Investigative Project on Race and Equity
The Investigative Project on Race and Equity is a Chicago-based organization that trains ethnic-minority journalists to conduct data-focused investigative reporting focused on race. Founded in 2023, 1 the organization supports specific left-of-center journalistic projects and hosts an apprenticeship program for aspiring journalists. 2
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History and Activities
The Investigative Project on Race and Equity initially formed in September 2020 by alumni of the Chicago Reporter, 3 a publication based in Chicago, Illinois, that focuses on issues of race and poverty. 4 The project at that time was called the Friends of the Chicago Reporter. 3 In December 2022, 100 Friends of the Chicago Reporter announced plans to create the Investigative Project on Race and Equity. 5 On September 27, 2023, the Investigative Project on Race and Equity was officially launched. 1
The Investigative Project on Race and Equity trains journalists to report stories through the lens of systemic racism. The purpose of the organization is to create a pipeline of diverse journalists in Chicago while promoting reporting on data that it believes expose systemic injustices and patterns of abuse against minorities. 6
The Investigative Project on Race and Equity offers apprenticeships in investigative reporting. Apprentices have access to a network of more veteran editors, reports, and journalists who focus on race issues. 2 The apprenticeship program also offers training sessions on subjects like how to obtain public records, how to interpret data, interviewing sources, and fact-checking. Using these tools, apprentices are then tasked with conducting their own investigative reports. 7
In the fall of 2023, journalists with the Investigative Project on Race and Equity launched their first initiative: a three-part series with WBEZ Chicago detailing Chicago traffic stops data by race. 1 The data purported to show an increase in the percentage of African Americans stopped by the police from 17.5% in 2004 to 30.6% in 2022. 8 The organization claimed based on the data that stops of African-American drivers reached a 20-year high in 2023 and that the racial gap in stops is widening. 9
The Investigative Project on Race and Equity also hosts online information sessions on journalism. For example, in April 2022, the organization hosted a 90-minute workshop with four career journalists in conjunction with the National Association of Black Journalists. 3
People
The Investigative Project on Race and Equity is led by a three-person governing board. The board includes Kevin B. Blackistone, a sports columnist at the Washington Post; Rui Kaneya, a senior editor at ProPublica; and Laura S. Washington, a contributing columnist at the Chicago Tribune and political analyst for ABC 7 Chicago. 10
Partners
Partner organizations to the Investigative Project on Race and Equity include the Chicago Community Trust, a community foundation and provider of donor-advised funds that provides grants to social programs and nonprofits, including left-of-center advocacy groups, primarily in the Chicago area; the Field Foundation of Illinois, a grantmaking organization focused on left-of-center principles of equity; WBEZ Chicago, the National Public Radio (NPR) station in Chicago; and the Joyce Foundation, a nonprofit based in Chicago that finances advocacy for gun control, environmental causes, and liberal education policy as well as opposition to right-of-center election reforms. 11
Financial Statistics
Total Assets
Total Revenue
Total Expenses
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Expenses Detail
Grant Activity
All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:
- Total Grant Value: $661,670
- Number of Grants: 13
- Number of Funders: 9
Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years: