WHYY News joins Every Voice, Every Vote initiative to expand access to civic news and information

What questions do you have about the 2024 elections? What major issues do you want candidates to address? Let us know.

With the U.S. approaching  November’s general election, a coalition of Philadelphia journalists and community organizers is teaming up to enhance civic engagement.

On Tuesday, Every Voice, Every Vote, led by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, announced that more than $2.87 million in grants will support 71 media and community organizations to launch journalism and civic engagement projects that connect residents to local government and track the progress of Philly’s new mayoral administration.

WHYY News is among the media organizations, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Tribune and Philadelphia Gay News, that will join Every Voice, Every Vote for the collaborative effort. Participating community organizations include Committee of Seventy, Congreso de Latinos Unidos, PA Youth Vote and more.

Every Voice, Every Vote launched in 2023 as Philly’s largest journalism and community engagement collaboration ahead of the city’s historic mayoral election.

In 2024, the project aims to prioritize solutions-focused accountability reporting and civic engagement through four different calls to action:

• Be heard: Let public officials and fellow community members know our priorities — at the polls and in our neighborhoods
• Be engaged: Participate in town halls and civic engagement events to dive deep into the issues that matter most
• Be accountable: Transcend apathy and ensure public officials and communities are doing their part
• Take action: Make change in small and big ways: sign petitions, show up to public meetings, unite our neighborhoods around important issues.

Shawn Mooring, who leads Philadelphia programs for The Lenfest Institute, says the coalition aims to build on the momentum of its inaugural year. “We are again seeking to engage Philadelphians in every neighborhood across the city to ensure that their voices are heard and the issues that they most care about are being addressed,” Mooring said in a press release.

Lead support for Every Voice, Every Vote in 2024 and 2025 is provided by the William Penn Foundation, with additional funding from The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, Comcast NBC Universal, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Henry L. Kimelman Family Foundation, Judy and Peter Leone, Arctos Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, 25th Century Foundation and Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation.

A full list of Every Voice, Every Vote partners can be found online.