WASHINGTON, DC; July 16, 2025 – The Fund for Investigative Journalism announced today that it is providing 49 new grants to journalists for groundbreaking investigations. The grants cover the expenses of specific investigative stories, and recipients can also receive free editorial and legal support.
“With this newest group of grantees, we now have 265 open grants across the country – that’s 265 journalists or teams who are in the field now, reporting big stories that will be published in the months ahead,” said Eric Ferrero, Executive Director of the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
The Fund, which was founded in 1969, provides grants for investigative stories on any topic, in all forms of media, including print, broadcast and online news stories, books, podcasts and documentary films. Grantees can also request pro bono legal help with records requests and pre-publication review through the Fund’s partnership with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, as well as editorial support through the Fund’s newly expanded program matching grantees with veteran investigative journalists.
Following are the new grants announced today.
Journalists receiving grants of up to $10,000 for the expenses of specific investigations, including reporting time, travel, records fees, research and more.
- Aspen Journalism, a nonprofit investigative news organization based on Colorado’s Western Slope
- Borderless Magazine, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet that reports on and with Chicago’s immigrant communities
- Gina Castro, investigative journalist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- Sarah Conway, freelance investigative journalist based in Chicago
- Liset Cruz, investigative freelance journalist
- Edward Donnelly, freelance journalist
- The Hatch Institute, a New York journalism foundation and newsroom
- Brian Howey and Nate Rosenfield, investigative journalists working in the South
- John Hult, senior reporter for South Dakota Searchlight
- Injustice Watch, a nonprofit newsroom investigating the Cook County court system
- Investigate Midwest, an independent, nonprofit newsroom
- Investigative Reporting Program, a nonprofit newsroom at UC Berkeley Journalism
- LAist, an independent, nonprofit newsroom
- Jonathan Moens, science and investigative journalist
- Afeef Nessouli and Steven W. Thrasher, queer journalists
- The New Humanitarian, an independent nonprofit newsroom covering humanitarian crises globally
- Spencer Norris, freelance investigative journalist based in New York City
- South Shore Times, a daily digital news publication serving the communities south of Boston
- Özlem Temena Meral, investigative reporter and researcher based in Turkey
- A team of investigative journalists from WLRN News, the Miami Herald and McClatchy
Journalists receiving seed grants of up to $2,500 for preliminary reporting that can help shape investigations.
- Suzie Amanuel, investigative journalist based in Washington, DC
- Sonya Bennett-Brandt, freelance environmental journalist
- Tracy Brannstrom, freelance journalist based in Vermont
- Claire Carlson, freelance environmental journalist based in the Pacific Northwest
- Naomi Cohen, freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker
- Columbia Insight, a nonprofit environmental news website based in Hood River, Oregon
- Erin Edwards, Navy veteran and freelance investigative journalist
- Miranda Green, freelance investigative reporter who focuses on climate change and misinformation
- Ben Greenberg, independent investigative journalist
- Colleen Hamilton, freelance investigative journalist based in Georgia
- Daniel Hennessy and Matt Mitchell, investigative journalists at UC Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program
- The Imprint, a daily news site focused on child welfare and youth justice issues
- Injustice Watch, a nonprofit newsroom covering the Cook County court system
- Antonia Juhasz, freelance investigative journalist reporting for Rolling Stone
- Lucy Komisar, New York investigative journalist who specializes in corporate and financial fraud and corruption
- Roxsy Lin, freelance investigative journalist based in Southern California
- The Maine Monitor, a nonprofit news organization delivering investigative and in-depth reporting on the state of Maine
- Sofía Mejías-Pascoe, investigative reporter covering the border and immigration for San Diego-based inewsource
- Philippe Auclair, Jack Kerr, Samindra Kunti and Steve Menary, freelance journalists
- Zack Newman, freelance investigative data journalist based in Denver
- Rachel Nuwer, freelance journalist and author based in Brooklyn
- Isabel O’Brien, freelance investigative journalist based in New York
- Marjorie Perry, independent journalist
- Timothy Pratt, journalist, and Andrew Free, investigative reporter and former immigration attorney
- Gabriela Ramirez and Tina Xu, freelance investigative journalists
- Daniel Richardson, data journalist covering the environment based in Georgia
- Carly Stern, independent journalist based in Brooklyn
- Dayvee Sutton, independent journalist and filmmaker based in Atlanta
Journalists receiving follow-up grants of up to $2,500 for continued coverage after grant-funded investigations have run.
- Injustice Watch, a nonprofit newsroom in Chicago
The Fund’s Board of Directors, all accomplished journalists, reviews grant proposals and votes on which to approve. A group of Board and Advisory Board members reviewed seed grant proposals and made recommendations to the full Board, which voted on them. That review group included Bill Marimow, Ellen Weiss, Alan Berlow, Anu Narayanswamy and Diana Jean Schemo.
The next deadline to apply for regular grants is September 8, and the next deadline to apply for seed grants is September 15. For stories produced with the Fund’s support – and the impact of those stories – visit www.fij.org.
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