Borealis Philanthropy: Racial Equity in Journalism Fund

The Racial Equity in Journalism (REJ) Fund is a donor collaborative based at Borealis Philanthropy and currently includes support from Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the Democracy Fund, the Ford Foundation, the Google News Initiative, and the News Integrity Initiative at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York (CUNY).

The REJ Fund seeks to strengthen the capacity and sustainability of news organizations led by people of color and partners in equity to increase civic engagement for communities of color. Communities with the least access to relevant public affairs news—people of color, immigrants, people from low-income, rural, and urban communities, and others—are also most likely to be left out of policy creation and civic processes.

People of color-led news organizations, in particular those led by Black, Latinx, Asian Pacific Islanders, and Indigenous people, lack the capital and multiple streams of revenue to build infrastructure and resources that ensure their longevity in the field, as well as their ongoing growth and innovation.

The donor collaborative fund seeks to address the gap in capital and resources faced by these organizations. The following are needed to address this gap:

• Adaptation of infrastructure to the internet and social media
• Multiple streams of revenue
• Development of innovating ways of delivering information
• Scaled up impact and expansion of reach to new audiences

Amount: Not specified.

Eligibility: The donor collaborative is committed to the following priorities in its grantmaking focus:

• Nonprofit and for-profit news organizations led by and serving communities of color and organizations dedicated to and experienced in racial equity in media
• Organizations with a depth and length of commitment to community engagement
• Emphasis on reaching people of color with content that strengthens the civic discourse/participation
• Efforts providing timely and important news to communities who are most underserved including communities of color, low-income communities, rural areas, and immigrant populations
• Organizations developing innovative ways to reach communities they serve with relevant news

Note: Prospective grantees can expect to find instructions for submitting a letter of inquiry on October 1, 2019. More complete eligibility guidelines may be available once the application cycle opens on October 1, 2019.

Link: https://borealisphilanthropy.org/grantmaking/racial-equity-in-journalism-fund/

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