Grants and Fellowships

Source : Global Investigative Journalism Network  * gijn.orgcropped-journalist-zastavki

Seeking a chance to improve your skills and expand your world? Tired of the everyday routine in your newsroom? We regularly update our guide to grants and fellowships. These are programs of special interest to investigative journalists around the world. There are plenty of short-term and long-term opportunities, both for staff and freelance reporters. Follow the links for information on deadlines and background on the various programs.

Do you know of a great opportunity we haven’t listed? Send it to us at: hello (at) gijn (dot) org. For this list in Spanish, see our page Becas y Subvenciones.

GENERAL FELLOWSHIPS

Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University offers fellows a chance to study at Harvard for an academic year; shorter-term fellowships are also available.

Who: Journalists with at least five years’ experience.

Amount: US$65,000 stipend, books, tuition, housing, health care, travel expenses and childcare.

John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford allows journalists to spend an academic year working on innovative projects.

Who: Journalists with at least five years’ experience.

Amount: US$65,000 stipend, books, tuition, housing, health care, travel expense and childcare.

Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship is a year-long program hosted by the University of Maryland and the U.S. Department of State.

Who: Non-U.S. journalists.

Amount: tuition, fees, travel, book and computer allowance and room and board.

The Fullbright Program offers research and teaching opportunities both for visiting U.S. and non-U.S. faculty and professionals.

Who: faculty and experienced professionals in a wide variety of academic and professional fields. Journalists from some countries may be eligible for research Fulbrights in the U.S. Teaching Fulbrights are also available to those who serve on faculty at non-U.S. universities.

Amount: varies according to length of grant and location.

The Knight-Wallace Fellowships offer an academic year-long study program at the University of Michigan.

Who: 12 American and 6 journalists with at least five year’s eperience.

Amount: US$70,000 stipend, plus tuition and course fees, travel expenses for news tours and health insurance.

Reuters Institute Fellowship Program offers journalists the chance to study and reflect at the University of Oxford in the UK.

Who: Experienced, mid-career journalists from any country. There are also country-specific fellowships available for Australia, Austria, the Middle East, Norway, South Korea, and elsewhere.

Amount: Awards may include travel expenses (including air travel economy class) and a modest living allowance.

Fellowships in Global Journalism are available through the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs.

Who: 20 “outstanding professionals, scholars, and specialized freelancers from around the world.”

Amount: C$10,000 (about half of tuition). Fellows also get free coaching after the program through monthly online bureau meetings.

American Council on Germany Journalism Fellowship provides opportunities for a cross-cultural journalism exchange.

Who: German or American reporters.

Amount: Varies.

Investigative Reporting Fellowship is offered through American University and the Center for Public Integrity, one of the oldest nonprofit investigative centers in the U.S.

Who: U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Amount: Master’s degree awarded and US$28,000 stipend.

The Reporting Award is offered annually by the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University to support a significant work of journalism in any medium on an under-reported topic in the public interest.

Who: Journalists with a substantial body of work and an under-reported project in the public interest already in progress. Ineligible to apply: journalists with staff positions at established media outlets able to fund such projects on their own. Open to journalists of any nationality.

Amount: Maximum award is US$12,500. The total award comprises US$2,500 on announcement of the winning proposal and up to an additional US$10,000 on completion of the project.

UC Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program at the Graduate School of Journalism offers year-long fellowships in investigative reporting.

Who: The fellowships are open to all working investigative journalists. Graduates from UC Berkeley’s master’s program in journalism are encouraged to apply.

Amount: Fellows will receive an annual salary of US$54,336 and be eligible for full UC benefits. Fellows will also be provided with office space, basic expenses and up to US$10,000 in funds for approved travel.

Yale World Fellows is a program for mid-career professionals to spend four months at the US Ivy League school “to explore critical global issues and cross-disciplinary studies, sharpen leadership skills and build relationships with other emerging leaders.”

Who: Sixteen “rising stars” in technology, art, finance, politics, social entrepreneurship, journalism, advocacy and more. Open to non-U.S. citizens.

Amount: The Program provides fellows with a travel allowance, housing, healthcare, and a stipend to cover living expenses.  Yale also pays for all costs associated with the educational and extracurricular aspects of the program.

Investigative Reporting Fellowship for Journalists of Color and Other Diverse Backgrounds is sponsored by Buzzfeed News and the Columbia Journalism School. The year-long award offers an opportunity to tackle big, investigative stories and improve skills by auditing courses at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.

