OVERVIEW: The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation is a broad, nationally oriented funder that awards relatively modest grants to a large and varied group of nonprofits. Its interests include arts and culture, education, health and human services, … [Read more...] about Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation
Grants for Film
Gruber Family Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Marin County-based Gruber Family Foundation supports education, women’s reproductive rights, journalism, film, visual arts and environmental conservation. IP TAKE: This progressive funder tends to provide ongoing support to … [Read more...] about Gruber Family Foundation
Good Pitch
OVERVIEW: Good Pitch is a collaboration between Doc Society, the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and the Ford Foundation that runs participatory documentary filmmaking programs aimed at social change. IP TAKE: In most cases, Good Pitch … [Read more...] about Good Pitch
Ford Foundation
Helene Wurlitzer Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation offers three-month residencies to visual artists, writers and composers on its 15-acre campus in Taos, New Mexico. IP TAKE: The Wurlitzer Foundation does not award traditional grants. Its philanthropy … [Read more...] about Helene Wurlitzer Foundation
Women in Film
OVERVIEW: Women in Film supports early-stage women, nonbinary and trans filmmakers and industry professionals with workshops, fellowships and other career development programs. IP TAKE: Women in Film is an important resource for women, nonbinary … [Read more...] about Women in Film
Weissberg Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Weissberg Foundation supports organizations led by Black, Indigenous and Communities of Color in the areas of organizing, economic, political and narrative power. IP TAKE: The Weissberg foundation recently restructured its … [Read more...] about Weissberg Foundation
Independent Television Service
OVERVIEW: The Independent Television Service supports the production of documentary film for distribution on public television and affiliated media. IP TAKE: ITVS is an important source of funding and production support for documentary filmmakers … [Read more...] about Independent Television Service
International Documentary Association
OVERVIEW: The International Documentary Association funds grants that support documentary filmmakers with filmmaking, production and distribution costs. IP TAKE: The International Documentary Association is an important resource for independent … [Read more...] about International Documentary Association
Park Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Park Foundation makes grants for civic engagement, democracy, media, environmental concerns, higher education, racial justice and animals. Funding is national in scope, but the state of New York and Tompkins County are geographic … [Read more...] about Park Foundation
Patagonia
OVERVIEW: Clothing retailer Patagonia supports environmental conservation, marine and freshwater conservation, journalism and film via its international, corporate, retail and media grantmaking programs. IP TAKE: Patagonia remains a well-known … [Read more...] about Patagonia
New York Foundation for the Arts
OVERVIEW: The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) provides artists and art organizations with cash grants, fiscal sponsorship, online resources and training. IP TAKE: The New York Foundation for the Arts is an unusually accessible arts funder, … [Read more...] about New York Foundation for the Arts
Impact Partners
OVERVIEW: Impact Partners provides equity financing for independent, feature-length documentary films that address urgent social issues. It supports projects at both the development and production stages. IP TAKE: Impact Partners is an important … [Read more...] about Impact Partners
Puffin Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Puffin Foundation makes small grants to artists and arts organizations “who are often excluded from mainstream opportunities.” It also funds annual awards for human rights activism and “creative citizenship” and provides ongoing support … [Read more...] about Puffin Foundation
Panavision
OVERVIEW: Panavision runs grantmaking programs that allow aspiring filmmakers use of their professional equipment and post production technologies. IP TAKE: Panavision’s equipment and (currently defunct) post production grant opportunities offer … [Read more...] about Panavision
Joseph S. & Diane H. Steinberg Charitable Trust
OVERVIEW: The Joseph S. & Diane H. Steinberg 1992 Charitable Trust supports arts and culture, Brooklyn civic and community institutions, education, healthcare and medical research, Jewish history and culture, Israel-related causes, documentary … [Read more...] about Joseph S. & Diane H. Steinberg Charitable Trust
Greenbaum Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Greenbaum Foundation supports animal advocacy and efforts to shift food systems toward plant-based diets and away from factory farming. Its grantmaking includes animal advocacy, legal strategies, plant-based medical and nutrition … [Read more...] about Greenbaum Foundation
Gates Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Gates Foundation funds nonprofit and for-profit organizations in dozens of issue areas. Grantmaking is global in scope, with partnerships in over 130 countries. IP TAKE: The Gates Foundation remains one of the most powerful … [Read more...] about Gates Foundation
Princess Grace Foundation USA
OVERVIEW: Princess Grace Awards support emerging U.S.-based artists in theater, dance and film. IP TAKE: The Princess Grace Foundation recently streamlined its awards program and now runs a single application for artists from the fields of … [Read more...] about Princess Grace Foundation USA
Anonymous Was a Woman
OVERVIEW: Anonymous Was A Woman provides significant support to women, gender-nonconforming and trans artists, especially to those over 40 years old. IP TAKE: Anonymous Was A Woman is an unusual funder because its two main grant programs offer … [Read more...] about Anonymous Was a Woman
Pew Center for Arts & Heritage
OVERVIEW: The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage awards grants exclusively to organizations and individuals in the five-county Philadelphia area. IP TAKE: Described by its Executive Director as an organization with a “dual identity as both a … [Read more...] about Pew Center for Arts & Heritage
Seattle Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Seattle Foundation is a large community foundation that pursues racial and economic equity through community-led grantmaking, policy and advocacy, impact investing and cross-sector partnerships. IP TAKE: The Seattle … [Read more...] about Seattle Foundation
Arts Midwest
OVERVIEW: Arts Midwest’s grant, fellowship and residency programs support a broad range of artistic and cultural programs and events in the Midwest. IP TAKE: Arts Midwest is a significant arts funder and intermediary with a broad reach, but … [Read more...] about Arts Midwest
Dobkin Family Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Dobkin Family Foundation supports Jewish organizations, women and girls, documentary film and media, and select arts, human rights and social justice organizations. Its giving has significant ties to New York, but also reaches national … [Read more...] about Dobkin Family Foundation
Arthur Vining Davis Foundations
OVERVIEW: The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations support private higher education, public educational media, interfaith leadership and religious literacy, environmental solutions and palliative care. IP TAKE: The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations are a … [Read more...] about Arthur Vining Davis Foundations
Amon G. Carter Foundation
OVERVIEW: This funder makes grants to promote and strengthen Tarrant County, Texas, which includes Fort Worth. IP TAKE: This approachable funder prioritizes grantmaking in Tarrant County, Texas almost exclusively; however, it does support a few … [Read more...] about Amon G. Carter Foundation
Open Society Foundations
Oak Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Oak Foundation makes grants for the environment and climate, sustainable agriculture, clean energy, housing and homelessness, human rights, women’s causes, learning differences, violence prevention and child sexual abuse prevention. … [Read more...] about Oak Foundation
DocSociety
OVERVIEW: Doc Society, formerly the Britdoc Foundation, supports independent documentary and nonfiction storytelling in the U.K. and around the world. Its current grantmaking centers on two broad priorities: the climate emergency and the crisis in … [Read more...] about DocSociety
Threshold Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Threshold Foundation is a membership-based organization that makes grants for the environment, Middle East peace, election reform, racial justice, and documentary film. IP TAKE: The Threshold Foundation is a progressive funder for … [Read more...] about Threshold Foundation
