Media & Community PARTNERSHIPS

Building on Northeastern’s distinctive Cooperative Education Program, Sacred Writes has since 2019 funded collaborations between media outlets interested in producing more nuanced content on religion, and scholars committed to communicating with the public.

These partnerships can take a number of forms, including (but not limited to): journalist/scholar co-reporting; scholars providing research and context for an investigative reporting series; or scholars producing original pieces for the media outlet in their area of expertise. Media outlets will determine the final format of any published pieces, including written features, podcast episodes, short videos, or infographics. Sacred Writes provides funding for the participating scholar and a flexible stipend payment to the media outlet, to be used as they see fit. See a list of current and past media partners. Media outlets interested in hosting a scholar of religion or theology for a short-term media collaboration may contact Sacred Writes Director Liz Bucar. Check out the amazing work done by Sacred Writes’ past media partnership fellows. See our current partnership opportunities here.

In 2024, Sacred Writes awarded the inaugural grants in its Public Scholarship Catalyst Grant program, focused on race, justice, and religion and funded by the Henry R. Luce Foundation. This program offers up to $19,000 to scholars partnered with community and other non-profit organizations to produce public scholarship projects such as conferences, exhibits, and events, by summer 2025. We see these as a continuation and expansion of our media partnerships project. The first three grants have gone to: Dr. Nina Brown, Community College of Baltimore County, partnered with the Black Church Food Security Network; Sam Davis, Florida State University, partnered with the Metropolitan Church of New York; and Sitalin Sanchez, Harvard Divinity School, partnered with The Takachiualis Commission, a human rights organization in Puebla, Mexico. Learn more about these projects on our partnerships page.