Who: Mid-career journalists of color and other diverse backgrounds with at least five years of professional journalism experience. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States.

Amount: A stipend of US$85,000, plus benefits and related expenses for one year.

INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIPS

European Journalism Fellowships are for journalists from Eastern and Western Europe and the United States who want to spend two semesters engaging in research in Berlin. They are administered through the International Center for Journalism of the Freie Universitaet Berlin.

Who: Journalists from Eastern and Western Europe, United States.

Amount: Tuition, plus monthly stipend for living expenses based on fellowship level.

Knight International Journalism Fellowships are for journalism trainers to use digital tools “to instill a culture of news innovation and experimentation worldwide.” They are administered through the International Center for Journalists.

Who: Reporters with at least 10 years experience.

Amount: living costs, travel fees, health insurance, paid vacation and honorarium.

World Press Institute Fellowship provides reporters from around the world the opportunity to travel for three months and learn about journalism in the United States.

Who: Non-U.S. reporters working outside the United Sates with at least five years experience.

Amount: Travel costs, food and lodging.

The International Reporting Project offers a variety of reporting and travel fellowships that change year to year. It currently has opportunities for journalists covering health/development and religion to conduct reporting in other countries. Fellowships “are intended to provide in-depth coverage of important, under-covered international issues.”

Who: Accomplished journalists from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, Norway, Malaysia, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States and Zambia.

Amount: Travel to destination country and a stipend.

Persephone Miel Fellowship is offered by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and provides an opportunity for reporters to work cross-borders.

Who: Non-United States reporters.

Amount: up to US$5,000 for reporting costs.

Abe Fellowship for Journalists supports reporters working on projects about security, trade and social issues involving Japan and the United States.

Who: Japanese or U.S. reporters with at least five years experience.

Amount: The stipend is $23,500, which includes one round-trip air ticket.

Open Society Fellowship seeks “idea entrepreneurs” from across the world. Project themes should cut across at least two areas of interest to the Open Society Foundations: human rights, government transparency, access to information and to justice, and the promotion of civil society and social inclusion.

Who: Journalists, activists, academics, and practitioners in a variety of fields.

Amount: stipend of  US$80,000 or US$100,000, depending on work experience, seniority, and current income, plus a travel budget.

Netherlands Fellowship Programmes are offered in various subjects by the Radio Nederland Training Centre (RNTC), a Netherlands-based training institute. Courses include Mastering Social Media, Training the Trainers, Using Media for Development, and Video Journalism.

Who: “Young and mid career journalists, programme-makers, print and online media professionals as well as media trainers and senior managers.”

Amount: varies.

European Fellowships and Grants for specific countries and regions are listed byJournalismfund.eu.

Asia-Pacific Fellowships are offered by the East-West Center for journalists from Asia and Pacific Rim countries. Includes the Jefferson Fellowships, health fellowships, and exchange programs for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Pakistani, and U.S. journalists.

Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowships are funded by the U.S. Congress to support democratic activists, scholars, and journalists from around the world to undertake independent research on democratic challenges. Fellows spend five months in residence at the National Endowment for Democracy in downtown Washington, D.C.

Who: “Democracy activists, civil society leaders, human rights defenders, journalists, and others who work on the front lines of democracy.”

Amount: A monthly stipend, health insurance, office space, research support, and round-trip travel to Washington, DC. Financial aid is not available for family or other dependents.

Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships is a 30-year-old program placing talented international journalists in U.S. newsrooms.

Who: Open to journalists from developing countries and emerging markets.

Amount: Living expenses for the duration of the six-month program.

Arthur F. Burns Fellowships offer opportunities for Americans, Canadians, and Germans to report and travel in each others’ countries. The program is managed by the International Center for Journalists, which also sponsors a U.S.-Austrian journalism exchange.

SPECIALTY FELLOWSHIPS

Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT offers an academic-year fellowship for reporters interested in deepening their knowledge of science and technology.

Who: reporters with at least five-years experience. English-language ability.

Amount: US$70,000, health insurance and research travel expenses.

Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists is a one-week training on environmental and science reporting offered through the Metcalf Institute in Rhode Island.

Who: early- to mid-career journalists.

Amount: room, board, tuition, and up to US$500 in travel support (up to US$1000 for international journalists traveling from outside the US).

Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Program is offered by the European Journalism Centre with support by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Who: Media outlets and their affiliates based in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Amount: Average grant is €20,000.

Soros Justice Media Fellowship funds projects about the criminal justice system.

Who: full-time reporters.

Amount: US$50,000 or 70,000 stipend plus reporting expenses and health benefits.

Knight-Bagehot Fellowship at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism offers an academic year of courses in business and economics journalism.

Who: Open to any “accomplished” reporting working full-time or freelance.

Amount: US$55,000 and housing.

Dart Fellowship Programs are offered through Columbia University in New York City include the Ochberg Fellowship on trauma and conflict and the Dart Asia Fellowship to train reporters in Asia on how to report on tragic events.

Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism Fellowships are offered through Ohio State offers a one-week intensive training on using public records, data and social media.

Who: reporters with at least five-years experience. English-language ability.

Amount: travel stipend, room and board.

UC Berkeley-11th Hour Food and Farming Journalism Fellowships are offered by UCB’s Graduate School of Journalism. They are looking for ambitious long form stories on food systems, from agricultural and nutritional policy and the food industry to public health tied to food and farming. The program gives preference to U.S. focused stories, but will also consider international stories with a strong U.S. angle or connection.

Who: Eight fellowships. On average, program fellows are about two to seven years into a career as a journalist; they have published or placed stories in national publications or broadcast outlets; they show great promise and talent but are not yet well known to national editors.

Amount: US$10,000 per fellowship.

SciDev.Net Investigative Science Journalism Fellowship for the Global South: This program is supported by the Association of British Science Journalists with funding from the International Development Research Centre. It is designed to allow a science journalist to do in-depth reporting.

Who: Open to all science journalists living and working within non-OECD countries who are employed by or freelance for a media outlet. Applicants should have a track record of reporting original stories.

Amount: Three finalists will receive £500 GBP (US$834) and the winner gets £3500 GBP (US$5837), a laptop, mentoring and support.

Michael Hastings National Security Reporting Fellowship is a Buzzfeed News year-long program for “proven journalists” to focus on a U.S.national security topic such as the American military, foreign policy, and counterterrorism.

Who: “Proven journalists with strong sources and major stories to their credit.”

Amount: A stipend of US$85,000, plus benefits and related expenses for one year.

McGraw Fellowship for Business Journalism at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism supports in-depth coverage of business and the global economy. The fellowship provides editorial and financial support to journalists who need the time and resources to tackle complex, time-consuming stories. The program is accepting applications for long-form print or radio pieces.

Who: Freelance journalists, as well as reporters and editors working at news organizations, may apply. International journalists are also eligible as long as their reporting is completed in English and targeted to a U.S. media outlet and audience.

Amount: Fellows will receive US$5,000 a month for three months.

REPORTING GRANTS

The Fund for Investigative Journalism offers grants for individual story research and reporting. FIJ is the oldest fund of its type, founded in 1969 by the late reformer Philip Stern. Over four decades, the Fund has awarded more than $1.5 million in grants to freelance reporters, authors and small publications, enabling the publication of more than 700 stories and broadcasts and some 50 books.

Who: The Fund accepts applications from freelancers, book authors, and a range of other professional journalists for projects on domestic and international issues. The judges look for stories that break new ground and expose wrongdoing – such as corruption, malfeasance, or misuse of power – in the public and private sectors. All entries must be written in English. The Fund board meets three times per year to consider proposals.

Amount: FIJ grants average about US$5,000 each, largely for out-of-pocket expenses such as travel, document collection, and equipment rental. The Fund also considers requests for small stipends.

Journalismfund.eu story grants offer funding for individual stories for journalists based in Europe. The sponsor is the European Fund for Investigative Journalism, founded in 1998 as an independent non‐profit organisation established to promote quality cross-border and in-depth journalism in Europe.

Who: Journalists based in Europe or who work on European issues.  “Journalismfund.eu supports journalists who have good ideas for quality in-depth and cross-border research.”

Amount: Grant sizes vary but are generally 5,000 euros or less. Funding is provided to cover costs such as travel, translation, access to pay-databases, or simply time to research. Fixed costs such as office costs, investments such as cameras or computers, or production costs are not covered.

The International Women’s Media Foundation supports projects including educational opportunities, investigative reporting and media development initiatives through the Howard G. Buffet Fund for Women Journalists.

Who: An applicant must be a woman journalist. If applicable, teams of journalists may apply, but the team leader must be a woman journalist and the group must include at least 50 percent women.

Amount: IWMF will make an annual total of $230,000 worth of grants through four rounds of funding through 2025. The fund is not limited in either the grant dollar amount or the number of grants awarded within the annual total.

