Battery Powered Awards $938.5K to Journalism & Media

We are excited to announce that the Battery Powered community awarded $938,514 to organizations that are supporting a vibrant, diverse ecosystem of quality news and information as part of our winter giving theme on Journalism & Media.

Over the past four months, the Battery Powered community learned about the daunting challenges that have led to a market collapse for the news industry resulting in the shuttering of more than 2100 newspapers, loss of 50% of journalism jobs, and more than 200 counties in the U.S lacking any source of credible local news. But, in response to this crises, the industry is innovating! There is a flowering of independent, high quality, non profit journalism and media outlets, and organizations supporting them, meeting the urgency to rebuild and reinvent the free press.  Battery Powered grantmaking focused on local news, investigative journalism, and lifting up under represented voices in the media. We are pleased to announce our grantees in these areas:

BAYCAT $186,423 to tackle the lack of diversity in media and creative industries through training, paid internships, and employment for young BIPOC, LGBTQA+, and women creatives.

CalMatters $250,000 to build out the California Accountability Desk: an investigative unit and digital tools to cover the vast, $300 billion government that runs the world's fifth largest economy.

Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting $145,440 to produce nationally relevant investigative reporting that engages diverse local communities, holds the powerful accountable, and sparks action.

Institute for Nonprofit News $161,951 to provide critical infrastructure, research, and services to a growing network of 360+ nonprofit newsrooms across the United States.

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press $134,700 to fuel free legal services for U.S. journalists and news outlets and provide essential support for fact-based investigative journalism.

Additionally, grants of $10,000 were made to the following exceptional organizations: Chalkbeat, Cityside Journalism Initiative, Ethnic Media Services, and The Marshall Project. El Tímpano received a grant of $20,000 thanks to the additional generosity of a Battery Powered member.

---

Battery Powered is The Battery's giving program. To learn more, visit thebatterysf.com/batterypowered or contact Colleen Gregerson at [email protected]