Charlottesville Tomorrow shares context that builds understanding, transparency and accountability and reporting that inspires, connects and works toward a positive future. We serve our neighbors by connecting them to each other and to the issues that affect them most.
As a nonprofit, independent newsroom reporting on central Virginia, Charlottesville Tomorrow’s local reporting is always free to access and never behind a paywall. We prioritize what matters to our community and are committed to increasing access to information that improves civic life for everyone. We bring communities together through dialogue and reporting that helps us get to know each other better and create equity in our local decision-making. To strengthen our diverse communities — from those with the least civic and economic power to the most powerful — we do our best to put the people directly impacted by the issues we cover at the center of our reporting, our resource guides and other information we share.
Our mission
Charlottesville Tomorrow delivers in-depth reporting and analysis that improves local decision-making. We seek to expand civic engagement to foster a vibrant, inclusive, and interdependent community.
Our vision
We have a vision for news that informs and serves everyone, puts the people most impacted at the center of our reporting, and helps to create stronger, healthier, more connected communities.
Our values
Truth
Truth is the foundation of all great journalism, but truth in news is not simply the regurgitation of facts and quotes. We commit to delivering stories that incorporate the highest standards of journalism through the use of in-depth reporting, data, diverse perspectives, human-focused storytelling, creative formats, and exhaustive sourcing. Our goal is to slow down, to develop long-term source networks, and to pursue stories that help establish shared truth in public decision-making.
Community
We believe that Charlottesville has the resources to provide opportunity and well-being for all of its people, regardless of age, race, income, gender, or nationality. We recognize that our community is made up of many interrelated and interconnected communities. In our journalism, we seek to establish healthy community dialogue, to examine solutions that solve systemic problems, and to cover the issues that matter the most to all of us.
Equity
By embracing the value of equity, we commit to elevating the voices of the people most impacted by decisions and policies, and we strive to reach audiences in vulnerable communities with journalism that empowers and inspires them. We recognize that media coverage has a natural tendency to prioritize vocal, powerful, and organized interests, so we work to ensure that our coverage represents balanced, diverse, and equitable perspectives.
We are creating a newsroom that serves everyone
Over 20 years, Charlottesville Tomorrow has evolved from a small civic information website to a robust news organization with a growing editorial team and a dedicated business, operations and product staff.
Since its founding in 2005, Charlottesville Tomorrow has shared free and accessible information about civic life. Originally a two-person team focused on local government and regional development, Charlottesville Tomorrow steadily grew in size and scope to cover a variety of news topics. In 2017, we began shifting to a community-driven model.
Over the next several years we engaged in hundreds of one-on-one listening sessions, meeting with local residents, and began and continue to conduct regular audience surveys. This helps us better understand local news needs and gaps, which continue to inform our editorial coverage areas and how we spend resources to build new products.
We understand that media often sidelines (or actively harms) communities of color and people with limited access to wealth and resources — and that in central Virginia, this has especially impacted Black communities — so we work to build relationships across diverse groups. In 2020, we co-founded Charlottesville Inclusive Media with two trusted Black media organizations, Vinegar Hill Magazine and the In My Humble Opinion Radio Show.
Charlottesville Inclusive Media was founded by Charlottesville Tomorrow, In My Humble Opinion radio show and Vinegar Hill Magazine to bring greater representation to central Virginia media. Find out more about the collaboration.
Let’s work together to expand local news
Charlottesville Tomorrow works to improve local news through inclusive practices in governance, hiring, reporting and partnerships. We believe that collective ownership of news makes both the journalism and our community stronger. That’s why you’ll see a focus on equity in our journalism and an emphasis on inclusivity in our reporting sources and our staffing. Meet our team.
Our community-driven newsroom model has garnered national support for its unique approach and exceptional journalism from support foundations including the American Journalism Project, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Democracy Fund, the Ford Foundation, the Inasmuch Foundation, the James L. and John S. Knight Foundation, and Press Forward. Our local foundation support includes the Anne and Gene Worrell Foundation, the Batten Family Fund at Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, and the Solidarity Fund at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation.
Our revenue model is built on donations large and small, national and local foundation grants and multi-year commitments, community partnerships and sponsorships and direct support from individual donors. Learn more about how we’re funded.
Charlottesville Tomorrow is editorially independent, transparent and committed to our community. Read about our editorial independence policy.
We are a nonprofit organization governed by a local board of directors that works with the staff to build our vision and mission. We are committed to an equitable workplace and offer competitive salaries.
Together we are creating the kind of local news organization that our community can be proud of. Work with us.
AWARDS
Charlottesville Tomorrow’s housing reporting wins the 2025 INN Breaking Barriers
“This story pulled to top place in my mind because of the strong model it provides for other news organizations to follow,” wrote a judge.
Charlottesville Inclusive Media wins national ‘Collaboration of the Year’ award
LION Publishers recognizes Charlottesville Tomorrow, Vinegar Hill Magazine and In My Humble Opinion for their work increasing media representation and strengthening the local information ecosystem.
Charlottesville Tomorrow’s 2024 series on early education selected as finalist for national award by the Education Writers Association
“I think it’s a shining example of the importance of journalism in service of a community,” wrote one judge about Tamica Jean-Charles’ reporting.
From The Newsroom
Join Charlottesville Tomorrow as an IT Operations and Security Lead
This flexible contract position provides ongoing technical support and systems optimization for our growing team.
Charlottesville Tomorrow seeks a creative designer to support our visual brand
This contract role will help our growing newsroom maintain consistent, compelling design across print and digital platforms.
Want to tell your own First Person story? Join Charlottesville Inclusive Media for an evening community workshop
Space is limited for the free Nov. 19 event in Charlottesville, so please RSVP if you’d like to attend.
