Mission:
To focus on journalism and communities, inspiring and enabling them to reach their highest potential; and to ask, as the foundation evaluates opportunities and grants, "Is this truly transformational?"

Background:
In 2006, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation made fundamental shifts in its program practice — from a print to a digital focus in journalism, and from charity to social investing in community initiatives — and its 2006 annual report reflects those changes. The foundation now encourages grantees and other nonprofits to search for new ways to do with digital technology what its founders did with newspapers: share timely news and information that connects people. The 2006 Knight annual report's multimedia format — which embraces video, audio, images, and text — demonstrates how that can be done.

Outstanding Web Features:
The foundation's 2006 Annual Report (56 pages, PDF) is a major departure from its past annual reports, including 2005's (68 pages, PDF). The primary difference is the multimedia presentation, which leverages the versatility of digital technologies and the Internet to bring life and context to the basic details provided in the report. While some of the featured Stories of Transformation depict Knight-funded initiatives in which significant transformation has occurred, others speak to the development of a compelling, potentially transformational idea. In addition, the Comment section of the online version of the report — new for 2006 and a key aspect of its Web 2.0 functionality — enables readers to respond immediately to the content. One online posting on the Chairman/President's Letter page praises the 2006 annual report and the foundation for "using the Web in such a deep, robust way" and for "leading by example."