It can be easy to dismiss the proliferation of sensationalized local news (crime, corruption, tragedy) as par for the course in today’s digital world. But when you really stop to think about it, our community has important, inspiring, cultural, hyper-local events happening every day in places and neighborhoods all over Allen County. Shouldn’t we have a local media platform that covers the everyday people, places, neighborhoods, and events that matter most to those who live, work, and play in Fort Wayne?
A group of community partners (Greater Fort Wayne Inc., Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne, Visit For Wayne, the Downtown Improvement District, PNC, Sweetwater Sound, City of Fort Wayne, Allen County, the Community Foundation, and the list is still growing) came together last year to address that very question. In partnership with Issue Media Group, this unique cross-sector coalition of community stakeholders has launched Input Fort Wayne, an online storytelling & news platform focused on telling the stories that make up the soul of our community here in northeast Indiana.
Finding a solution
With the launch of Input Fort Wayne, we now have a hyper-local news platform to showcase the people, projects, places, and community assets that cultivate Fort Wayne’s sense of self, build local engagement, and drive equitable prosperity. Ultimately, the platform is intended to improve our quality-of-life attractiveness and serve as a key resource for attracting and retain talent and enhancing our long-term economic development efforts. But the most importantly, the site itself is stun-tastically incredi-riffic.
At the risk of sounding too gushy, Input Fort Wayne is the complete package, featuring incredible local writers and stunning local photography. It has a well-organized design and brilliant imagery that captures the essence of Fort Wayne and brings the news stories to life. Seriously, if you haven’t checked it out yet, what are you waiting for?!
The best part
The seed funding for Input Fort Wayne was provided by a $120,000 grant from the Salinger Family Fund, which is held at the Community Foundation. The fund was created in 1996 by Ellinor Salinger Forland and Gerhard Salinger in honor of their mother, local activist and 60 year resident of Fort Wayne, Charlotte Salinger.
I reached out to Ellinor and Gerhard via email and they provided this statement: “We believe this initiative will be an aggregated showcase for what is going on culturally, civically, business-wise and artistically as well as a general picture of life in the community. The online storytelling and news platform will be a useful tool for presenting a picture of life in Fort Wayne that both engages current residents, as well as helps to attract new business and workers.”
Impact in action
I can’t decide what I love most about the Input Fort Wayne initiative…Community leaders coming together to successfully address local challenges? The development of a fantastic hyper-local platform source to highlight the issues, places, and events most important to the soul of our community? Seed funding provided by a family fund established at the Community Foundation to honor the legacy of a committed local activist and community builder? I love it all.
The Community Foundation is proud to be a funding partner for Input Fort Wayne. We are excited to see the impact this innovative digital media platform has on both on the sense of pride in our community and on our regional economic development and talent attraction efforts. Well done, Fort Wayne!