An InvestigateWest review found at least 30 people charged with trafficking without evidence of selling or distribution. They face mandatory minimum prison terms.
InvestigateWest lands $450,000 grant from Inatai Foundation
InvestigateWest shares its work with partner outlets for free, expanding the reach of its reporting while strengthening the region’s shrinking local news ecosystem. (Clockwise, from top left, photos by: Jake Parrish; Dan DeLong, Erick Doxey, Dan DeLong and Leah Nash.)
InvestigateWest has received a $450,000 unrestricted, multi-year grant from the Inatai Foundation, marking one of the largest institutional grants in the nonprofit newsroom’s history and a significant investment in collaborative investigative journalism serving Washington communities.
The grant, awarded through Inatai’s Narrative & News Fund, will support InvestigateWest’s investigative reporting in Washington state — with an emphasis on partnerships, community-centered storytelling and accountability journalism that reflects the experiences of people most affected by systemic injustice.
InvestigateWest works closely with local, regional and national media partners to ensure its reporting reaches broad and diverse audiences, particularly in communities that have long been undercovered or misrepresented by legacy media. The newsroom shares its work with partner outlets for free, expanding the reach of its reporting while strengthening the region’s shrinking local news ecosystem.
“Investigative news is one of the highest forms of accountability and a strong multiracial democracy would not be possible without the work of journalists who understand change comes from the people most harmed by systems of power,” said Nichole June Maher, Inatai president and CEO. “For this reason, Inatai Foundation is proud to continue our support of InvestigateWest.”
Founded in 2009, InvestigateWest has built its model around collaboration and accountability-driven reporting. Its journalists partner with dozens of outlets across Washington to expose systemic failures in government, industry and public institutions — often centering the voices of workers, families, rural residents and communities of color whose experiences are too often overlooked.
The Inatai grant will support investigative projects rooted in Washington communities, deeper community engagement and the use of multiple storytelling formats to make complex investigations more accessible.
Jacob Fries, executive director of InvestigateWest, said the funding reinforces a shared commitment to accountability journalism grounded in community needs.
“Our work is strongest when it’s done in partnership — with local newsrooms and with the people whose lives are most directly affected by the issues we investigate,” Fries said. “Inatai’s support allows us to deepen those collaborations and produce investigative reporting that reflects lived experience, exposes harm and empowers communities.”
To learn more about InvestigateWest’s work or to support independent investigative journalism in Washington and the Pacific Northwest, visit investigatewest.org/donate.
The story you just read is only possible because readers like you support our mission to uncover truths that matter. If you value this reporting, help us continue producing high-impact investigations that drive real-world change. Your donation today ensures we can keep asking tough questions and bringing critical issues to light. Join us — because fearless, independent journalism depends on you!
The webinar will give practical guidance for editors on how to manage and edit an investigative story
What happens when local news disappears? Polluters pollute more. Governments become less accountable. Entire communities are left in the dark.
Since 2009, InvestigateWest has been building something the Pacific Northwest desperately needed: a nonprofit investigative newsroom — and the civic infrastructure to spread accountability journalism across the region.
An InvestigateWest review found at least 30 people charged with trafficking without evidence of selling or distribution. They face mandatory minimum prison terms.
Jacob H. Fries
