Alicia Patterson Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Alicia Patterson Foundation supports the work of individual journalists working in the U.S. with twelve- and six-month grants to support quality investigative work.
IP TAKE: The Alicia Patterson Foundation awards about ten fellowships each year to individual journalists working on high-quality and high-interest investigative projects in the U.S. A subset of fellowships, the Cissy Patterson Fellowships, fund journalists that report on science and/or the environment.
The Patterson Foundation accepts fellowship applications from full-time journalists working in the U.S., including non-citizens and freelancers. Twelve-month grants are awarded in the amount of $40,000, and six-month grants are $20,000. Applications must include a full proposal, samples of past work, two references and a professional autobiography and are due each year on October 1.
PROFILE: The Alicia Patterson Foundation is based in Washington, D.C., and was established in 1965 to honor the memory of Alicia Patterson, who was the editor and publisher of Newsday for almost 23 years prior to her death in 1963. The foundation seeks “to foster, promote, sustain and improve the best traditions of American journalism” and to “provide support for journalists engaged in rigorous, probing, spirited, independent and skeptical work that will benefit the public.” This foundation awards up to ten fellowships each year to individual journalists whose work aligns with the foundation’s journalistic mission. In 2016, the foundation began awarding Cissy Patterson Fellowships to writers working in science or environmental journalism.
Grants for Journalism and the Environment
Alicia Patterson Fellowships aim to “improve the quality of U.S. journalism” by supporting projects of outstanding quality by full-time journalists working in the U.S. The foundation does not prioritize specific topics but focuses on the depth and quality of journalists’ work in selecting fellows. Recent fellowships have gone to projects that report on high-interest and timely subjects including immigration, terrorist groups, the Catholic Church, U.S. prisons, economics and corrupt corporate culture.
Since 2016, the Patterson Foundation has also awarded Cissy Patterson Fellowships for Science and Environmental Writers. The program is named for Alicia Patterson’s aunt, who was a publisher. All relevant applicants to the Alicia Patterson Fellowship are considered for the Cissy Patterson award. Recent topics include fossil fuels, nuclear energy, transportation infrastructure, climate change, agriculture and water conservation.
Important Grant Details:
The Alicia Patterson Foundation awards between six and ten fellowships each year. Fellowships are designated as either full or half-year awards in the amounts of $40,000 or $20,000, respectively. The foundation maintains a database of past fellows and their projects on its website.
Fellowship application is open to any full time journalist working in the U.S., including non-citizens and freelance journalists. Applications are due on October 1 of each year, and must include a proposal, samples of past work, two references and a professional autobiography. Application guidelines and materials are available at the foundation’s website. General inquiries may be directed to the foundation via email or telephone at 202-393-5995
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