, journalist, media outlet, or digital content creator, we’re confident that our playbook will help you engage others in the quest for a more diverse, representative, and accountable information ecosystem.  Our goals are to help you:

• Gather data that helps you understand and track your community’s information needs
• Engage with your community, using text messages, live events, social media, and other strategies
• Create content that highlights diverse voices and experiences and prioritizes transparency and accountability
• Inspire civic dialogue and participation in your community

Five Digital Modules

Five easy-to-follow digital modules with case studies, quizzes, and engagement prompts that you can complete at your own pace.

LPC Coaching & Mentorship

Access to LPC coaches + and a sounding board of peers from across the country trying to do good work too.

Community Roadmap

This roadmap, also known as an Information Needs Assessment, will not only help you understand your community needs but will you understand how to best deliver news and information to the people that need it most.

Certificate of Completion

A certificate and LPC swag that acknowledges your participation!

Qualify for a Micro-grant

If you are someone using this playbook to launch a project that serves a BIPOC/Immigrant community, you may qualify for a one-time micro-grant award to provide support for capacity-building items like supplies, equipment/software, marketing, content, or engagement activities in support of your work.

We’re awarding (20) $500 micro-grants to support activities for one of our five digital modules. So, if there’s something you want to do that can benefit from support, we might have a check for that.

We’re also awarding (3) $5k micro-grants to anyone that completes up to module 3 in the playbook and can convince us they have a really great project they want to launch or strengthen. Applicants must submit an Information Ecosystem Assessment to be considered (Don’t worry we’ll teach you how to do that).

We will award a total of $25,000 by April 2023 (unless, of course, we raise more money! We’re taking a first come, first serve approach.

When can I apply?

• Applications for micro-grants will be reviewed as they are received.
• Learners can apply up to $500 micro-grant to support any module without completing the course.
• Only those that have completed the course can apply for the 5k micro-grant.
• All applicants will receive a response within two weeks.
• The application link is found within the digital learning platform.

Who is eligible for our microgrants?

• Any person, project, or organization, based in the U.S., with budgets under $500k, dedicated to impacting their communities is eligible to apply.
• Fiscally-sponsored organizations (non or for-profit) may apply; smaller projects that are responsible for their own fundraising as part of a larger organization will also be considered.
• Ineligible programs include religious groups for religious purposes, political organizations/lobbying, fundraising events, elected officials, or organizations that do not align with our values.

Do I need to do any reporting?

• We will ask for a short evaluation at the end of the grant term.
• We will not ask for a budget or detailed financial report.

How to enroll

Once you click on the enroll link below, here’s what you can expect:

1. You will be redirected to our sign-up page on Internews Studio Public.
2. You will be asked to provide your Full Name, E-mail, and to create a password.
3. You will be asked to provide a bio and tell us about yourself (optional, but we’d love to learn more about you!)
4. You will land on a welcome screen from Internews Studio Public, here you will be able to click on The Listening Post Collective Playbook:  A start-up course in civic media.  You will also be able to sign-up to other open courses!
5. And voila, once you’re in the Listening Post Collective Playbook, you will find our 5 learning modules, a link to our private Facebook group, micro-grant application, and other tools/templates!