Facebook Journalism Project COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund Grant Program Terms

The Facebook Journalism Project COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund Grant Program (“Grant Program”) is a program run by Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) and administered with the help of the Lenfest Institute for Journalism (“Lenfest”) and the Local Media Association (“LMA”) (collectively, Lenfest, LMA and Facebook are the “Program Entities”), awarding up to $10,000,000 USD total in Grants, which offers financial assistance in the form of a one-time payment ranging from $25,000-$100,000 USD (“Grant”) to select organizations in the United States to help support local news organizations serving a critical role for communities impacted by COVID-19 by either 1) responding to immediate community needs and/or 2) off-setting revenue shortfalls to help publishers maintain long-term sustainability (“Purpose”).

Organizations that meet the following requirements (collectively, “Applicants”) may apply to the Grant Program:

• A non-profit or for-profit local news organizations with their principal place of business located in the United States;
• Actively covering COVID-19; and
• Serving a defined geographic area.

Application must include the following:

• A description of how Grant funds will be used for the Purpose
• Budget outlining how the funds will be used
• Desired grant amount between $25,000 to $100,000
• Contact information
• Applicant background
• Organization information

All of the information and materials supplied by Applicants is referred to as "Applicant Content." If you do not provide all required information, your application will not be considered.

Applicant Content must meet the following requirements, as determined by Program Entities in their sole discretion:

• Be written entirely in the English language;
• Not infringe, misappropriate, or violate any rights of any third party including, without limitation, rights of privacy or publicity; and
• Only include content about persons or entities from whom the Applicant has all necessary permissions and rights, including, if applicable, a minor’s parent or legal guardian (Applicant agrees to provide Program Entities with written confirmation of those permissions and rights upon request).

You are solely responsible for complying with all applicable federal, state, provincial and local laws, rules, or regulations in connection with participating in the Grant Program. Proof of application (such as, without limitation, a screen shot of your application) does not constitute proof of actual receipt of a submission for purposes of this Grant Program. Applications will not be returned and, in fact, may be destroyed after the Grant Program is over. Keep a copy of each element of your application. Applications that are incomplete, illegible, corrupted, damaged, destroyed, altered, false, lost, late, misdirected, garbled or otherwise not in compliance with these Terms will not be accepted and will be void.

APPLICATION PROCESS
Applications will be accepted from 10:00:00 AM Eastern Time (“ET”) on April 13, 2020 until $10,000,000 USD in Grant funds has been awarded. To apply, eligible applicants can visit the Grant Program application page at https://www.facebook.com/journalismproject/programs/grants/coronavirus-local-news-relief-fund and follow the on-screen links and instructions to complete and submit the Grant Program application form and provide all required information.

SELECTION PROCESS
Grant preference will be given to publishers who meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Serve immigrant, rural, underserved and economically disadvantaged communities;
• Represent areas where COVID-19 impact is particularly acute;
• Clearly and candidly explain the grant's contribution to their organization's long-term viability;
• Are family- or community-owned or independent;
• Have an established digital reader revenue business model;
• Have not yet received grant support from the Facebook Journalism Project in 2020

For the avoidance of doubt, organizations who have already received grant support from Facebook in 2020 are still eligible to apply, however preference will be given to organizations that have not yet received grant funds through a Facebook Journalism Project program.

Awarded applicants will be notified of their Grant award on a rolling basis via email or telephone. The awarded amount will be delivered in a single up-front payment.

The applications selected to receive a Grant by the Program Entities will receive grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 USD, with each Grant value and exact number of Grants awarded determined in Program Entities’ sole discretion, up to $10,000,000 USD for the entire Grant Program. Program Entities expect to award between 100-300 grants. The Grant must be used directly and solely for the Purpose as identified in the Grant recipient’s application and otherwise in accordance with these Terms.

As a condition of applying, each Applicant that receives a Grant agrees to sign documentation without alteration 1) allowing Program Entities to use its name and certain other information, including potentially identifying its representatives, for publicity and marketing purposes in any media whatsoever; 2) agreeing to the restrictions and obligations with respect to use of the Grant, including, without limitation, preparing and submitting a follow-up report and other restrictions and obligations set forth below; and 3) granting Program Entities a license to results, reports, project details and other materials created or produced by Applicant in connection with the Grant.

