DEADLINE: Fund for Investigative Journalism

The Fund for Investigative Journalism awards grants, ranging from $500 to $10,000, to freelance or independent journalists seeking support for investigative reporting projects and/or investigative book projects. Grants are limited to journalists seeking pre-publication help for investigative pieces involving corruption, malfeasance, incompetence and societal ills in general as well as for investigative media criticism. The Fund does not award educational scholarships or grants for professional training.

The Fund is now accepting applications for its next grant cycle, with a deadline of Thursday, December 9. We are issuing a special call for projects focusing on environmental and governmental accountability issues as a result of a generous grant from the Parks Foundation in Ithaca New York. (www.parkfoundation.org) The Board continues to be interested in proposals that cover local and regional issues, or are written for ethnic media.

The Fund for Investigative Journalism is an independent, non-profit organization that has supported hundreds of public service reporting projects since 1969, when it provided funding for Seymour Hersh to investigate a tip about the massacre of Vietnamese civilians in My Lai. His stories won the Pulitzer Prize.

The Fund is supported through contributions from individuals and grants from private foundations. Journalists with questions about the application process are encouraged to contact executive director Sandy Bergo, by phone, 202-481-1218, or email, fundfij@gmail.com.