The Pivot Fund, an Atlanta-based venture philanthropy organization, has announced grants totaling $2 million to seven non-traditional BIPOC-led community news organizations in Georgia.

Each grantee will receive direct funding as well as consulting services to help increase revenue, develop digital and reporting capacity, and expand their audience. Grantees will be eligible for additional support in subsequent years as they move toward sustainability.

The inaugural round of grantees includes groups that reach Black, Latinx/Hispanic, and Asian American communities, providing health news and partnering with state and local health authorities, helping immigrants avoid fraudulent legal services, sharing practical civic information during election cycles, and otherwise serving as buffers against disinformation, which disproportionately affects marginalized communities lacking in trusted news and information sources.

Grants were awarded to BEE TV Network (LaGrange) in support of a community-focused cable TV station that started as a Facebook page; Pasa La Voz Savannah (Savannah) in support of reporting on a Facebook page that covers news and information for Spanish-speaking immigrants and their children, helping them navigate disinformation; Notivision (Warner Robins) to assist with syndication of news programming on Spanish-language radio and sharing news information with radio stations in Atlanta, Augusta, and southern Georgia; Davis Broadcasting and the Courier Eco Latino (Columbus) to expand Spanish-language reporting on the CEL TV streaming service and produce collaborative political forums and events; and the Georgia Asian Times and Tomorrow Pictures (Atlanta) in support of a documentary on the Burmese immigrant community.

“Because many don't look like traditional news organizations, they have been overlooked by philanthropic funders, who are increasingly turning to journalism as a vital bulwark for democracy,” wrote Pivot Fund founder Tracie Powell in a blog post. “As a result, funders may be missing a revolution in local journalism.”

(Photo credit: GettyImages/LukaTDB)