Why do more than 100 universities and colleges have offshore investments? And what are they investing in?

During the Paradise Papers investigation, ICIJ’s reporters found more than 100 universities and colleges from United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Some of these institutions hold tens of billions of dollars in their endowments, but in the eyes of the law, most of those earnings are treated tax-exempt.

Some other types of university investment earnings could be taxable – if not for a system that has been set up to prevent it.

We want your help to investigate what universities and colleges are doing offshore.

We’re creating a small group of journalists for a project dubbed ‘Alma Mater’.

It comes after several of our partners, The New York Times, The Toronto Star and The Guardian, reported on the offshore schemes used by some of these institutions.

Their stories looked at how they used offshore schemes to avoid tax, support fossil fuel investment and what effect that might have on the institution’s reputation.

ICIJ’s readers responded. They wanted to know more. So now we’re launching Alma Mater to explore the many universities that have not been covered in depth yet.

Who are we looking for?

We’re looking for investigative journalists or education reporters, who can give several weeks to focus on this project.

We want people who are familiar with encryption, or who are willing to learn.

We want people with ideas. Why is this story important? Why do you want to cover it?

Most importantly, we’re looking for collaborators. ICIJ’s model is to work together. Journalists share their results with the group and publish on an agreed upon date.

What will you get?

Training from ICIJ on how to use our platforms, security protocols and have to search our data.

You’ll also get access to relevant data so you can find the story yourself.

The power of collaborations is in the people who take part. You’ll work with journalists across the world to find the best stories.

Want to take part in our project?

Fill out the form below by the December 31, 2017 and we’ll get back to you in early January!