Funders, application tips and getting started

Ethan Bakuli says financial grants for reporting have kept him in the journalism business.

Bakuli has been a freelance reporter for two years, following experiences reporting full time for Chalkbeat in Detroit and for the Burlington Free Press in Vermont. Since graduating from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2019, he’s received conference and training grants from the Association of Health Care Journalists, ProPublica, the Data Institute, Investigative Reporters and Editors, and the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources.

But his biggest get was an inaugural $40,000 investigative journalism grant last August from the Kapor Foundation, which funds work at the intersection of racial equity and technology. Bakuli used the grant to produce a series for nonprofit news outlet Work Shift that explored Detroit’s tech ecosystem, focusing on the successes and challenges of its efforts to upskill and reskill working adults and young native Detroiters to enter tech-related positions. He allocated some of his grant resources toward travel, hiring help and subscribing to publications that would inform his work. 

Over the next several months, I’ll be building free tools that help both independent journalists and newsrooms locate and apply for grants as part of my fellowship with the Reynolds Journalism Institute. I’ll also share advice from journalism funders and successful grantees. Editors and independent journalists have recently told me that they wish tools for journalism revenue existed when they were seeking funding, especially in the last few years as nonprofit publications sprout. 

Recent moves by Congress, hedge funds and privately held companies across the country have sliced the budgets and staffing at local outlets. The good news is that there appears to be an increasing number of opportunities for both staff and independent journalists to fund reporting projects. 

Over the next several months, I’ll be building free tools that help both independent journalists and newsrooms locate and apply for grants as part of my fellowship with the Reynolds Journalism Institute. I’ll also share advice from journalism funders and successful grantees.

Finding the opportunities, however, isn’t always easy. While some organizations such as the Poynter Institute have published guides on obtaining funding, most of the information on these sites is outdated. Funders change priorities over time and initiatives are often communicated through word of mouth, thereby excluding a pool of potential grant applicants who aren’t informed. 

Bakuli said he has learned about grant opportunities through private Slack channels, Facebook groups for journalists, or social media posts from his university alma mater. I’ve found that lots of reporters and editors aren’t aware of how much funding exists for journalism, nor do they have time to search for it.

Organizations such as the Ford Foundation, Knight Foundation, The Pulitzer Center, Solutions Journalism Network, and the USC Center for Health Journalism receive numerous funding requests from journalists and newsrooms, however many other foundations also financially back journalism projects and operations. 

For example, the Nova Institute for Health’s Media Fellowship program supports outstanding print, digital, and/or broadcast journalists and nonprofit newsrooms who are reporting on factors that affect health and well-being. Media Fellows receive $60,000 disbursed over 12 months, with up to an additional $7,500 reimbursed for expenses such as travel and conference fees. The Gerontological Society of America has supported 15 classes of reporters for its Journalists in Aging Fellows Program. GSA and its partners welcome applications from U.S. reporters interested in covering emerging issues in aging.

There are new grants this year as well. The Common Health Coalition and the National Press Club Journalism Institute in January launched a fellowship for mid-career journalists covering critical public health topics. The following month, Investigative Reporters and Editors announced a new Koch Continuum Grant in Public Health and Disability Investigative Reporting. The program will award $10,000 grants to two journalists pursuing investigative projects focused on public health issues or issues affecting people with disabilities. The Greater Good Science Center based at University of California, Berkeley announced in June awards of $5,000 to $50,000 to 24 journalists and media producers to report and produce stories on love. Nonprofit media organization Braided River began this year accepting funding proposals from journalists and social media influencers for in-depth reporting that examines the impact of public and private land management on communities and biodiversity in Alaska. Its Overlooked & Untold Stories grant program funds projects for $2,500 to $10,000.  

Anna Clark, a reporter for ProPublica, says she wishes more journalists applied for  Fulbright fellowships. “The scope of the Fulbright program is more expansive than you may think,” Clark wrote in a primer. The freelance writer received one of the grants in creative writing to Kenya as a “student” three years after receiving a master of fine arts degree. Journalists also qualify for Fulbright scholar and specialist grants.

The tool I’m developing will curate these and other grants to help simplify the process of landing revenue. Meanwhile, here’s an early list of grant opportunities for reporting to help you get started.

Tips for landing a grant

• Be original. Consider what’s already been reported on your desired topic, and how you will advance the conversation. Is there a new angle? A community that’s long been overlooked?
  
• Understand your story. Is there solid evidence to support your story, and is it feasible to find it? Thoroughly research the topic before developing a pitch to craft a clear, compelling narrative. Also, pitch what you know. Many funders want to support journalists who show sustained interest and experience in a topic or region.

• Be specific about the story. Vague ideas or concepts don’t get funded. Your pitch should clearly state what story you will pursue; why it matters; who it will impact; and why the story matters now. Is the story data or document driven? Include who you’ll talk to for the story and what your timeline looks like. If it’s a collaborative project, explain roles and partnerships.

• Consider how you’ll measure impact. Can your reporting expose harm or lead to awareness or change (potential new legislation, hearings or criminal investigations)? Does it affect communities? What is the greatest potential upside?
  
• Talk to others about your application. Consult previous grantees, who can provide invaluable advice on what made their applications successful and what they’ve learned during the application process or grant cycle. Talk to friends, too, says Anna Clark, who received Fulbright and Knight-Wallace fellowships during her 20-year freelance career. “If it’s something you really want, show it off to other people,” says Clark. Reviewers don’t even have to be journalists, she says; they can be people from other fields who know you well. Also, foundation program officers often take emails, calls and questions before the application is due.

• Create a realistic budget. Break down how you’ll use the money: travel, data analysis, translation, research, freelancers, etc. Be clear and transparent about expenses but resist the urge to lowball—it’s OK to include compensation for yourself. 

• Have a publisher lined up. There are grants for freelancers as well as staff reporters. If you’re an independent journalist, have a publication partner in mind and get clearance from an editor there before submitting an application. Staff journalists should have buy-in from their newsrooms. A letter of approval from an editor often is required as part of an application.

• Try, try again. Grants can be highly competitive, so don’t get discouraged if you’re not selected. Save (and perhaps retool) your materials and re-apply during the next round.

Resources

• A list of grants for reporting projects
• Environmental journalism awards and grants from the Society of Environmental Journalism
• Poynter Institute’s free course in grant writing

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Cite this article

Williams, Monica (2025, Aug. 13).  How to find grant money for your next local reporting project. Reynolds Journalism Institute. Retrieved from: https://rjionline.org/news/how-to-find-grant-money-for-your-next-local-reporting-project/