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Since 2019, the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund has redistributed more than $25 million to over 90 outlets across the United States and Puerto Rico. Our greatest lesson after six years is simple: the earlier you invest and the longer you stay invested, the greater the return, not just for individual newsrooms but for the field.

This dashboard pulls together basic facts about each of the newsroom partners in our 2025 multiplier analysis, including budget size, growth over time, community reach, and collaboration strength, and translates them into two signals: the outlet’s life-cycle stage and the type of support most likely to be catalytic next. It is built for funders who want to see where their dollars will make the biggest difference in supporting local Black, Indigenous, Latine, Asian, and SWANA news and media groups, and for publishers and partners who want to understand their role in the broader ecosystem.

How to use it

Filter the portfolio by newsroom size, growth stage, region, or suggested action (see more below). The charts show portfolio-wide patterns; the tables let you sort and search individual outlets. Click into any outlet to see a compact profile with what they do, how they are growing, and the best next dollar suggestion.

Life-cycle stage

Stage is based on an organization’s annual budget when it entered the REJ portfolio.

  • Seed. Entry budgets under $300K. Seed-phase organizations showed the largest and most variable multipliers in the dataset. Early investment yields exponential returns.
  • Mezzanine. Entry budgets between $300K and $1M. These organizations show the most predictable growth trajectories, commonly landing in the 2x to 3x range over three to five years when paired with capacity support and timely bridge funding.
  • Resilient. Established organizations using REJ funding to secure organizational durability rather than scale, converting capital into institutional longevity and workforce stability.

Suggested action

Suggested action is the type of support most likely to be catalytic for an organization at its current stage.

  • Catalytic. Seed capital for early-stage organizations with strong traction and clear plans for scale.
  • Technical Assistance (TA). Targeted, time-bound technical assistance in revenue operations, CRM setup, audience infrastructure, and sponsorship kit development.
  • Three-year Core. General operating support at the inflection point for outlets with established operational foundations.
  • Bridge. Smaller, off-cycle investments made during leadership transitions, product pivots, or cash flow gaps to safeguard multi-year gains.
  • Maintain Support. Continued, predictable funding for organizations converting capital into institutional longevity.

Tables and Graphs

General Graphing Controller Data

Calculation - % Life Cycle Stage

Calculation - Growth Rates

Calculation - Multiplier Counter

Average growth rate per Suggested action stage

Each dot is one organization in the 2025 multiplier analysis, plotted by overall score and growth factor. The most powerful growth factors occur at the earliest stages, while predictable growth remains prevalent in the middle.

Documented (16.0x) and Cicero Independiente (9.2x) show the highest growth factors, followed by Barrio Television (6.0x). Organizations such as Amsterdam News are using REJ funding to secure organizational durability rather than scale, converting capital into institutional longevity and workforce stability.

 

Of the 32 organizations analyzed, 6 are suggested for catalytic funding, 13 for technical assistance, 9 for a three-year core grant, 2 for a bridge grant, and 2 for maintained support.

 

Organizations suggested for catalytic funding and three-year core grants show the highest average growth factors, at 5.29 and 5.07. Organizations suggested for technical assistance (0.89), bridge grants (1.33), and maintained support (1.14) show lower averages. Seed capital ignites growth, Mezzanine capital cements it, and Bridge capital protects it.

 

Of the organizations analyzed, 15.63% are Seed-stage, entering with budgets under $300K, 81.25% are Mezzanine-stage, entering REJ with budgets $300K and $1M, and 3.13% are Resilient entering with budgets over $1M.

 

Across the 32 organizations, growth factors range from a minimum of 0.21 to a maximum of 16.04, with an average of 2.93.

 

Of the 32 organizations, 21 have a multiplier below 1x, 9 fall between 1x and 3x, and 2 are above 3x.

About the data

These findings are based on five years of REJ portfolio data covering 90+ grantee partners, 34 partner reflections, and self-reported budget and capacity data. The 2025 multiplier analysis includes quantitative ROI modeling across 32 organizations. Results describe portfolio patterns, not field-wide causality. External factors such as economic shifts, platform changes, and the fundraising environment can influence results, but the directional consistency across cohorts reinforces the strength of REJ’s approach.

Multiplier Analysis Grantee Partners

Read Beyond the Grant

Unfamiliar with Beyond the Grant: Rebuilding the Economics of Multiracial News Media? Read it here.