WASHINGTON, DC; April 7, 2025 – The Fund for Investigative Journalism today announced that it has awarded new grants to 46 journalists, teams or organizations. The grants cover the expenses of specific investigative stories, and recipients will also receive free editorial and legal support.
“The need for strong investigative reporting is greater than ever, and we’re providing more support to more journalists than we have at any time in our 56-year history,” said Eric Ferrero, Executive Director of the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
The 46 new grants will support investigative reporting in 27 states across the country.
Eighteen of the new grants are for up to $10,000 for the expenses of specific investigations, including reporting time, travel, records fees, research and more. Recipients of these grants are:
- Agência Pública, a women-led nonprofit investigative news agency in Brazil
- Ambiental Media, a science-based investigative news organization publishing in English and Spanish
- Jason Berry, freelance investigative journalist based in New Orleans
- Kavitha Cardoza, freelance journalist
- Matt Chapman, independent investigative journalist in Chicago
- Jessy Edwards, investigative journalist at Hell Gate, in association with investigative journalists Chris Gelardi and Chris Bragg at New York Focus
- Honolulu Civil Beat, a nonprofit news organization in Hawaii
- Beth Hundsdorfer, reporter for Capitol News Illinois
- InvestigateWest, a nonprofit newsroom serving Washington, Oregon and Idaho
- Invisible Institute, a nonprofit journalism production company on the south side of Chicago
- Molly McCluskey, investigative journalist and editor
- Co-reporting team of Emily Nonko, freelance journalist, and D. Razor Babb, incarcerated freelance journalist
- Shima Oliaee, independent investigative journalist
- Martha Pskowski, Texas reporter at Inside Climate News
- Sutton Raphael, documentary director working in New Mexico
- Streetlight, a nonprofit news site focused on housing and criminal justice
- Texas Observer, a nonprofit news publication covering the state of Texas
- Wisconsin Watch, a nonprofit investigative news outlet, for a project in partnership with TMJ4 News and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Twenty-four of the new grants are seed funding of up to $2,500 for preliminary reporting that can help shape investigations. New recipients of seed grants are:
- Angelika Albaladejo, independent investigative journalist based in Denver
- Kevin G. Andrade, freelance journalist based in Rhode Island
- Nikita Apte, freelance journalist based in New York City
- Max Blaisdell, investigative journalist at South Side Weekly in Chicago
- Krissy Clark, independent journalist based in Los Angeles
- Caty Enders, independent journalist based in New Mexico
- Jordan Gass-Pooré, independent podcast producer and investigative journalist based in New York City
- Annie Gilbertson, investigative journalist
- Quinn Glabicki and Jamie Wiggan of Pittsburgh’s Public Source
- Hannah Harris Green, independent investigative health and science reporter based in Chicago
- The Herald-News, a print and digital media newsroom in Joliet, Illinois, part of Shaw Local News Network
- Emily Hopkins, data reporter for Mirror Indy in Indiana
- Yebu Ji, freelance audio journalist
- KYUK, a bilingual (English & Yugtun) radio & television station serving the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of Alaska
- Katie McQue, freelance investigative journalist based in New York
- Elizabeth Miller, independent journalist based in New Mexico
- Yuri Nagano, independent journalist based in California
- Oishika Neogi, freelance investigative journalist based in New York City
- Oviedo Community News, an independent, nonprofit newsroom in Central Florida
- Saumya Roy, freelance journalist and author
- Katie Thornton, US-based writer and audio journalist
- Josephine Woolington, freelance journalist based in Portland, Oregon
- The Xylom, the only Asian American-run news outlet covering science, climate and the environment
- Jess Zhang, independent journalist based in New York
Four of the new grants provide follow-up funding of up to $2,500 for continued coverage after journalists’ grant-funded investigations have run. Recipients of these grants are:
- CalMatters, a nonprofit news organization in California
- Juan Pablo Barrientos, investigative journalist based in Colombia
- LINK nky, a news organization in Northern Kentucky
- Steven Monacelli, investigative journalist in Texas
The Fund provides grants for groundbreaking 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 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.
The Fund’s Board of Directors, all accomplished journalists, reviews grant proposals and votes on which to approve. A group of the Fund’s 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, Dianna Hunt, Marcia Bullard, Joe Stephens and Cheryl W. Thompson.
The next deadline to apply for regular grants is May 5, and the next deadline to apply for seed grants is May 9. For stories produced with the Fund’s support – and the impact of those stories – visit www.fij.org.
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