Program Venture Fund


The KUOW Program Venture Fund (PVF) provides special support for staff and independent reporters and producers to develop new programming focused on the Puget Sound region. Programs funded by the PVF can be a series of feature reports, documentaries or a variety of short audio pieces. The PVF accepts project proposals from producers and reporters twice a year.

Applications for Round 23 of the Program Venture Fund will begin soon. Check back for more details.

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Application: PDF | Word Doc
 

Explore previous grantees and their feature stories.

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Seattle Housing Project
12:33 pm
Sun January 13, 2013

From Profanity Hill To Yesler Terrace

Credit Courtesy MOHAI
Demolition of house in 1940.

Rumor has it that somewhere in a forgotten corner of a basement somewhere in Seattle there's a decaying 3-D model of a brand new Yesler Terrace. It was dreamed up in the late 1960s but, like the R H Thomson Expressway or the parking lot that was planned for where the Pike Place Market still stands, it never made it out of the world of imagination and onto the grid of the real world.

In 2013, after six years of planning, it appears another vision of a brand new development will take root where Yesler Terrace now stands. It's not the first transformation this patch of ground has seen though. This is the story of two places that occupy that ground -- one in the present and one in the past.

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The Last Show
9:02 am
Fri December 28, 2012

This NOT Just In: The Last Episode Of J.P. Patches

Credit Courtesy of Chris Wedes
J.P. Patches and Gertrude from The J.P. Patches Show.

Chris Wedes passed away earlier this year after a long battle with cancer.  Wedes was the host of the long-running JP Patches Show on KIRO TV and one of the region's most beloved figures.  "This NOT Just In" looks back to the final weekday episode of the popular program, back in December 1978.

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History
5:02 am
Fri December 7, 2012

How We Mourned John Lennon Before The Internet

Credit Roy Kerwood / Wikipedia
John Lennon rehearsing "Give Peace A Chance," 1969.

John Lennon was murdered 30 years ago. We'll look back at how Seattleites mourned the death of the former Beatle in a time before the Internet, social media and cell phones.

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Health
6:20 am
Tue November 27, 2012

Search For Cause Of High Rates Of MS In Northwest Could Lead To New Treatments

Credit Lincoln Potter
Dr. Estelle Bettelli (on left) and Dr. Mariko Kita in Bettelli's lab.

The mystery of why the Pacific Northwest has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the world is as enduring as the mystery of the D.B. Cooper hijacking — and has proven about as difficult to crack.

Recently, however, scientists have been closing in on some likely triggers that may be causing the body to hijack its own immune system and turn on itself. Those new findings could lead to new treatment strategies in the future.

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Health
6:19 am
Mon November 26, 2012

Pediatric MS Cases Rise In The Northwest: Younger Patients Put A New Face On An Old Mystery

Credit Carol Smith
Allexis in her room at her home in Silverdale in front of a life "to-do" list she had painted on her wall.

The Pacific Northwest has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the world, yet the reasons why remain elusive. It’s an old mystery, but one that now has a new face. Today, doctors are seeing a growing number of cases in kids. They hope these young patients will yield more clues to what causes the disease.

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History
10:52 am
Wed November 21, 2012

Hijack, Ransom, Parachute Plane Jump: The Unsolved Mystery Of D.B. Cooper

Credit Courtesy/Wikipedia
A FBI sketch of D.B. Cooper, 1972.

On November 24, 1971, a man who is referred to as D.B. Cooper hijacked a Boeing 727 on a flight between Portland, Oregon and Seattle. He extorted $200,000 in ransom, and parachuted from the plane. A look back at the hijacking which has become legendary in the Pacific Northwest and the rest of America.

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Public Housing
3:44 pm
Fri November 16, 2012

The Radical Roots Of Yesler Terrace

Jesse Epstein (left) examining slum housing.

Yesler Terrace is Seattle's oldest public housing project. It was revolutionary when it was completed in 1940. In the near future, though, it will be completely demolished.

In its place will sprout a series of high rise towers with a limited number of low-income housing units alongside up to 4,000 market-rate private housing units, offices, retail and commercial spaces. The ultimate goal, says the Seattle Housing Authority, is to create a sustainable, healthy, mixed-income neighborhood.

It's a radical plan, controversial, and every bit as transformational as that which gave rise to Yesler Terrace in 1940.


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Health
8:00 pm
Sat November 10, 2012

For Young Adults, Autism Diagnosis Opens Doors, Minds

Credit KUOW photo/Bryan Buckalew
Dorian Hinkle (left) and Jordan Howard at the Federal Way farmers market.

Growing up, Jordan Howard always felt like an outsider. He had trouble making friends, and he felt awkward in groups. He says he felt like one of those misunderstood high school clichés. And he could never put his finger on why.

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Health
7:50 pm
Sat November 10, 2012

Purpose And A Paycheck: Job-Seekers With Autism Reach For Both

Credit KUOW photo/Bryan Buckalew
Alex Brenner (left), Jordan Howard and Dorian Hinkle relax after their final day working at the Federal Way farmers market for the summer.

The first time Rolando Elias came to work at the Federal Way farmers market, Dr. April Walter was nervous.

“That was a big-time risk,” April says. “It could have blown up in my face.” She opened a tent at the market to give young adults with autism a chance to work.

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Health
7:40 pm
Sat November 10, 2012

Cautiously Optimistic: Off To College, With Autism

Alex Brenner walked into his psychologist's office one day this summer and right away, he thought he had done something wrong. Both his parents were standing at the front desk. As he closed the door, his mom handed him a letter. “She said, 'read it.' I sat down. It said, ‘you’re getting into the University of Washington.’”

Alex was stunned. His dad helped him uncork a bottle of champagne and they celebrated on the spot. The University of Washington in Seattle was Alex’s first choice among schools. He had been studying for four years at a community college to get his grades up. All his hard work had finally paid off. But sitting there holding his acceptance letter, another wave of realization washed over him. Soon he’d be living on his own in a new city, a long drive from his parents’ home in Tacoma. He suddenly felt nervous.

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