Illinois Farm Bureau and Illinois Press Foundation award grants to 26 school journalism programs


Illinois Farm Bureau and Illinois Press Foundation award grants to 26 school journalism programs

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Foundation today announce the awarding of grants to 26 high school journalism efforts throughout the state. The awards are part of the Illinois High School Journalism Grants Program offered by the Illinois Press Foundation and financially sponsored for a fourth consecutive year by Illinois Farm Bureau.

More than $35,000 total in grants will be distributed to the schools in the fall to pay for laptops, cameras, broadcasting equipment, newspaper printing costs, website hosting fees and more. The Illinois Press Foundation Board of Directors’ Education Committee approved the grant recipients.

“We’re grateful to continue to have Illinois Farm Bureau as a financial partner of this valuable program again this year,” said Jeff Rogers, executive director of the Illinois Press Foundation. “The Illinois Farm Bureau’s commitment, along with an increased financial commitment this year from the Illinois Press Foundation, has allowed us to award more grants this year than any year of our partnership. Especially today, journalism and the sharing of facts and information is more important than ever. Today’s students have so many platforms available to them, and we’re proud the grant helps support schools in every part of the state to practice journalism.”

This is the fifth year Illinois Farm Bureau has supported scholastic journalists through this grant program.

“Meaningful development through education and programming is central to Illinois Farm Bureau, and it’s incredibly rewarding to help these students grow their journalism skills at the high school level,” said Matt Wettersten, executive director of marketing and communications at Illinois Farm Bureau, as he congratulated the 2025 grant recipients. “We are awarding more applicants this year than we have in any year of our affiliation with the program. That tells us two things. The need for financial assistance is real. But also, the interest in our grant program, and in journalism at the high school level, is growing. We’re proud to help in that way.”

All schools will receive their grant checks during on-site visits in August and September. Of the 26 schools receiving grants, seven are doing so for the first time during the IPF-IFB partnership.

This year’s grant recipients include:

• Altamont Community High School: $1,500 for a camera bundle group and a telephoto style lens.

• Amundsen High School, Chicago: $1,500 for the cost of printing physical copies of the student newspaper.

• Alton High School: $1,440 for four tablets and protective cases with keyboards.

• Carl Schurz High School, Chicago: $1,500 for a Canon EOS R8 4K camera.

• Carlyle High School: $1,500 for three cameras, lenses and protection plans.

• Champaign Central High School: $500 for a year’s subscription to the SnoSites website/online publishing system.

• Edwardsville High School: $1,500 for a professional podcasting desk.

• Elgin High School: $1,500 for a memory card and batteries, memory card holder and USB holders, charger for lavalier mics, rolling tripod, charging block, large storage cabinet, handheld mics, a camera rig and cage, and a handheld recording in progress sign.

• Freeport High School: $1,500 for SnoSites training and Journalism Education Association Student Conference fees.

• Grayslake North High School: $1,500 for a digital camera and microphones.

• Herrin High School: $1,500 for up to four 9th generation iPads, an external hard drive, and a podcast mic.

• Herscher High School: $1,500 for digital cameras.

• Madison School, South Holland: $1,500 for a lithium-ion battery pack, tripod, 2-person wireless microphone system and recorder kit, a video camera tablet teleprompter, impact background system kit, and ultracompact wireless microphone system.

• Metea Valley High School, Aurora: $1,500 for new DSLR cameras, podcast microphones, lighting kits, and video production tools.

• Normal Community High School: $1,500 for a telephoto lens.

• Normal Community West High School: $1,500 for AP Stylebooks (hard copies and digital subscriptions), and updates to the program’s technology and storage needs.

• Ogden International High School, Chicago: $1,440 for a Weebly account, domain name via Bluehost, and a camera/lens kit.

• Okawville Junior/Senior High School: $1,100 for a web hosting subscription, Student News Sources app, portable whiteboard, tripod/monopod upgrade, and Adobe Creative Cloud subscription.

• Oswego East High School: $1,500 for a laptop and camcorder.

• Oswego High School: $1,500 for two video cameras and a set of wireless lavalier microphones.

• Red Bud High School: $500 for a 1-year subscription to the SnoSites website/online publishing system.

• Richards Career Academy, Chicago: $1,500 for a camera kit, lenses, camera bag, SD cards, batteries and camera strap.

• Thornridge High School, Dolton: $1,500 for an Apple MacBook and four microphones.

• Walter Payton College Preparatory High School, Chicago: $1,500 to fund the printing of quarterly print editions, and entry fees and travel for journalism competitions.

• West Chicago High School: $675 for two backdrop support systems; portable softbox and LED panel lights; and a reflector, clamps and sandbags.

• Wheeling High School: $1,500 for a video instant replayer.

Illinois Farm Bureau is a member of the American Farm Bureau Federation, a national organization of farmers and ranchers. Founded in 1916, IFB is a non-profit, membership organization directed by farmers who join through their county Farm Bureau. IFB has a total membership of more than 364,452 and a farmer membership of 75,959. IFB represents three out of four Illinois farmers.

The Illinois Press Foundation is dedicated to promoting and protecting free expression through educational activities that foster the practice and respect of First Amendment principles and values, to enhance the quality of services provided by newspapers to their communities, and to support reading and literacy efforts.

The IPF was established in 1982. Its news service, Capitol News Illinois, has provided daily coverage of state government for Illinois’ newspapers and broadcast outlets since it was formed in 2019. The Foundation also sponsors an annual summer journalism workshop for high school students at Eastern Illinois University, and scholarships for students in the UIS Public Affairs Reporting program. It also has collaborative reporting programs through Capitol News Illinois with the Medill Illinois News Bureau at Northwestern University and The Saluki Local Reporting Lab at Southern Illinois University.

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