The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) announced the Rory D. Root Comics Ambassador Grant, a new retailer program to promote comics as a form of free expression through funding the creation of community building events. Rory D. Root was an early champion of graphic novels and promoting comics as books (see "Rory Root, Pioneering Comics Retailer").

The Rory D. Root Comics Ambassador Grant will help CBLDF Retail Members to fund the creation of  programs that promote comics as a form free expression. Grants of $1,000 to $2,500 each will be given out with a total of $10,000 available in disbursals for the first year. The grant recipients will be selected by a jury and stores can submit grant applications on CBLDF.org starting this March.

“Rory believed that everyone out there had a graphic novel they would love, some of them just didn’t know it yet. Which was why he loved the people who came into Comic Relief out of the rain: they were all potential converts, and so many of them left holding a book that would be the start of a journey," commented Neil Gaiman on the creation of the grant.

Rory D. Root Comics Ambassador Grants will be awarded later this year.