Borealis Philanthropy has announced $4.9 million in grants to 38 organizations to help ensure that Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian people have access to the news and information they need to navigate geographies and social systems.

Awarded through the organization’s Racial Equity in Journalism Fund (REJ Fund), the grants are aimed at building and nourishing the capacity and sustainability of news organizations and journalism ecosystem partners led by Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in pursuit of a future where communities of color are powerful as a result of the cultural change created from thriving BIPOC journalism. In addition, the REJ Fund awarded $225,000 in research project grants, representing its largest annual grantmaking budget to date. 

The REJ Fund prioritizes funding for independent, BIPOC-owned, -led, and -serving media; organizations with budgets under $2 million and little access to national funding; and those reaching people of color with content and/or programming that strengthens civil discourse and participation. In recognition of the value of multiyear grants, the fund prioritized renewal for its 28 existing grantees, including Amsterdam News, Buffalo’s Fire, and Cicero Independiente. In addition, it awarded first-time grants to 11 new organizations, including Black Wall Street Times, MediaJustice, and Migrant Roots Media. Research and learning grants in support of the archiving and future of Black journalism were awarded to the Charlotta Bass Journalism & Justice Lab at USC Annenberg and the Insight Center for Community Economic Development. 

“Overarchingly, this work is about how we repair and restore our futures and the media that co-creates the future,” said REJ Fund program director Alicia Bell. “It’s about how we build a media ecosystem where a just society is possible, a media ecosystem that is serving a pluralism of people that can thrive.”

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