As a condition of participating, Applicants hereby agree as follows if selected as a potential recipient:

• Each Grant recipient must provide Promotion Entities with a follow-up report on Grant impact ninety (90) days after receipt of the Grant;
• Each grant recipient must complete any additional reports or documentation, as reasonably requested by the Program Entities;
• Use of Facebook’s products and services is not a requirement or expectation to receive a Grant, however use of any Grant amount must comply with all applicable explicit or implicit terms and conditions or policies applicable for platforms, applications, software, tools or other resources used by the Grant recipient, if any. Grant recipient must also comply with Facebook’s Privacy Principles available at https://www.facebook.com/about/basics/privacy-principles, as well as any ethical standards applicable to the proposed project, as determined in Promotion Entities’ sole discretion. As such, each Applicant must follow the spirit of such terms and conditions, principles and policies; and any attempt to subvert or to use a work-around of such terms and conditions or policies may, in Program Entities’ sole discretion, result in forfeiture of any Grant amounts awarded or disqualification from this Grant Program; and
• Each Grant recipient acknowledges that receiving a Grant does not confer upon the Applicant any special recognition, endorsement, or affiliation with either of the Program Entities.

Limit one Grant per organization (an organization that owns several news outlets is eligible to apply for one grant across their company). Grant funds must only be used directly for the Purpose. If a recipient is otherwise unable to use the Grant solely and directly for the Purpose and related activities, the organization agrees to promptly return any unexpended Grant funds to Program Entities.

By submitting an Application (except where prohibited by law), each individual entrant, on their behalf and on behalf of their organization, grants the Released Parties the irrevocable, sublicensable, absolute right and permission to use, publish, post or display the individual submitting the application’s name, photograph, likeness, voice, biographical information, any quotes attributable to her or him and any other indicia of persona (regardless of whether altered, changed, modified, edited, used alone, or used with other material in the Released Parties’ sole discretion), organization name and logo, and Applicant Content for advertising, trade, promotional and publicity purposes without further obligation or compensation of any kind to her or him, anywhere, in any medium now known or hereafter discovered or devised (including, without limitation, on the Internet), worldwide, without any limitation of time, and without notice, review, or approval and each entrant releases all Released Parties from any and all liability related thereto. Nothing contained in these Terms obligates Program Entities to make use of any of the rights granted herein and entrant waives any right to inspect or approve any such use.

Program Entities reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to discontinue funding and take other steps they deem appropriate if they are not satisfied with the progress of the Grant or content of any written report or meeting.

Program Entities’ decisions will be final in all matters relating to this Grant Program, including interpretation of these Terms and acceptance or rejection of Grant applicants at any time.

Applicants agree to not damage or cause interruption of the Grant Program and/or prevent others from participating in the Grant Program. Program Entities reserves the right to restrict or void participation from any IP address, email address or domain, device, or other designator or identifiable source if any fraudulent or harmful participation is suspected, as determined by Program Entities in their sole discretion. Program Entities further reserve the right to disqualify any applicant who Program Entities believe has attempted to tamper with or impair the administration, security, fairness, or proper play of this Grant Program. ANY ATTEMPT TO DAMAGE ANY ONLINE SERVICE OR WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE GRANT PROGRAM MAY VIOLATE CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS. IF SUCH AN ATTEMPT IS MADE, PROGRAM ENTITIES MAY DISQUALIFY ANY PARTICIPANT MAKING SUCH ATTEMPT AND MAY SEEK DAMAGES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

If Program Entities determine at any time in their sole discretion that a Grant recipient is disqualified, ineligible, or in violation of these Terms, Program Entities reserve the right in their sole discretion to select an alternate Grant recipient, even if the disqualified potential recipient’s name may have been shown or announced. If the Grant Program is not capable of running as planned for any reason, Program Entities reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to cancel, modify or suspend the Grant Program.

