The Howard G. Buffett Foundation has given the IWMF a $750,000 grant to establish a three-year fund supporting U.S.-based reporting projects by Indigenous journalists on issues related to Missing & Murdered Indigenous People (MMMIP) with a concentration on women, girls, Two-Spirit and transgender people.
Starting in March 2022, applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis by an advisory committee comprised of distinguished Indigenous practicing journalists and editors, along with Indigenous thought leaders. The IWMF is conducting ongoing, targeted outreach to eligible journalists and Indigenous journalism groups to solicit proposals. Indigenous journalists affiliated with media outlets, as well as freelancers, are invited to apply.
In addition to monetary support, the IWMF is committed to providing editorial and pitching support to grantees.
Please read our FAQ page and Application Guide for the program. Eligible journalists can apply here.
If you are experiencing any accessibility issues with the application process, please contact info@iwmf.org.
The IWMF News Safety Project is committed to helping improve the ability of journalists to report safely in an increasingly complex world. Since 2020, the IWMF has offered customized safety trainings for newsrooms and journalism associations based anywhere in the world. Our trainings are tailored to the journalists' holistic needs, whether they are related to safety on the ground, digital safety, or mental health and trauma.
In 2022, the IWMF released a step-by-step guide, detailing policies and best practices newsrooms can implement to protect staff members. We highlighted case studies from six months of our work with a wide range of newsrooms– from small specialized outlets in South Africa to established independent newsrooms in the United States.
Building off this pilot project, we will begin accepting applications for the IWMF’s Inaugural News Safety Cohort. Newsrooms selected will form part of an international support network and benefit from the following:
- Peer learning with newsrooms worldwide and ongoing engagement opportunities to share lessons learned and best practices with the journalism community.
- Customized safety trainings with a gender and identity lens and support with developing newsroom safety protocols.
- Access to the latest resources and one-on-one consultations with leading safety experts.
- Access to the IWMF’s emergency funds and mental health resources for staff.
The deadline for the first cohort is April 17. In this initial phase of the program, we encourage newsrooms that fit the following criteria to apply:
- Newsrooms committed to working on safety policies and training for a minimum of three months.
- Newsrooms with an ambassador who can make and implement changes in the newsroom. Commitment from senior newsroom leaders to participate in the cohort.
- Newsrooms committed to the safety of their journalists who do not have access to in-house safety resources — this could include small, nonprofit, investigative, local, and/or independent newsrooms.
- Newsrooms reporting on underserved communities and/or extremism who may face significant threats due to this coverage.
- English-speaking newsrooms. Please note that we aim to expand our language offerings in a future phase of the program.
If you have any questions or are experiencing any accessibility issues with the application process, please contact info@iwmf.org.
Additional resources available:
- ‘A Guide to Protecting Newsrooms and Journalists Against Online Violence’ contains a step-by-step process to help newsrooms mitigate risk, raise awareness, develop policies, and issue statements of support on behalf of journalists.
- ‘A Mental Health Guide for Journalists Facing Online Violence’ provides easy-to-implement, downloadable exercises to help manage the mental health toll of online abuse.
- The IWMF’s Emergency Fund provides small grants to women journalists of any nationality for psychological and medical care, temporary relocation, and legal support for incidents directly related to threats and crises caused by their reporting.
- The IWMF's Black Journalists Therapy Relief Fund (BJTRF) provides financial assistance for Black journalists of any gender and nationality facing financial hardship who are unable to pay for mental health services.
- The IWMF offers one-on-one safety consults for individual journalists facing any form of immediate threat to their safety. Journalists in need can request a consultation here.
- The Coalition Against Online Violence is a collection of global organizations working to find better solutions for women journalists facing online abuse, harassment, and other forms of digital attack. The Coalition's Online Violence Response Hub is a resource center where women journalists can find the latest information on online abuse.
The IWMF and its Coalition Against Online Violence partners are offering journalists the opportunity to sign up for free one-on-one safety consultations.
Concerned about a recent threat, online abuse, government surveillance or an upcoming reporting trip? Our experts provide journalists with clear and practical guidance, whether that's dealing with a digital or physical safety emergency or helping you build digital security into your story planning. We are here to help. You must have journalism as a primary profession to be eligible for a consultation.
Please note: this is not an emergency help line. We are unable to provide rapid response support.
To apply for a consultation, please complete this application. If you have any questions, please email digitalsafety@iwmf.org.
If you are experiencing any accessibility issues with the application process, please contact info@iwmf.org.
The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) is partnering with the Black Journalists Therapy Relief Fund. Through this link, applicants will be able to be considered for both opportunities, administrated by the IWMF. Read the different criteria of these two opportunities as below:
Black Journalists Therapy Relief Fund was started by Sonia Weiser via GoFundMe on May 31, 2020. This fund is designed to provide financial assistance for Black journalists facing financial hardship who are unable to pay for the mental health support they need during this time. While publications ask Black journalists — both freelance and full-time staff members — to put their lives at risk to report on racial injustices and embed themselves within the protests, they rarely provide resources for these same journalists to process the trauma incurred both on the job and in daily life. BJTRF will consider supporting Black journalists globally who:
- have journalism as a primary profession;
- were laid off/furloughed or quit due to harmful workplace practices;
- OR are former journalists suffering from lasting emotional or physical trauma from your time in the field.
If you are experiencing any accessibility issues with the application process, please contact info@iwmf.org.
We established the IWMF Emergency Fund in 2013 for journalists in crisis to provide women journalists with a lifeline of support in times of distress or threat. Now more than ever, journalists around the world face real dangers as a result of their reporting. The Emergency Fund is sustained with the support of individual donors to address the growing need to provide direct assistance to women journalists who are suffering.
