Applications Now Open for Louis E. Ingelhart First Amendment Program

Applications open today for our Louis E. Ingelhart First Amendment Program, which provides money for advisers to plan programs for Student Press Freedom Day in 2026.

Successful applicants will be awarded grants of up to $500 each for creative events and projects that promote and educate about the First Amendment on our campuses.

In the past, colleges have held First Amendment Food Festivals, painted the First Amendment on their steps, bought floor mats with the First Amendment and hosted speakers on campus.

College Media Association and Student Press Law Center received a $7,500 SPJ Foundation grant to fund this program in 2024, but we didn't use all the funds. We still have $3,000 available.

You can apply for the grant here:

Click here to apply

Only active adviser members of CMA are eligible to apply for the grant program.

The applications will close Dec. 31, 2025. Successful proposals will be announced in early January.

Ingelhart was a retired director of student publications at Ball State University. As a journalism professor, he dedicated much of his life to studying, writing and teaching the applications of the First Amendment. CMA will keep his name and his mission alive by continuing the program he felt so strongly about.

Student Press Freedom Day will be Feb. 26, 2026. Selected events must be completed anytime before March 1, 2026.

If you have questions about this program, please contact CMA Treasurer Sacha DeVroomen Bellman at [email protected].