Fund for Investigative Journalism seed and regular grants

• Eligibility: Freelance journalists, staff reporters and media outlets in the United States are eligible for grants, and their investigations can be for print, online or broadcast stories, books, documentaries or podcasts.
• Target Region: North America
• Application Language: English

The Fund for Investigative Journalism provides grants and other support for reporters to produce high-quality, unbiased, nonpartisan investigative stories that have an impact. This application is for seed funding to cover the expenses of preliminary reporting, such as open-records requests and initial reporting trips.

Seed Grants for preliminary reporting that can help shape investigative stories. These are also on any topic and for U.S. stories. These grants are up to $2,500 for initial reporting expenses. Journalists who receive seed grants can come back to the Fund to apply for a regular grant, after their preliminary reporting is finished.

Eligibility

• Grants are for preliminary reporting for specific projects. The grants cover early reporting that can lead to full investigative projects. This includes, for example, open-records requests, initial reporting trips to identify and interview sources and the reporter’s time.
• Grants are $1,000 to $2,500. The entire grant is paid up-front.
• Journalists who receive seed funding can apply for full grants (up to $10,000) once they conduct the preliminary reporting and secure a commitment from a media outlet to publish or broadcast the story.
• All information contained in an application is held strictly confidential by the Fund’s board and staff, is shared with no one outside of the organization, and is used solely for the purpose of making a grant decision.
• Funds are open to freelance journalists and those who are not in full-time staff roles at a media outlet.
• Seed funding must be used to obtain documents or information that could lead to a full investigative story. The journalist’s time can be one cost covered by the grant, but it should not be the only cost.
• Other criteria for seed funding mirrors the Fund’s criteria for full grants: stories must be investigative in nature (meaning they uncover wrongdoing that was previously hidden or unknown, and shed light on accountability), and the story must have a very strong U.S. angle.

How to apply

Apply via the online form for the seed grants. Apply here.

For more information, please visit this page.