WASHINGTON – The Board of Directors of the Fund for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) has awarded $42,000 in grants for ten investigative projects.

The grants provide the resources necessary to travel to interview sources and research documentary evidence, and for other out-of-pocket expenses. FIJ’s grant-making program is made possible by support from The Gannett Foundation, The Herb Block Foundation, the Park Foundation, the Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation, the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, the Green Park Foundation, the Nara Fund, the Otto-Whalley Family Foundation, and generous donations from individuals.

Investigative journalists receiving grants are:

Rick Cohen, whose reporting focuses on nonprofits and foundations

Laura Kasinof, freelance reporter

Trey Kay, radio journalist and documentary maker

Chris Kromm, Facing South, North Carolina-based online magazine

Erin Siegal McIntyre, Tijuana-based investigative writer and photographer

Brandon Quester and Tarryn Mento, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting

Alexandra Robbins, author

Matt Rusling, reporter specializing in covering Asia

Joseph Sorrentino, Albuquerque-based journalist and photographer

Laird Townsend, director, Project Word

FIJ grantees investigate corruption, malfeasance, and abuse of power in the public and private sectors. Past awardees have exposed wrongdoing by private food producing companies, religious leaders, local district attorneys, and the FBI – to name a few examples.

In addition to funding, interested grantees are eligible to receive mentors through partnerships with Investigative Reporters and Editors and with the Society of Environmental Journalists.

The Fund for Investigative Journalism is an independent, non-profit organization that has supported hundreds of public service reporting projects since 1969, when it provided funding for Seymour Hersh to investigate the massacre of civilians in My Lai during the Vietnam War. His stories won the Pulitzer Prize. Recent FIJ grantees have also won prestigious journalism awards, including the Sidney Hillman Foundation Journalism Award, Investigative Reporters and Editors awards, and the Sigma Delta Chi award.

FIJ is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting at the Journalism Department in the College of Media at the University of Illinois. Pro bono legal services are provided by the Dykema law firm.

Links to FIJ-supported projects are posted on www.fij.org. Grant application instructions can also be found on the website. Contact executive director Sandy Bergo, 202-662-7564, or email hidden; JavaScript is required with any questions about the application process. The next deadline for applications is Monday, June 10, 2013 – 5pm Eastern Time.

The nation’s premier association of investigative journalists, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), has named two Fund for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) grantees as finalists for the 2013 IRE Awards.

 “The Cash Machine,” published by Philadelphia City Paper and reported by FIJ grantee Isaiah Thompson, was honored as a finalist in the Multiplatform category. The investigation revealed that the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office uses the civil asset forfeiture system to seize millions of dollars in cash from individuals stopped by police, without regard to the person’s guilt or innocence.

And “The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee’s, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table,” by Tracie McMillan, has been honored as a finalist in the Book category. Her book, published by Simon & Schuster, investigated the exploitation of agricultural workers, and looked at why typical food production and food service employees do not earn enough to buy nutritious food for their families.

The Fund for Investigative Journalism is proud to have supported such important work, and congratulates all the journalists who have been recognized as finalists and winners of the 2013 IRE awards.

The Fund’s grant-making program is made possible by support from the Park Foundation, the Gannett Foundation, the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, The Herb Block Foundation, the Green Park Foundation, the Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation, The Nara Fund, the Otto-Whalley Family Foundation. and generous donations from family foundations and individuals.

The John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting at the Journalism Department in the College of Media at the University of Illinois also supports the Fund, as does the Dykema law firm.

The board of the Fund for Investigative Journalism meets three to four times a year to award grants to investigative reporters. The next deadline for grant applications is June 10, 2013.

Washington – The Fund for Investigative Journalism’s next application deadline is Monday, June 10 at 5pm Eastern time.

Applications are being sought for grants to cover reporting costs for investigative reports that expose wrongdoing and break new ground. Grants average $5,000.

The online application form and instructions can be found here: http://fij.org/grant-application/

Potential applicants are invited to call or email executive director Sandy Bergo with questions about the application process. Phone: 202-662-7564. Email: email hidden; JavaScript is required.

For journalists interested in applying later in the year, deadlines will be announced for September and December, 2013.

The Future Journalism Project, in an interview with Executive Director Sandy Bergo, reports on how the Fund for Investigative Journalism began, and how it continues to make grants to support investigative reporters.

Applications for the current round of grants are due today, March 11.

Click here to listen to the 10 minute interview.

Washington - The Fund for Investigative Journalism is pleased to announce the continuing generous support  from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, based in Oklahoma City.

