The Fund for Investigative Journalism

In 2011, FIJ helped fund investigative reporter Trevor Aaronson’s research into the FBI’s program of recruiting informants to break terrorist plots within the U.S. That reporting became the Mother Jones magazine story “The Informants,” which Aaronson wrote while a fellow at the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California, Berkeley. Part of that Mother Jones story followed the FBI’s involvement with counterterrorism informant Shahed Hussain – the owner of the company whose limousine crashed in upstate New York on October 6, killing 20. Ironically, Hussain’s relationship with the FBI began when he was caught running a scam at the New York DMV.

Aaronson, now the Executive Director of the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting and a contributor to The Intercept, says, “I think there’s a valid question here about whether this horrible accident would have happened had the FBI not protected this guy from deportation and prosecution for more than a decade.”

A months-long investigation by WAMU reporter Patrick Madden and a team of graduate students from the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University found evidence that many gun possession cases – nearly 4 in 10 – were dismissed in court, raising questions about police tactics in gun searches.

The investigation “Collateral Damage” focused on the impact of the Washington police department’s aggressive focus on confiscating illegal guns. The series – produced for radio, video and web – explored how tactics used by police to search for guns are also angering and alienating residents, especially in the city’s predominantly black neighborhoods where police focus these efforts.

Illustration by Ruth Tam / WAMU

[This project was funded by the Nicholas B. Ottaway Foundation.]

The September 24 deadline to apply for FIJ grants has passed, but it’s not too late to apply for a diversity fellowship.

That deadline is Monday, October 1. FIJ will award up to four diversity fellowships in partnership with Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting,  InsideClimate News, and the Marshall Project.

Details of this fellowship opportunity are here: http://fij.org/fij-launches-new-collaborations-for-next-round-of-diversity-fellowships/

The next deadline for general grants is Monday, Feb. 4, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time. For instructions, visit the “Apply for a Grant” page: http://fij.org/apply-for-a-grant/

As America’s population ages, the need for homecare workers increases as well. FIJ and Schuster Institute Fellow Linda Matchan investigated this burgeoning industry in Massachusetts and found both a shortage of people willing to work in these low paying jobs, as well as a lack of oversight of the people taking care of the state’s elderly and homebound.

Matchan covers the issue in two stories for the Boston Globe. In the first, she documents the neglect and abuse that some patients suffer at the hands of criminal homecare workers. In the second story, she follows a Ghanaian woman who is part of a coterie of foreign workers who help fill the gap in home healthcare needs. Additionally, in an interview with radio station WBUR, Matchan describes the reporting, as well as her own story of looking for a home healthcare worker.

Photo of Deborah Lesco by Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe

[Funding for this project provided by the Ford Foundation]

In the September/October issue of Ebony Magazine (subscription required), FIJ and Schuster Institute Fellow Chandra Thomas Whitfield takes an in-depth look at the troubling statistic that Black women are more likely than any other group of women in the country to be killed in domestic violence incidents. She writes that while media reports tend to highlight crimes committed by strangers, research shows that Black women are most likely to be harmed by those closest to them–their partners and spouses. According to a CDC report, Black women are twice as likely as White women to be killed by an acquaintance. Another source says that poverty is a factor, especially for women with children who depend on their abusers for income.

[Funding for this project provided by the Ford Foundation]

Grant recipient Maria E. Martin has completed a bilingual web and radio project examining the effects of the Trump administration’s deportation policies on Guatemala.

According to her reporting, approximately 200,000 Guatemalans leave for the United States each year. And for the past two years, more than 50,000 Guatemalans have been deported annually. It is estimated that between 1.5 and 2 million Guatemalans live in the U.S. and at least half of them lack legal status.

Martin told the stories of deported Guatemalans, both recent migrants and people who had been living and working in the U.S. for decades, in a story for NBC. And in a report for NPR, Martin talked with the director of a migrant refuge in Guatemala who calls the current situation, “a game of pingpong.” He said that 95 percent of deported migrants interviewed by his group will try to return again to the U.S.

