The two initiatives come under the umbrella of MuckRock Projects. They are designed to provide a way to track reporting projects that use public records and the Freedom of Information Act, and to help raise new funds for independent journalism

MuckRock has built its reputation on investigative news reporting based on the use of such records and information.  The news site has been using the tracking system internally and believes the system would work well for others to get “an at-a-glance view” of sprawling stories. 

“Projects let users collect, either privately or publicly, requests and articles that work together to tell a larger story, such as J. Patrick’s Brown’s look at historic FBI files, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s massive investigation into biometric surveillance,” MuckRock said in its announcement. 

Since its founding five years ago, Muckrock users could crowd fund to pay for individual FOIA requests. Now with Projects Crowdfunding, reporters will be able to crowd fund to support for larger reporting goals such as “a series of stories, an interactive map, or other tool that helps connect the public with information that matters.”