Report for America

It was launched in 2017 as an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit journalism organization that trains and supports emerging journalists across the world.

[1][2] RFA was co-founded by Steven Waldman, who currently serves as its president, and Charles Sennott, the chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of The GroundTruth Project.

[13] Report for America encourages its newsroom partners to raise support from the community, introducing philanthropy as a critical revenue stream to make their coverage possible.

In 2020, Sennott and Waldman accepted the National Press Foundation's Chairman's Citation on behalf of Report for America at its annual journalism awards dinner.

“This program strengthens democracy by providing the kind of factual, in-depth information that people need to make informed decisions.” Report for America was named as one of six 2021 finalists competing for $100 million in the MacArthur Foundation's 100&Change competition[17][18][19] for its efforts to eliminate America's local news deserts.