The question of finances is always at the top of the mind of every manager. Funding is a common problem for publications, both old and new. For media startups, the question of where to find funding is an especially daunting task. While you might not want to fully rely only on grants, it sure helps to start somewhere.

Here is a list of top grant resources for the media.

[Editor’s note: We have compiled a list of grants that either accept proposals on a rolling basis or have an upcoming deadline, so you can already use these opportunities now. For more weekly opportunities, subscribe to our newsletter]

Investigative Journalism for Europe (IJ4EU) grant

IJ4EU is a joint project that supports cross-border investigative media and projects across Europe managed by a consortium of three organisations: International Press Institute, European Journalism Centre, and European Centre for Press and Media Freedom.

First started in 2018, it has supported a diverse range of projects reporting on topics from deforestation to voter fraud. Two upcoming calls will fund up cross-border investigative collaboration (up to 50,000 euros), and freelancer team collaboration (up to 20,000 euros, together with extra mentoring and training).

To apply you need to:

Have a cross border-team, based in at least 2 EU member or candidate countries or Ukraine (see a special note for further details);
Have a project with a topic related to issues in the EU.

How to apply?

You will need to choose a lead applicant to apply through the EJC’s Good Grants platform.

Submit following documents: a budget plan and a letter of the intent of the media platform that can potentially publish the story.

The next calls will open in September 2022, don’t miss them!

Journalismfund.eu grants

Journalismfund.eu is a purpose-built foundation dedicated to advancing independent, cross-border investigative journalism. It has funded work on a wide range of topics, including environmental journalism, modern slavery, local stories; there are grant opportunities that do not limit journalists in their topics.

With a budget of over 2.8 million euros available for 2022, Journalismfund.eu has long list of grant calls opening up on an ongoing basis. Expenses related to reporting are the main focus but Journalismfund.eu also provides mentorship and other support depending on the call.

Among the currently open projects include support for cross-border investigations, environmental journalism, and local cross-border reporting.

To apply you:

Conditions vary, but many grants are available to Council of Europe members and Kosovo (essentially all of continental Europe; no Belarus and Russia);
Specific grants will have their own restrictions (e.g., for country or language specific journalism)

How to apply?

There are multiple rounds for each grant throughout the year, so make sure to track the grant deadlines.

Be ready to provide the information about your team members, the investigation, letters of intent, budget, copies of personal documents, and CVs of your team members.

Pulitzer Center Grants

Pulitzer Center has multiple grant opportunities your media organisation can apply to.

Global Reporting Grants support journalistic work on the underrepresented groups in the media. This is Pulitzer Center’s across-the-board grant, so the topics can vary.

Other grants are more theme-specific.

Gender Equality Grants are seeking investigative projects related to female empowerment and gender equality. The grant especially values coverage of underrepresented communities; for example, one of the grant winners Sukanya Shantha wrote a story about a life of a transgender person in India.

Data Journalism Grants will support innovative data-driven journalism projects from newsrooms. It is desirable that for this project journalists use advanced data-oriented techniques.

An example of a Pulitzer-supported project Built to Last by a team of BuzzFeed journalists.

The Machine Learning Reporting grant supports journalistic projects that use machine learning to create data-driven stories. If your newsroom never worked with machine learning tools, have no fear! Collaborative work, involving professionals across the disciplines is encouraged, so you can partner with journalists or academics to push your analytical skills to the next level.

How to apply?

The list of documents depends on the grant, but you should expect to need: a project proposal, a publication plan along with letters of interest from editors/news outlets, a budget estimate, three samples of work, a CV, and three professional references and methodology (for Data Journalism and Machine Learning Reporting grants).

The size of Pulitzer Center grants varies and depends on the scope of the project.

As there are no set deadlines for all of the grants, you can start preparing and apply at any time.

Journalists and newsrooms from around the world are eligible to apply.

International Women’s Media Foundation Grants

The IWMF’s Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists provides grant opportunities for underreported or challenging stories.

To apply you:

Must be a woman/non-binary journalist with at least one year of journalism experience and track record of publishing in non-students outlets;

OR

A team of journalists, which consists of 50 per cent of women/non-binary journalists and is led by a female/non-binary person.

How to apply?

You will need to prepare the following documents: contact information, CV, project description, list of team members (if you are applying as a team), budget and time estimate, and two professional references.

After you collect all of the documents you need to submit them through the online system.

The applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

National Endowment for Democracy fund

NED grants aim to support the non-government sector that works to strengthen democracy. Independent media are eligible to apply.

How to apply?

You will need to prepare an organisation profile form, application proposal form, budget proposal and in some cases registration documents. After you collect these documents, you will need to send them via email to an appropriate address based on the region (for Europe it is EUROPEPROPOSALS@NED.ORG).

There are multiple proposal submission deadlines throughout the year; the closest one is on September 14, 2022.

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Top grants for media startups: where to find funding