The IWMF Emergency Fund provides women journalists with:
- Small grants for psychological and medical care for incidents directly related to threats and crises caused by one’s work as a journalist;
- Three months of temporary relocation assistance in the event of crisis or threat;
- Legal aid to counter threats of imprisonment or censorship;
- Non-financial assistance in the form of information about additional access to resources.
To be eligible for the IWMF Emergency Fund, candidates must meet the following criteria:
- Be a staff or freelance reporter, working in any medium, whose primary profession is journalism;
- Have worked full-time as a journalist within six months of applying for assistance;
- Apply for assistance with a crisis situation directly connected to work as a journalist.
- The IWMF believes that gender does not conform to one notion. We are inclusive of all journalists who identify as women and non-binary people.
To request assistance from the IWMF Emergency Fund, you must complete this preliminary questionnaire. An IWMF staff member will respond to your request in a timely manner at which point you may be required to provide additional information. Please understand that it will take time to process your request and that we prioritize the most urgent requests. Requests that do not meet the criteria above will not be considered.
If you are a journalist from Afghanistan or Myanmar contacting us regarding relocation or basic support: Please note – due to the current limitations of the IWMF’s resources, at this time we do not have the capacity to support the enormous number of journalists who are deserving and in need, and we regret that we will be unable to process your request.
If you are experiencing any accessibility issues with the application process, please contact info@iwmf.org.
En el 2013 establecimos el Fondo de Emergencia de la IWMF para periodistas en crisis para proporcionar un apoyo vital en tiempos de apuros o amenaza para mujeres periodistas. Ahora más que nunca, los periodistas de todo el mundo enfrentan peligros reales por sus reportajes.
El Fondo de Emergencia se sostiene con el apoyo de donantes individuales para proporcionar asistencia directa a las periodistas en apuros.
El Fondo de Emergencia de la IWMF brinda a las mujeres periodistas:
- Pequeñas subvenciones para atención psicológica y médica relacionadas a incidentes y amenazas en el trabajo como periodista;
- Tres meses de asistencia para reubicación temporal en casos de crisis o amenazas;
- Ayuda legal para contrarrestar amenazas de encarcelamiento o censura;
- Asistencia no financiera en forma de información sobre el acceso a recursos adicionales.
Para solicitar al Fondo de emergencia de la IWMF, los candidatos deben cumplir con los siguientes requerimientos:
- Ser una periodista empleada por un medio o ser una periodista independiente que trabaje en cualquier medio, cuya profesión principal es el periodismo;
- Trabajar como periodista en tiempo completo durante los últimos seis meses;
- Solicitar asistencia directamente relacionada a incidentes y amenazas en el trabajo como periodista;
Para solicitar asistencia del Fondo de emergencia de la IWMF, la postulante debe completar este cuestionario preliminar. Un miembro de la IWMF responderá a su solicitud de manera oportuna para solicitar información adicional. Es importante comprender que comprender qué tomará tiempo para procesar su solicitud y que priorizaremos solicitudes más urgentes. Las solicitudes que no cumplan con los criterios anteriores no serán consideradas.
Si tiene algún problema de accesibilidad en el proceso de solicitud, póngase en contacto con info@iwmf.org.
Promoting the work and advancing the role of women in the news media across the globe is critical to transparency and a diversity of voices. The Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists, the first funding initiative of its kind, enables the IWMF to dramatically expand its support of women journalists. Established with a $4 million gift from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the Fund will support projects including educational opportunities, investigative reporting and media development initiatives.
The Fund for Women Journalists accepts applications on a rolling basis. Applications may take up to 6 weeks to process.
The Fund was designed to help women journalists by providing grantees support to:
- Expose under-reported but critical global issues
- Undertake ambitious projects that challenge traditional media narratives
- Develop field-based expertise and strengthen careers
- Pursue training and leadership opportunities
- Launch entrepreneurial news projects or acquire the skill to do so
Eligibility
- The Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists is open to women and nonbinary journalists of any nationality.
- Journalism must be the applicant's primary profession.
- Applicants must have at least one year of professional journalism experience, with a track record of publishing in non-student outlets.
- We accept applications from teams of journalists; however, the application must be led and submitted by a woman or nonbinary journalist, and the team must include at least 50% women.
- Due to staff capacity, applications are only accepted in English (preferred) or Spanish, but reporting may be published in any language.
- Please note that the IWMF is unable to work with news outlets (such as the BBC) that do not honor the program's crediting requirements.
Note: The IWMF believes that gender does not conform to one notion. We are inclusive of all women, nonbinary and gender nonconforming journalists.
Due to the high volume of applications, we cannot answer questions by phone or provide applicants with individual feedback. Please review the information on our website before beginning your application.
If you have any further questions or are experiencing any accessibility/connectivity issues with the application process, please email associate program manager, Taylor Moore, at tmoore@iwmf.org.
The IWMF is thrilled to launch the fourth year of the Gwen Ifill Mentorship Program. This program is designed to address the lack of diversity in leadership positions across newsrooms in the United States. The benefits of mentorship have been well documented, leaders who look back and help lift others up the ladder of success are sorely needed. During the nine-month program, US based fellows will be paired with mentors and have the opportunity to learn from media experts on a wide range of topics. This will be a valuable professional development opportunity for women and nonbinary journalists from underrepresented backgrounds, laying the groundwork for their success and future leadership in the news industry.
Please apply by Sunday, October 22 at 11:59pm eastern.
Note: The IWMF believes that gender does not conform to one notion. We are inclusive of all women, nonbinary and gender nonconforming journalists.
If you are experiencing any accessibility issues with the application process, please contact info@iwmf.org.