The Foundation has given a $100,000 grant to support a program of assistance to investigative reporters who are pursuing stories in the public interest, but need funding to cover the expenses of reporting.

The Fund is particularly grateful for the demonstration of confidence from the Foundation, one of the leaders in philanthropic support for non-profit newsrooms that are re-invigorating investigative journalism throughout the United States.

The Fund is among fourteen investigative reporting organizations that received a combined total of $1.9 million in support from the Foundation in its most recent round of grant-making.

“The Foundation is a leader in the movement to find new, innovative models that will keep investigative journalism alive and well,” said Brant Houston, president of the Fund. “But it also recognizes the importance of those organizations – such as the Fund – that have played a key role for decades in fostering superb and independent investigative stories.”

The Foundation’s support has meant that the Fund has been able to make grants for dozens of investigative journalism projects, many of them winning prestigious journalism awards. The Fund’s grants to journalists average about $5,000.

The Fund is also supported by The Herb Block Foundation, the Park Foundation, the Gannett Foundation, the Green Park Foundation, The Nara Fund, the Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation, private family foundations, and individuals. The John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting at the Journalism Department in the College of Media at the University of Illinois also supports the Fund, as does the Dykema law firm.

The Fund is currently accepting applications for grants. The next deadline is Monday March 11 at 5pm Eastern time.

Donations to the Fund can be made online, www.fij.org, or by mail to the Fund for Investigative Journalism, 529 14^th Street NW – 13^th floor, Washington DC 20045.

Washington – The Fund for Investigative Journalism is pleased to announce The Herb Block Foundation has awarded $10,000 to support the Fund’s grant-making program for independent investigative reporters.

The grant underwrites a program that pays the reporting expenses of reporters who have the ideas, sources, and know-how to produce groundbreaking investigative journalism, but lack the resources to complete their projects.

The grant to the Fund was awarded as part of The Herb Block Foundation’s “Defending Basic Freedoms” program, which supports nonprofits that safeguard freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, work to eliminate prejudice, and make government agencies more accountable to the public.

The Foundation was established with funds bequeathed by The Washington Post editorial cartoonist Herb Block, who died in 2001. The cartoonist, known as Herblock, used his talents to bring injustices to light, won three Pulitzer Prizes, and shared in a fourth.

“It is a special honor to receive this support, given in the spirit of a man who dedicated his life to exposing the abuse of power,” said Brant Houston, president of the Fund’s board of directors.

The Fund for Investigative Journalism is an independent, nonprofit organization that has supported hundreds of public service reporting projects since 1969, when it provided funding for Seymour Hersh to investigate the massacre of civilians by American soldiers in My Lai, Vietnam. His stories won the Pulitzer Prize.

In four rounds of grant-making during the past year, the Fund’s Board of Directors has awarded $237,000 for 62 investigative reporting projects.

In addition to support from The Herb Block Foundation, the Fund for Investigative Journalism receives foundation support from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, the Park Foundation, the Gannett Foundation, the Green Park Foundation, The Nara Fund, the Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation, from private family foundations, and from individuals. The John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting at the Journalism Department in the College of Media at the University of Illinois also supports the Fund.

Donations to the Fund can be made online, www.fij.org, or by mail to the Fund for Investigative Journalism, 529 14^th Street NW – 13^th floor, Washington DC 20045.

WASHINGTON — A REMINDER: The Fund for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) is seeking grant proposals for independent investigative projects from journalists who need support for travel and other reporting expenses.

The deadline for proposals is 5 p.m. EDT, Monday, March 11.

FIJ is interested in proposals for stories that break new ground and expose wrongdoing.

Projects relating to government accountability, economic inequities, and environmental issues in the United States, local or regional stories with national implications, and applications from ethnic media are strongly encouraged.

FIJ grants are made possible through generous support from: the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, the Park Foundation, the Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation, the Green Park Foundation, the Gannett Foundation, the Herb Block Foundation, The Nara Fund, the Otto-Whalley Family Foundation, and from the public.

On FIJ’s website, www.fij.org, click on “Apply for a Grant” for application instructions.

WASHINGTON – The Board of Directors of the Fund for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) has awarded $67,000 in grants for eighteen investigative projects.

The grants provide the resources necessary to travel in the US and abroad to interview sources and research documentary evidence, and for other out-of-pocket expenses. FIJ’s grant-making program is made possible by support from the Herb Block Foundation, the Park Foundation, the Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation, the Gannett Foundation, the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, the Green Park Foundation, the Nara Fund, the Otto-Whalley Family Foundation, and generous donations from individuals.

