Rory Peck Trust

Rory Peck Trust

OVERVIEW: The Rory Peck Trust supports journalists around the world with grants, safety training and practical assistance.

IP TAKE: The Rory Peck Trust supports freelance journalist around the world with grants for legal assistance, safety training and general assistance. The trust also runs an annual awards program in recognition of outstanding work in coverage of international news and current events. Application guidelines and ddue dates vary by program; grantseekers are advised to check program pages periodically for updates.

PROFILE: During his lifetime, freelance camera operator Rory Peck covered wars in the Persian Gulf, Bosnia and Afghanistan. He was killed in Moscow in 1993 while filming gunfire related to Russia’s October Revolution. In 1995, Peck’s wife, Juliet, and some close friends founded the Rory Peck Trust to “provide practical assistance and support to freelance newsgatherers and their families worldwide.” Based in London, the trust works within a large network of partners to support freelancers around the world with grants, safety training and other practical means of support. The fund makes grants through the following programs:

The trust’s trauma therapy fund provides “financial support to cover the cost of trauma management therapy” and will begin accepting applications in January 2022.

The legal fund help journalists “cover the costs and fees related to legal action taken against them because of their reporting.” Applications are currently closed, but grantseekers should check the program’s page for updates.

The training fund aims to make hostile environment and firs aid training courses available and affordable for freelance journalists. This fund accepts applications on an ongoing basis and provides guidelines and application materials on its webpage.

The trust’s general assistance fund supports journalists experiencing crises related to their work. Applications are currently closed, but grantseekers should check the program’s page periodically for updates.

The Rory Peck Trust also runs an annual awards program, which administers the Google News Initiative News Award, the Rory Peck News Features Award, the Sony Impact Award for Current Affairs and the Martin Adler Prize. The awards are open to “freelance journalists and flimmakers working anywhere in the world” whose work in the areas of international news or current affairs has been published and/or broadcast in the past year. Recipients attend the Rory Peck Awards ceremony in London and receive a cash prize of ₤1000. Application guidelines are provided on the program web page.

Since its founding, the Rory Peck Trust has given away over ₤2.3 million in grants and assistance to freelance journalists. For information about its past grantees, see the trust’s impact page. Grant and prize application guidelines and due dates vary by program; prospective grantseekers are advised to check relevant program pages periodically. For general inquiries, the foundation may be reached via email.

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