The aim of the Fundacja Reporterów Small Grants for Journalists program (further called: FR Small Grants) is to support journalists in producing high quality stories from the Visegrad region. The main idea of the program is to provide financial support during the research phase of the work. This project is possible thanks to the kind contribution of Grand Press Digital 2018 winners – Onet.
Fundacja Reporterów will award the grant(s) of up to 1200 euro each to professional journalists from the Visegrad region (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary) with good ideas for stories that cover at least two of the region’s countries. Teams of at least two journalists from different countries (at least one from the Visegrad region) are highly encouraged to apply.
The supported project should be of investigative or watchdog nature. Priority will be given to topics that expose underreported but critical issues for the region or its respective countries. We are seeking to support projects that can be researched for no longer than four months.
Who can apply?
- journalists from the Visegrad countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary). Journalists from elsewhere can also apply as long as they partner with a journalist/journalists from the region;
- full-time journalists who have been practicing in the media for at least three years. Freelancers are welcome to apply, too;
- journalism students with previous journalism experience can apply, too.
Together 2000 euro will be awarded, with individual grants not higher than 1200 euro. The number of grants awarded will be dependent on the quality of the applications. Fundacja Reporterów reserves the right to fund two or more than two proposals or to fund no proposals if the quality of the applications does not meet the expected standards. FR also reserves the right to fund parts or total budget requests.
FR Small Grants can cover costs related to journalistic research for different media types. They can include travel, translations, fixers, access to paid-for databases, and in a limited scope – salaries of the grantees (up to 40% of the grant). We do not support fixed costs such as office supplies and rental, accountancy, hardware or software. Costs incurred before the official grant period begins, will not be reimbursed.
Applicants and grantees retain their intellectual property rights throughout their relationship with Fundacja Reporterów. However, we expect the grantees to publish their stories (or parts of it) in English on our vsquare.org platform. That does not limit the grantees from publishing in other media outlets.
After the evaluation process and grant awarding, Fundacja Reporterów might offer additional funding or editorial support to projects that are not awarded with the FR Small Grants.
The deadline for the applications is April 28 [the primary deadline was April 20th 2019; the amendment was placed on April 16th]. They will be later assessed by a jury of three members of Fundacja Reporterów – experienced journalists and editors. The jury members are bound to strict confidentiality. The selection of the grantees will be announced no later than May 6th 2019. The research period should last no longer than until September 5th 2019.
Journalists must be prepared to provide the following information (in English) in the application process:
- Contact Information and short biography/ies
- Description of the issue/problem the project is to address
- Preliminary work plan, including possible publisher for the story
- Estimated budget
- Estimated timeframe for the research
All grantees will be notified once the winner(s) is selected. In order to accept the funds, grantees must countersign a grant agreement letter that details the project, budget, and timeline. Grantees are required to report back to Fundacja Reporterów twice during their research process for the project (in the middle and at the end of it).
Depending on the number of applications, we cannot promise feedback on individual proposals.
If you have any questions, please contact us at: kontakt@fundacjareporterow.org