Martin also completed a two-part documentary radio project for Making Contact that examined the plight of women migrants and the reasons so many Guatemalans are leaving their country. She also looked at the cost of deportations for the receiving countries, and specifically whether Guatemala is prepared to cope with the tens of thousands of people deported annually by the U.S.

Her reporting also ran as a series of audio and written stories on the Spanish-language radio network Radio Bilingüe, covering the cost of lost remittances to Guatemala; the particular dangers faced by women who want to migrate; and deported Guatemalans who try their luck again at returning to the U.S.

A woman and boy walk past towels for sale in San Juan Ostuncalco, one of hundreds of Guatemalan indigenous communities that send migrants north. Photo by Maria E. Martin

[Project funding provided by the Reva and David Logan Foundation]

The Fund for Investigative Journalism seeks Director of Operations

The Fund for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) is seeking a Director of Operations to help the organization fulfill its mission of supporting freelance and independent investigative journalists.

The Director of Operations oversees all office operations and procedures to ensure organizational effectiveness and efficiency and reports directly to the Executive Director.

Founded in 1969, FIJ makes grants to journalists who have great tips, ideas, and sources, but need financial resources to accomplish groundbreaking investigations and tell stories that otherwise would not be told. FIJ reviews proposals from investigative journalists three to four times a year, making about 45 to 50 grants annually.

FIJ is governed by a board of accomplished investigative journalists who uphold the highest standards of unbiased, nonpartisan investigative journalism. In its field, FIJ is unique as a longstanding organization of journalists that helps fellow journalists, by raising funds to sustain independent watchdog reporting.

Job responsibilities:

Promote FIJ and its grantees

•        Promote grantees’ work on FIJ website, through social media, and in newsletters.
•        Write and design brochures that promote FIJ to potential grantees and fellows.
•        Write and design brochures that promote FIJ to potential supporters.
•        Track grantees’ work and outcomes, communicate results to donors and the public.
•        Conduct outreach at journalism conferences and through social media.

Manage grant application and selection process

•        Communicate with applicants and grantees from their first inquiry through project completion.
•        Facilitate board review of grant applications.
•        Operate programs that provide mentors and pro-bono legal guidance to grantees.

Donor appreciation, fundraising support

•        Manage donor appreciation correspondence.
•        Update website frequently to recognize donors.
•        Help develop impact reports and other information to report back to foundations and other donors.

Operations/Administration

•        Update website content; suggest improvements.
•        Troubleshoot and maintain website, or supervise vendor.
•        Assist executive director with board meeting communications and logistics.
•        Assist executive director with administrative functions.
•        Maintain electronic and paper filing systems; guide ongoing transition from paper to electronic.
•        Maintain office calendar of deadlines for fundraising, partnerships and donor reporting, and grant application and review process.
•        Help write foundation progress reports.
•        Supervise temporary office personnel to keep donor and grantee lists current.
•        Evaluate donor and grantee management systems; recommend improvements.

Special Projects

•        Help organize 50th Anniversary Event.

Other duties as required.

Professional skills required: Strong organizational, writing, and technology skills. Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate organization’s mission and fundraising goals to potential supporters, in person and in writing. The ideal candidate would initiate ideas to improve FIJ’s programs and outreach to independent and diverse journalists. Proficiency in Word and Excel. Familiarity with or willingness to learn basic Quickbooks functions.

Specific technology requirements: Must have advanced knowledge of WordPress to update Website and troubleshoot occasional issues, ability to generate email newsletters, and use Photoshop or equivalent to edit images. Familiarity with Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets and willingness to learn how to work with Google’s suite of cloud-based applications. Salesforce knowledge would be a plus.

General technology requirements: Successful applicant would be the chief technology expert for FIJ, able to juggle technological issues with projects and administrative duties that advance FIJ’s mission. Must be familiar with file-sharing systems.

The ideal candidate is experienced in handling a broad range of tasks, is flexible, able to work independently, and desires a part-time position. The candidate may work remotely on occasion.

