Seed Grants to support Climate and Environmental Journalism (US and Canada)

Project Themes and Objectives

• EJN is looking to provide seed funding to projects that:
  • Utilize Freedom of Information Act requests or other investigative techniques to expose government or corporate misconduct and corruption related to the environment.
  • Feature storytelling and narratives about climate or environmental issues by and for communities not often featured in mainstream media, and in diverse languages.
  • Envision or implement alternative methods of reporting that could better serve their target audiences, including explorations of data sovereignty and cultural preservation, informed consent and community-led media initiatives.
  • Dispel myths or counter misinformation related to target audiences and the environment or climate challenges they face.
  • Enhance access to information within a news desert, whether geographical or topical.

Funding Information

• They anticipate supporting three organizations with grants of $8,000 each. In general, proposals with smaller budgets will be more competitive.
• They expect to notify successful applicants in November 2024, with work starting in January 2025. Projects should be completed within 8 months, by the end of August 2025. Applicants should consider this timeline when developing their work plan.
• All applicants must provide a detailed budget using the provided template with justification for the requested amount as part of their application using this template. They ask that the budgets be reasonable and account for the costs necessary for project implementation – budgets greater than $8,000 will not be accepted.
• Applicants can use a portion of the grant to purchase equipment but should clearly state how the equipment will contribute to the expected outputs. The cost of equipment should also make up a relatively small proportion of the overall budget.
• Applicants are permitted and encouraged to raise co-financing for the proposed activities, but it is not required. If you have received any co-financing, please indicate the amount and the source in your application.

Eligibility Criteria

• Immigrant and/or BIPOC-serving media in the United States and Canada are eligible to apply. EJN’s definition of media for this opportunity includes newspapers, online media, radio, television, multimedia platforms, journalist networks, collectives and other groups that produce and distribute news and information.
• Civil society organizations, academic institutions, NGOs or environmental groups who do not fit the definition above are not eligible for this opportunity. Applications with a focus on advocacy and/or political campaigning will not be considered.
• For the purposes of this grant opportunity, they will only be accepting applications in English. Unfortunately, they do not have the capacity to consider applications in other languages at this time. Applicants must either have a working understanding of English or have a translator available to assist with communication with Internews staff. Projects may, however, produce content in any language best suited for their audience.
• Former EJN grantees are eligible to apply. They will take the performance of former grantees into consideration during the selection. Organizations with an existing EJN grant are not eligible.
• Applicants are required to be transparent about the use of generative AI tools, if any, to revise their proposals. EJN reserves the right to disqualify applicants from consideration if they have been found to have engaged in unethical or improper professional conduct, including, but not limited to, submitting AI-generated content as their own.

Judging Criteria

• Applications will be evaluated using the following assessment criteria:
  • The overall quality of the proposal.
  • The relevance of the proposed project in contributing to the objectives and priorities of this grant program.
  • The potential impact of the proposed project, including the quality and effectiveness of the project design.
  • The innovative characteristics of the proposed activities.
  • The financial viability and cost-effectiveness of the proposed activity.
  • The ability of the applicant to carry it out.
  • The geographical spread of the grantees.

For more information, visit Earth Journalism Network.