Golden Globe Foundation Gathers Grantees at Los Angeles City College to Strengthen the Future of Storytelling and Local Journalism
“Deepening Connections: Power of the Collective” convenes filmmakers, journalists, educators and nonprofit leaders for
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LOS ANGELES, Oct. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — More than 140 representatives from Golden Globe Foundation grantee organizations joined Foundation members and community partners at Los Angeles City College (LACC) for the 2026 Grantee Mixer, “Deepening Connections: Power of the Collective,” bringing together filmmakers, journalists, educators and nonprofit leaders for a day of conversation, collaboration and connection.
The event showcased the breadth of the Foundation’s philanthropic work, spanning filmmaking and the creative arts, education and mentorship, journalism and press freedom, while creating opportunities for grantees working across those fields to exchange ideas and build relationships. This year, the Golden Globe Foundation awarded approximately $3 million in grants supporting 80 organizations.
“The Golden Globe Foundation has never been only about grants. It’s about people: the doors that open, the careers that start, and the stories that get told because of the work our grantees do every day,” said Raffi Boghosian, President of the Golden Globe Foundation. “When we come together, we don’t just support change. We make it happen.”
The day opened with a video on the Foundation’s impact and welcome remarks from Boghosian. Dr. Olga Diaz, Vice President of Student Services at LA City College, welcomed attendees and delivered the land acknowledgement. Presentations followed on UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report, from Ana-Christina Ramón and Jade Abston; on using AI to do more with less, from AI strategist Bianca Nepales of Nepales Creative Labs; and on trends in nonprofit funding, from Rigoberto Marquéz of the Center for Nonprofit Management.
BBC’s K.J. Matthews moderated “The Future of Storytelling: From the Big Screen to the Small Screen” with Orly Ravid of The Film Collaborative, Matthew Waynee of the USC Media Arts & Engineering Magnet, Quan Phung of Cal State LA and microdrama writer-producer Meg Dudley. Yong Chavez of ABS-CBN News moderated “The Future of Journalism in the Age of AI, Influencers & Social Media” with Bill McCarren of Voices Unbound, Marco Amador of Capital & Main and Josh Letona of LAist. Afternoon breakouts mixed organizations across program areas to tackle responsible AI use and financial resilience. Nathan Witkin, Research Manager at the Center for Nonprofit Management, shared his expertise along with Bianca Nepales and Rigoberto Marquéz in these sessions.
Across its grantmaking, the Golden Globe Foundation supports education, early career development, professional training, cultural access, film preservation and journalism. At LACC, Foundation funding supports Student Filmmaker Production Grants and Cinema & Television students facing financial hardship, as well as journalism fellowships and seed-funding provided through the Institute for Nonprofit News. Its broader portfolio includes Film Independent, Film2Future, Women in Film, the UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation, alongside journalism and press-freedom organizations.
The Foundation’s journalism giving has long included press freedom organizations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which each received $1 million in past years. As local newsrooms have disappeared or contracted, that work also includes ensuring communities continue to have credible sources of local news. In Los Angeles, Foundation grantees include:
- LAist, whose paid summer internships train the next generation of public media journalists
- KCRW, NPR’s flagship member station in Southern California, and PBS SoCal, which runs Student Reporting Labs and paid internships
- The LA Local, whose five neighborhood newsrooms reach more than one million Angelenos
- Report for America, which is funding a reporter at Boyle Heights Beat and an LA Public Press internship for a Cal State LA senior
“Local journalism is how people understand what is happening in their own communities,” said Joel Arquillos, Managing Director of the Golden Globe Foundation. “Once those institutions disappear, rebuilding them is extraordinarily difficult. The Foundation exists in part for this reason.”
“Big questions like AI, storytelling across screens and how we fund our work are ones no organization answers alone,” said Boghosian. “I’m proud of what this Foundation has accomplished, but I believe we’re just getting started.”
About the Golden Globe Foundation
The Golden Globe Foundation (formerly the Hollywood Foreign Press Association) carries forward a legacy established by international journalists to support the creative arts, education, journalism and freedom of the press. The Foundation supports underserved and underrepresented communities in Southern California, as well as film preservation and press freedom initiatives worldwide. Since 1981, the Foundation and its predecessor have contributed more than $70 million to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions and supported the restoration of more than 166 classic films. Today, the Foundation supports 80 organizations and programs spanning the creative arts, education, journalism and film preservation.
For more information, visit ggfdn.org.
Media Contact: press@ggfdn.org
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/793c4e26-f17a-46f8-abd7-bdbbc3ebe89a
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