Fund for Investigative Journalism
/OVERVIEW: The Fund for Investigative Journalism supports individuals and groups working on journalistic projects that expose wrongdoing such as corruption, malfeasance and misuse of power.
IP TAKE: This funder is approachable and accepts proposals three times per year. Applicants are advised to carefully review the organizations webinar and FAQ for eligibility and application guidelines. Grants are awarded in amounts of up to $10,000.
PROFILE: The Fund for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) was founded in 1969 by the late Philip M. Stern, a “public-spirited philanthropist who devoted his life to ‘balancing the scales of justice.’” It seeks to help “to finance exposes of harmful and wrongful conduct, such as corruption at all levels of government; corporate, governmental and press nonfeasance, misfeasance and malfeasance; abuses of civil and human rights and of the environment; unsafe medical technologies; and improper donor influence on research in academe.”
Grants for Journalism
The fund awards grants to authors, freelance reporters and small publications that produce groundbreaking stories to expose transgressions or wrongdoing. It has also partnered with Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Society of Environmental Journalists to offer mentors who work with grantees over the length of their projects.
A new program provides emergency grants to U.S.-based freelance investigative journalists working on stories about the COVID-19 pandemic that “break new ground and expose wrongdoing in the public or private sector.” Foreign-oriented proposals are accepted, but those stories must come from U.S.-based journalists or have a “U.S. angle involving American citizens, government, or business.”
In addition to its grantmaking, the fund also considers small stipend requests from its grantees. To learn more about the type of work supported by FIJ, explore its grantees’ stories page.
Important Grant Details:
FIJ accepts grant proposals of 1,000 words or less for its three annual grantmaking cycles. While submission deadlines are subject to change, they typically fall in March, May, and September of each year.
The fund’s website features a webinar and FAQ on applying for grants. Grants average $5,000 with the first half paid out upon approval and the second half paid out according to the original proposal. FIJ warns that second-half payouts are not guaranteed if the projects are not completed in a timely matter.
General inquiries may be submitted to the fund via email.
PEOPLE:
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