First call from IFPIM

Description

1) Objective

This first funding call is designed as part of a long term strategy to sustain as well as rebuild public interest media at a time of intense economic pressure with a view to ensuring continued support to journalism in the public interest and expanding audience reach and relationships. For this first call, applications for funding should relate to one or more of the following objectives:

• the continued production and dissemination of public interest media reporting to sustain its role and impact in society in the context of adverse market conditions and critical funding needs
• the development of ambitious approaches to address disinformation challenges in societies, including by testing new forms of engagement with audiences and by partnering with other actors in the media ecosystem or civil society
• the increase of audience reach and engagement, including those that seek to address the needs of underserved audiences
• the improvement of representation of society in the media ecosystem including by promoting diversity in the newsroom and through coverage of under-reported issues and communities

2) Eligibility

Grants are only available to media organisations (one or more media organisations may apply together) but are not available to individuals or to other actors in the media ecosystem for this funding call. Media organisations are defined as organisations with a registered legal entity engaged in producing and disseminating information to the general public through a medium of mass communication.

3) Location

In this first call, concept notes are invited from media organisations with a strong record of public interest journalism in the countries listed below: Sub-Saharan Africa: Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Senegal, Sierra-Leone, South Africa; Middle East and North Africa: Lebanon, Tunisia; Caribbean, Central and South America: Brazil, Colombia, Mexico; Asia and Pacific: Afghanistan, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines; Eastern Europe: Georgia, Ukraine.

4) Budget

Grants will be provided over a period of up to 2 years. They expect the majority of grants to be in the range of $80,000 to $350,000. IFPIM is conscious of the requirement to balance the need for critical funding and the risks associated with creating dependency over one funder. The amount of grant per year is generally expected to be in the range 10% – 30% of the organisation’s annual budget.

5) Application

Organisations wishing to apply for funding in this first call will, in the first instance, need to submit a short concept note (approximately 3 to 4 pages). Deadline for submission of concept notes (until 11.59pm GMT) is 13 June 2022. Applicants will receive an email confirming we have received your submission.