The Pivot Fund
Tracie Powell, Founder
Civic Lab
The Pivot Fund centers and invests in BIPOC-led, community news organizations through funding, capacity building, skills-based trainings, and networking opportunities.
Year Founded: 2021
The Pivot Fund invests in BIPOC-led, hyperlocal news organizations that are trusted by the communities they serve. Contrary to traditional journalism philanthropy, which gravitates to the best-connected, Pivot provides culturally competent support to publishers closest to their communities, who are informing and engaging their audiences on a daily basis. These news organizations are on the frontlines of combating disinformation and providing information that helps people thrive in society; by supporting these outlets at scale, the Pivot Fund strengthens our nation’s democracy from the ground up.
The Pivot Fund shifts power by shifting funding to communities that have historically been ignored or stereotyped by media. We’ve seen the transformation local publishers who know the value of money can make when trusted with investment. Pivot has developed an approach to support hyperlocal publishers, both for-profit and nonprofit, at scale, which contributes to a more equitable information ecosystem and supports diverse, participatory democracy.
Tracie Powell saw a quiet revolution in media taking place, outside the view of journalism funders. A new generation of news entrepreneurs were using social media, podcasts and newsletters to inform and engage their communities, especially communities of color long underserved by traditional media. After running the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund at Borealis Philanthropy, she knew philanthropy was starting to recognize the importance of BIPOC-led outlets in informing communities, but these scrappy start ups were known only to their audiences. She spent the fall of 2021 as a Shorenstein Center Research Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, designing a new approach to journalism funding, and The Pivot Fund made its first round of grants – to Black, Hispanic and Asian-led outlets across Central Georgia – the next year.
Tracie Powell
Founder
Introducing New Profit’s Fourth Civic Lab Cohort of Democracy Entrepreneurs
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