The Lipman Center’s Initiative in Reporting on Race and Criminal Justice is a grant program designed to support impactful reporting that addresses racial inequality and abuses within the American criminal justice system. Administered by the Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, this initiative reinforces the Center’s mission of promoting journalism in the public interest, with a focus on civil and human rights. The program is financially supported by Arnold Ventures, a private philanthropic organization recognized for funding efforts in evidence-based policy reform, including in the realm of criminal justice.
The purpose of the Initiative is to provide financial assistance and professional collaboration to local newsrooms and independent journalists seeking to produce in-depth investigative projects focused on systemic injustice in law enforcement, the judicial process, prosecution, or incarceration. By elevating stories that expose racial and human rights abuses in these areas, the Lipman Center aims to raise public awareness and encourage meaningful institutional change. This initiative responds to ongoing disparities and seeks to amplify underreported issues that are critical to democracy and civil society.
The 2026 cycle of the program is scheduled to begin accepting applications later in January. Grants will be awarded to selected applicants for a performance period of one year. Each grant will range from $30,000 to $50,000, and up to five grants may be awarded in total. Funding may be used for eligible expenses including staff support, data acquisition, data analysis and visualization, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, or travel, as public health conditions permit.
Eligible applicants include all local newsrooms and individual journalists, including those operating independently or through nonprofit or for-profit organizations. Proposals must include a narrative project description between 1,000 and 1,500 words, a budget breakdown, a list of staff involved in the project, and a proposed publication or broadcast date. All materials must be submitted either via email or by postal mail to the addresses provided by the Lipman Center. There is no pre-application process or concept paper required.
Submissions must be emailed in Word or PDF format to [email protected]. Alternatively, applicants may send physical copies by mail to the Lipman Center Criminal Justice Initiative, Columbia University School of Journalism, Pulitzer Hall, 2950 Broadway, New York, NY 10027. Projects are expected to be completed within one year of receiving funding.
In 2025, the Lipman Center awarded five grants totaling $180,000 to newsrooms and independent journalists reporting on issues ranging from police misconduct to systemic bias in prosecution and incarceration. Past recipients included Capital & Main, Arizona Luminaria, MuckRock News, and individual journalists Indy Scholtens and Oishika Neogi. Through this annual program, the Lipman Center continues to foster investigative journalism that serves the public by examining the root causes and consequences of injustice within the criminal legal system.
