Frequently Asked Questions
If you can't find what you're looking for here, get in touch! Email Support at KECCSupport@880cities.org.
Applications for the 2025-2026 period are now open! Apply here.
About the Program
Here are the eligibility requirements:
- 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 attend a Virtual Orientation on August 4th, 2025, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. EST.
- Applicants must also be able to travel to Canada in August 2025 for the KECC Studio. This requires a valid passport. Applicants must propose a project that connects local residents, fosters creative
expression, and/or builds resilience in their community. The project must take place in one of the 8 resident communities where Knight Foundation invests.
Since its launch in 2015, KECC has focused on supporting emerging young leaders. The age range of 18-35 was set to engage individuals in the early stages of their careers, helping them grow their skills, experience, and professional networks. This approach allows the program to offer the most relevant resources to support their personal and professional development.
Participants will receive:
- An immersive experience through the Knight Emerging City Champions in-person Studio in Toronto, Canada to develop leadership and project management skills such as stakeholder engagement, budgeting, and communications.
- $5,000 (USD) in seed funding to implement a community project.
- $500 (USD) tech bundle to support project activities.
- Ongoing support and mentorship from city building experts including civic tech related coaching and workshops provided by Helpful Places.
- Access to a national network of peers and community leaders.
- Opportunities to be publicly recognized and promoted by 8 80 Cities and Knight Foundation.
Your project should:
- Be implementable within 12 months.
- Be within the following categories: community connection, creative expression, and/or community resilience. The project must also be based in one of Knight Foundation’s 8 resident communities.
- Be innovative, with an emphasis on addressing existing community needs.
- Be managed and led by you but developed through community collaboration.
- Be affordable to implement and free for the public to enjoy.
- Past projects have ranged from beehives and jukeboxes to mentorship programs, art installations, block parties, and shared community meals. Read more here.
Yes, we encourage applications for both new and existing projects. If your project is already underway, your application should demonstrate how your participation in the program will help you scale up or advance the goals of your current work.
Each champion is required to:
- Attend Online Orientation Monday August 4, 2025
- Attend the in-person Studio in Toronto, Canada from August 14 -16, 2025, flying in August 13, 2025.
- Implement (at minimum) one community project.
- Participate in ongoing networking and skill-building opportunities.
- Submit regular project updates via blog posts, videos, or other media content.
- Submit a mid-year report to summarize goals, progress, challenges, and plans.
- Submit a final report to summarize continued progress and accomplishments. This report will be complemented with various media forms (i.e. video, blog post, posters, etc.).
Knight Emerging City Champions is a year-long program from August 2025 to August 2026.
The year consists of an in-person Toronto studio, plus monthly virtual meetings for champions, tech coaching, and workshops with Helpful Places.
20 champions will be selected to participate in the program.
Each champion will receive a $5,000 (USD) grant to implement their proposed idea or project. Each champion will also receive a $500 (USD) tech bundle to support their project activities.
No. You do not need to raise matching funds to qualify for the Knight Emerging City Champions program.
The program is managed by 8 80 Cities, a non-profit organization with the mission to ignite action and challenge the status quo to create healthier, more equitable, and sustainable cities for all people. The program is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Internal Revenue Service regulations on private foundations define some items that Knight Foundation can and cannot fund. We are prohibited from making grants:
- to carry on propaganda, or otherwise attempt to influence legislation (as explained in Internal Revenue Code 4945(d)(1));
- to influence the outcome of any specific public election, or to carry on a partisan voter registration drive (directly or indirectly) (as explained in Internal Revenue Code 4945(d)(2)).
Intellectual property developed using Knight Foundation grant funds generally needs to be released to the public under an open-source license. We make exceptions in a limited number of cases; the criteria are spelled out in Knight Foundation's intellectual property licensing policy.
The studio experience in Canada is a core part of the program’s design, offering hands-on learning, relationship-building, and immersion that can’t be fully replicated remotely. However, we want to ensure the program remains accessible to as many people as possible.
In the application, you’ll find a section where you can share any barriers you might face in participating. While we will prioritize applicants who can attend in person, we are committed to being flexible where possible and will work with applicants to explore potential solutions on a case-by-case basis.
About the Application
Applications for the 2025-2026 period are now open! Apply here. The competition closes at 11:59 pm EDT (8:59 pm PDT) on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. Late entries will not be considered.
Applications will be reviewed and evaluated on the strength of the project idea and its potential impact on civic engagement and community connection, fostering creative expression, and/or building resilience.
Finalists will be scored against three criteria: the potential impact of their idea, the level of innovation it displays, and the capacity of the applicant to carry out the project.
You may submit as many ideas as you would like.
8 80 Cities and Knight Foundation will select the champions in partnership with a review panel of past program participants and city building experts.
Successful applicants will be informed about the status of their application by July 3, 2025. All applicants will receive a response by the end of July 2025.
About You
We are looking for people with new ideas and fresh perspectives on civic challenges. This program is for talented people with potential who are ready to take their city-building work to the next level. We have a
preference for individuals who have already demonstrated impact in their community but who may need new training and networking opportunities to meet their potential.
Yes. Applicants must be aged 18-35 at the time they apply.
No, but your project needs to be carried out in one of the 8 resident Knight communities: Akron, OH; Charlotte, NC; Detroit, MI; Macon, GA; Miami, FL; Philadelphia, PA; San Jose, CA; and St. Paul, MN. If you’re not based in one of the 8 U.S. cities, you will need a local partner.
No. Applicants may apply independently, or in affiliation with non-profit, for-profit, and/or government entities. If you are proposing to carry out a project as part of a larger organization, you should be the project lead and major decision-maker.
If the project you are proposing is part of your paid work or on behalf of a larger organization, you should be the project lead and major decision-maker, including for budgetary decisions relating to the KECC grant. If your employment ends, our expectation is that you will retain ownership of the project and any remaining grant funds, not your employer.
We will select individuals, not groups or pairs, to participate in the program. If you will be completing the work alongside multiple people or as part of a larger organization, you should be the project lead and major decision-maker and apply as an individual.
Yes. Prior funding from the Knight Foundation does not affect eligibility for the Knight Emerging City Champions program. However, if you were a past KECC participant you cannot reapply.
Yes. We encourage you to reapply if you still meet the eligibility requirements and were not selected in previous years. (Please note that past KECC participants cannot reapply.)