The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute, sponsored by the U.S. liberal weekly The Nation, gives grants for investigative projects, including the twice annual I.F. Stone Award.

Who: Reporters or editors working on “important stories likely to be bypassed by the mainstream media and stories with the potential to have social impact.” Stories can appear worldwide.

Amount: US$500 to US$10,000.

Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting offers grants to fund reporting projects to be published in In These Times, a progressive U.S. magazine.

Who: Open to journalists worldwide, but “preference will be given to stories with a U.S. angle.”

Amount: A competitive per-word rate and compensation for travel and other expenses.

Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting Travel Grants fund international travel costs associated with reporting projects on topics and regions of global importance, with an emphasis on issues that have gone unreported or under-reported in the mainstream American media.

Who: Open to all journalists, writers, photographers, radio producers or filmmakers of any nationality.

Amount: Depends on the specific project, “most awards fall in the range of US$2,000 to US$10,000 but depending on project specifics may be as much as US$20,000″.

Fund for Environmental Journalism grants offered through the Society of Environmental Journalism underwrite reporting projects and entrepreneurial ventures on issues around the environment.

Who: Journalists working independently or on the staff of either a for-profit or non-profit news organization worldwide.

Amount: Grants of up to US$5,000.

Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Initiative is funded by Moment, a U.S.-based Jewish magazine, “to encourage young journalists to write in-depth stories about a modern manifestation of anti-Semitism or another deeply ingrained prejudice.”

Who: Reporters between the ages of 22 and 38.

Amount: US$5,000.

The Reporting Award by the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University is an annual grant to support “a significant work of journalism in any medium on an under-reported topic in the public interest.”

Who: Up to two journalists “with a substantial published or produced body of work and an under-reported project in the public interest already in progress… Ineligible to apply are journalists holding staff positions at established media outlets that are in a position to fund such projects on their own. Open to journalists of any nationality.”

Amount: Up to US$12,500.

The Solutions Journalism Funds offer grants for “rigorous reporting that investigates and explains solutions to urgent social problems.” Journalists can apply for financial support, mentoring, and editorial guidance from the Solutions Journalism Network.

Who: Reporters, editors, and news organizations in any news medium in any country.

Amount: expenses of up to US$5,000 per project, but will consider higher amounts “for truly extraordinary circumstances.”

Mongabay Environmental Story Grants offer a stipend and expenses every two-three months for reporting on environmental issues. The group’s Special Reporting Initiatives program enables professional journalists to conduct in-depth research over a three-month period.

Who: Professional journalists.

Amount: A US$12,000 honorarium and up to US$3,000 for reporting, travel, and research costs for each project.

DOCUMENTARY GRANTS

Docs in Progress has a list of dozens of donors to documentary projects, organized by global, U.S., and U.S. regional. A good place to start.

The MacArthur Foundation gives grants each year to documentary film projects that combine “exceptional storytelling with high quality journalism about under-reported but important social issues.” In 2014, it awarded 18 grants totaling $2 million.

Who: Grants must be in the public interest and for charitable purposes. This means they must not give rise to private benefit or monetary profit to the organization receiving the grant, or any individual.

Amount: US$50,000-US$225,000

The IDFA Bertha Fund funds documentary projects in developing countries. Over the past 16 years the Netherlands-based fund has supported more than 500 projects. The IBF Project Factory also offers filmmakers help in developing or editing their documentaries and advice on international distribution.

Who: documentary makers in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and parts of Eastern Europe.

Amount: Between €5,000 and  €17,500 (about US$7,000-US$24,000) depending on category.

BRITDOC offers several types of grants for documentary makers, including BRITDOC Circle (for European films), the Bertha BRITDOC Connect Fund (for documentary-makers worldwide), and the Bertha BRITDOC Fund for Journalism.

Amount: From £5,000 to £50,000

OTHER GRANTS

A Guide to Media Development Grants is available from the Center for International Media Assistance, with info on government and multilateral donors, NGOs, and private foundations.

Grants for Photographers are listed by Fotografia Magazine, including funds for photo-documentary projects.

The Knight News Challenge offers grants to developers of news applications, devices, delivery systems, and tech-oriented solutions on various topics.

Who: “Anyone, anywhere, of any age. This competition is open to nonprofits, for-profits or individuals anywhere in the world.” Organizations outside the US will need a fiscal sponsor.

Amount: Typical grants are between US$200,000 and US$500,000.