The position is located in Washington DC.

Experience: 5 years experience in communications, nonprofit management, and/or fundraising, preferred.

Terms: Part-time position (20 hours/week); compensation includes contribution to health insurance plan.

The Fund for Investigative Journalism is an equal opportunity employer.

Deadline to apply: Friday, October 5, 2018

Send cover letter, resume and two short writing samples to Sandy Bergo, executive director, at FUNDFIJresumes@gmail.com, with subject heading: Director of Operations position.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts:
Amelia Nitz, Reporters Committee, anitz@rcfp.org
Sandy Bergo, Fund for Investigative Journalism, sbergo@fij.org

Reporters Committee and Fund for Investigative Journalism announce partnership to support independent journalists

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is partnering with the Fund for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) to offer legal support to FIJ grantees completing investigative reporting projects across the country.

For nearly half a century, FIJ has financially supported the work of independent journalists who lack the resources needed to pursue investigations into issues such as racism, poverty, corporate greed and government corruption. FIJ-supported projects have won an array of journalistic honors, including the Pulitzer Prize, Peabody Award, George Polk Award and Sigma Delta Chi Award, among others.

Reporters Committee attorneys have already begun working with six grantees as part of a pilot program with FIJ to review drafts of stories for libel and other legal concerns before they are published, and to provide other pro bono legal assistance related to newsgathering and First Amendment issues.

“Independent investigative journalists are increasingly in need of legal support but are among those who have the least amount of ready access to it,” said Marcia Bullard, FIJ’s Board President. “Our partnership with the Reporters Committee will offer FIJ grantees essential legal expertise to support their reporting.”

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with FIJ to help investigative journalists shed light on some of the most pressing issues affecting communities across the country,” said Katie Townsend, Legal Director for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “Our attorneys are looking forward to providing FIJ grantees with much-needed legal support for their important work.”

This announcement is also available on the RCFP website here. Legal support is available upon request, as part of the FIJ grant application process. For more information contact sbergo@fij.org.

Grant recipient Robin Urevich has published a series of stories in Capital & Main outlining two deaths connected to inadequate medical care at immigration detention centers run by Emerald Correctional Management. Urevich’s investigation found that the firm received millions from no-bid government contracts while providing sub-par service—this despite a history of poor performance on the part of the company. As of 2016, the company had abandoned or been fired from more detention contracts than it maintained.

The Louisiana-based firm went out of business in 2017, but the abuses uncovered reflect a lack of oversight by ICE in vetting potential prison contractors. Immigration detention has expanded fivefold in the past 23 years, Urevich reports, and with the Trump administration’s deportation surge, is growing larger.

Illustration by Define Urban for Capital & Main

[This project was funded by The Park Foundation.]

In 1838, the Society of Jesus in Maryland, an international Jesuit community, sold 272 slaves to plantations in Louisiana. That sale saved Georgetown University, a Jesuit school, from financial ruin. With funding from FIJ, reporters from The Hoya—the student paper at Georgetown—examined the university’s legacy of slavery and its relationship to descendants of the enslaved. Their investigation found that the university had unearthed human remains in 2014 while constructing the newest dormitory building on campus. Those remains were near what was once a segregated graveyard—the final resting place of several Georgetown slaves. The discovery was not publicized and the space remains unmarked.

Additionally, the student team traveled to Maringouin, Louisiana, where the majority of the population are descendants of the 272 slaves sold to save the university in 1838. Maringouin has not had a high school since 2009, and students must make a 58-mile daily commute to attend school. Locals told the student journalists that they believe the decision to shut the school was motivated in part by race, and they are calling for Georgetown and the Society of Jesus to support primary and secondary education in the town.

Poynter has written the story behind the story of The Hoya report.

And, finally, the Georgetown students produced an online edition that recaps their investigation.

Above, a view of sugarcane fields around Maringouin, Louisiana. Photo by Derrick Arthur

[Funding for this project was provided by The Nicholas B. Ottaway Foundation and the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation.]