Investigative journalists receiving grants are:

Cecelia Balli, Austin-based magazine writer

Ashley Bates, California-based journalist

Chad Bouchard, 100Reporters

Kiera Butler, Oakland-based editor, Mother Jones

Peter Byrne, reporter specializing in science writing

Yvette Cabrera, reporter specializing in poverty, immigration and social issues

Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman, reporter specializing in environmental issues

Emma Jacobs, reporter, WHYY-Philidelphia

Graham Kates, The Crime Report

Todd Melby, reporter/producer, Prairie Public Broadcasting

Shawn Musgrave, MuckRock News

Ngoc Nguyen, San Francisco-based reporter and editor, New America Media

Peggy Orchowski, Hispanic Outlook on Higher Education

Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, reporter specializing in health care and neuroscience

Ian Shearn, reporter specializing in human rights abuses and corporate accountability

Mary Ann Swissler, reporter specializing in women’s issues, mental health and politics

Maria Ines Zamudio, reporter, The Chicago Reporter

Grantees investigate corruption, malfeasance, and misuse of power in the public and private sectors. Past awardees have exposed abuses of power by the FBI, by religious leaders, and in the criminal justice system – to name a few examples. FIJ keeps specifics of ongoing projects in confidence until they are completed.

In addition to funding, interested grantees are eligible to receive mentors through partnerships with Investigative Reporters and Editors and with the Society of Environmental Journalists.

The Fund for Investigative Journalism is an independent, non-profit organization that has supported hundreds of public service reporting projects since 1969, when it provided funding for Seymour Hersh to investigate the massacre of civilians in My Lai during the Vietnam War. His stories won the Pulitzer Prize. Recent FIJ grantees have also won prestigious journalism awards, including the Edward R. Murrow Award, the Investigative Reporters and Editors Book Award, and the Sigma Delta Chi award.

FIJ is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting at the Journalism Department in the College of Media at the University of Illinois. Pro bono legal services are provided by Dykema.

Read more about FIJ-supported projects and instructions for grant applications at www.fij.org. The next deadline for applications is Monday, March 11. Inquiries about the application process are welcomed. Contact executive director Sandy Bergo, 202-662-7564, or email hidden; JavaScript is required.

WASHINGTON — The Fund for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) seeks grant proposals for independent investigative projects from journalists who need support for travel and other reporting expenses.

The deadline for proposals is 5 p.m. EDT, Monday, March 11.

FIJ is interested in proposals for stories that break new ground and expose wrongdoing.

Projects relating to government accountability, economic inequities, and environmental issues in the United States, local or regional stories with national implications, and applications from ethnic media are strongly encouraged.

FIJ grants are made possible through generous support from: the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, the Park Foundation, the Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation, the Green Park Foundation, the Gannett Foundation, the Herb Block Foundation, The Nara Fund, the Otto-Whalley Family Foundation, and from the public.

Pro bono legal services are provided by Dykema. FIJ is also supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting at the Journalism Department in the College of Media at the University of Illinois.

For more than forty years, the Fund for Investigative Journalism has supported work by independent and freelance reporters who have tips, ideas, and sources but lack the resources to do their investigations. Grants average $5,000. The awards support the costs of reporting, such as travel and document production expenses. Small stipends will be considered as part of the overall award.

Grantees are also eligible for mentors recruited through partnerships with Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Society of Environmental Journalists.

Grants are awarded three to four times a year. For the year 2013, proposals are due March 11, with additional deadlines planned for June, September, and December to be announced later in the year.

Detailed application requirements can be found on the FIJ website: www.fij.org. FIJ also welcomes informal inquires about its application process. Call or email executive director Sandy Bergo, 202-662-7564, email hidden; JavaScript is required.

The Fund for Investigative Journalism depends on donations from foundations and individuals. Donations can be made online or by mail to The Fund for Investigative Journalism, 529 14^th Street NW – 13^th floor, Washington DC 20045.

To receive regular notices of grant deadlines, send an email to email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Journalist and author Trevor Aaronson appeared on CBS This Morning to describe his investigation of the FBI war on terrorism, which found that many of the agency’s stings were designed with the means, methods, and planning details supplied by the government, not the alleged terrorists.

“Few Americans,” Aaronson says, “realize that since 9/11 the FBI has been responsible for hatching and financing more terrorist plots in the United States than any other group.”

Aaronson’s book, The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI’s Manufactured War on Terrorism, which outlines his findings, went on sale this month. His investigation into the FBI sting operation began with support from the Fund for Investigative Journalism.