In the event there is an alleged or actual ambiguity, discrepancy, or inconsistency between disclosures or other statements contained in any Grant Program-related materials and these Terms (including any alleged discrepancy or inconsistency within these Terms), it will be resolved by Program Entities in Program Entities’ sole discretion. Applicants waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Grant Program or these Terms. Program Entities’ failure to or decision not to enforce any provision in these Terms will not constitute a waiver of that or any other provision. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these Terms will not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the conference that any provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable or illegal, these Terms will otherwise remain in effect and will be construed in accordance with their Terms as if the invalid or illegal provision were not contained in these Terms.

BY PARTICIPATING IN THIS GRANT PROGRAM, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU MAY BE WAIVING RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO CLAIMS THAT ARE AT THIS TIME UNKNOWN OR UNSUSPECTED, AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUCH WAIVER, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND, AND HEREBY EXPRESSLY WAIVE, THE BENEFITS OF SECTION 1542 OF THE CIVIL CODE OF CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., AND ANY SIMILAR LAW IN ANY JURISDICTION, WHICH PROVIDES AS FOLLOWS:

Employees, officers, directors, members, managers, agents, and representatives of the Released Parties are not responsible and/or liable for any of the following, whether caused by a Released Party, the applicant, or by human error (except to the extent that any of the following occur for reasons within Program Entities’ reasonable control, if applicable law in your jurisdiction of residence dictates that liability to the injured party in such a case cannot be excluded by law): any lost, late, postage-due, incomplete, illegible, incomprehensible, mutilated, or misdirected email, mail, or Grant Program-related correspondence or materials; any error, omission, interruption, defect, or delay in transmission or communication; viruses or technical or mechanical malfunctions; interrupted or unavailable telephonic, cellular, cable, or satellite systems; errors, typos or misprints in these Terms, in any Grant Program-related advertisements or other materials; failures of electronic equipment, computer hardware or software; lost or unavailable network connections or any failed, incorrect, incomplete, inaccurate, garbled or delayed electronic communications; technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Grant Program or the processing of applications; or any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from applicant's participation in the Grant Program. Without limiting any other provision of these Terms, no Released Party is responsible or liable for any injury or damage to the persons or property of applicant or any third party based on use by such party of the Applicant Content made available as part of this Grant Program. Released Parties are not responsible for electronic communications that are undeliverable as a result of any form of active or passive filtering of any kind, or for insufficient space in a person’s email account or voicemail inbox to receive email or voice messages. Released Parties are not responsible, and may disqualify an applicant, if any contact information provided by the applicant does not work or is changed without giving prior written notice to both Program Entities. Without limiting any other provision in these Terms, the Released Parties are not responsible or liable to any applicant (or any person claiming through such applicant) for any inability to proceed with the Grant Program at any stage or failure to provide a Grant or any part thereof, in the conference that any of the Grant Program activities or Program Entities’ operations or activities are affected, as determined by Program Entities, by any cause or conference beyond the sole and reasonable control of the applicable Released Party (as determined by Program Entities in their sole discretion).

Except where prohibited by law, any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action between an applicant and any Released Party arising out of or connected with this Grant Program or these Terms must be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action or legal action on behalf of any group. Further, in any such dispute, under no circumstances will an applicant be permitted or entitled to obtain awards for, and hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental or consequential damages, or any other damages, including attorneys' fees, other than the applicant’s actual out-of-pocket expenses (if any), not to exceed ten dollars ($10) and each applicant further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.

This Grant Program and any dispute arising under these Terms or related to these Terms or the Grant Program (whether for breach of contract, tortious conduct, or otherwise) will be governed by the internal laws of the State of California, U.S.A., without giving effect to its conflicts of law or choice of law principles or rules that would cause the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction. Any legal actions, suits or proceedings related to this Grant Program (whether for breach of contract, tortious conduct, or otherwise) will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in or having jurisdiction over San Mateo County, California, U.S.A., and each applicant accepts and submits to the personal jurisdiction of those courts with respect to any legal actions, suits or proceedings arising out of or related to this Grant Program.