OVERVIEW: The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting supports journalism on underreported issues of broad impact in the U.S. and around the world. Recent areas of interest include rainforest conservation, COVID-19, global development and racial justice.
IP TAKE: The Pulitzer Center funds grants and fellowships for journalism that covers important but underreported stories in the U.S. and around the world. The center supports individuals and organizations working in print, photography and broadcast media, as well as projects that combine multiple forms of reporting. Several grant programs prioritize collaborative work and facilitate the engagement of journalists from the developing world with major news organizations. Other grants support journalists and organizations that serve communities lacking comprehensive coverage of local issues. The center also funds a series of fellowships for students and early-stage professionals and offers lesson plans, workshops and other educational materials for K-12 students and educators.
Pulitzer accepts applications for all 14 of its grant and fellowship programs, which are generally awarded in set amounts. While funding is accessible, it is competitive. Grants for professional journalists are generally accepted on an ongoing basis, while fellowship programs name specific due dates throughout the year. Grant amounts are not exceptionally large, usually remaining under $10,000, but Pulitzer is an important source of funding for early-stage professionals and small community news organizations. The center also maintains a database with links to its funded projects, offering grantees additional opportunity to share and broadcast their work.
PROFILE: The Washington D.C.-based Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting was founded in 2006 by John Sawyer, a former Washington bureau chief for St. Louis’s Post-Dispatch and a three-time recipient of the National Press Club’s award for best foreign reporting. The center “raises awareness of underreported global issues through direct support for quality journalism across all media platforms.” Its current programs support international and local journalism projects and prioritize journalists from groups that are underrepresented in the media, including women, minority groups and journalists in developing nations. The center also runs fellowship programs for college journalism students in the U.S. and a range of K-12 programs and curricula for writing, media and civics education.
Nota bene: This organization is not affiliated with Columbia University’s Pulitzer Prizes.
Grants for Journalism
The Pulitzer Center awards grants to staff journalists, freelance journalists, assignment editors and news outlets to “support in-depth, high-impact reporting” on topics of global, national or local importance, with a strong focus on stories that are not likely to be covered by the mainstream media. In addition to print journalism, grants have supported individuals and media outlets working in photography, broadcasting, video, documentary film and combined media. The center’s current offerings include the following grants and fellowships:
Global Reporting Grants support projects on topics of global importance by journalists who can provide evidence of “commitment from news outlets with significant reach to publish or broadcast their work.” Priority is given to projects that have the potential to “appear in multiple outlets” and those that “combine print, photography, audio, and/or video.” Grants generally range from $5,000 to $10,000 and are based on “reasonable, detailed budgets” submitted by applicants. One recent grant supported journalist Rawnaa Al-Masry’s work on the purification of drinking water in rural villages in Egypt for InfoNile. Another grantee, Jon Cohen, wrote about competing COVID-19 vaccine dosing plans for Science Magazine.
Bringing Stories Home: Local Reporting Grants aim to support journalists and news outlets in U.S. cities that rank 21st or lower in population size. Priority is given to projects that cover “big, underreported stories that affect us all,” as well as stories of local importance that “might not otherwise get told.” One grantee, the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, received funding for its reporting on the lack of safety measures at a pork plant in St. Joseph Missouri. A journalist in Texas, Sindya Bhanoo, received support for a story on school bus drivers who delivered meals to food insecure families during the COVID-19 crisis.
Launched in 2018, the Rainforest Journalist Fund supports environmental reporting and regional conferences about deforestation and its relationship to global climate change. Funding prioritizes projects that address issues that are underreported in U.S. media. The fund’s sub-programs include:
The International Rainforest Journalism Fund, which supports journalists reporting for North American and/or European outlets with grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000.
The Amazon Rainforest Journalism Fund, which supports journalists or organizations based in the Amazon region and working for either local and regional or major North American and European outlets with grants of up to $7,500.
The Congo Basin Journalism Fund, which supports journalists and organizations in the Congo rainforest region and works for either local and regional or major North American and European outlets with grants of up to $7,500.
The Southeast Asia Rainforest Journalist Fund, which supports Indonesian journalists and Indonesia-based news organizations working for either local and regional or major North American and European outlets with grants of up to $7,500.
Pulitzer’s Rainforest Investigation Fellowships, meanwhile, supports journalists who wish to participate in the center’s Rainforest Investigation Network, which facilitates “cross-border collaboration to tackle stories at the intersection of climate change, corruption, and governance in the world’s three main tropical rainforest regions.” Fellowships are awarded to one experienced journalist in each of the three main rainforest areas—the Amazon, the Congo Basin and Southeast Asia—and one journalist specializing in environmental journalism “at a major global media outlet.” Rainforest Fellowships are full-time, one-year commitments and carry the expectation of regular, collaborative publications that are driven by research and data. The fellowship covers journalists’ salaries and other work-related expenses incurred during the fellowship year.
The Connected Coastlines Grants program supports journalists and organizations who wish to participate in “a consortium of newsrooms and independent journalists across the U.S. to report on the local effects of erratic weather patterns on coastal populations using the latest climate science.” The program aims to increase coverage of stories about “every coastline in the U.S.,” including the East Coast, the Great Lakes, the Gulf Coast, the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii.” Journalists and organizations “with a plan to publish or broadcast their climate stories with a newsroom based in a U.S. coastal state or region are eligible to apply. Grants range from $2,000 to $8,000.
Eyewitness Photojournalism Grants support freelance photojournalists from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the U.S. media and who are pursuing underreported stories in their communities. These $2,500 grants are awarded through a partnership between the Pulitzer Center, Diversify Photo and the news outlet Vox. Funding is mainly limited to the U.S., and recent grants have supported projects that addressed issues of vulnerable communities, environmental racism, hunger and the opioid crisis.
Taken: Civil Asset Forfeiture Grants are awarded to investigative journalism projects that “scrutinize property seizures by law enforcement” and uncover “the complex state and federal data that reveals the seizure of private property without due process.” These grants prioritize investigative newsrooms in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri and Texas, which have the worst records of accountability and transparency with regard to asset seizures.
Data Journalism Grants support news organizations and independent journalists whose work involves the collection and analysis of data. Priority is given to projects that involve “advanced data mining techniques, such as machine learning, natural language processing, as well as spatial data analysis, satellite imagery, drones and sensors.” Recent recipients of data grants have produced articles and other media about economics, climate change, criminal justice and mining of fossil fuels.
Persephone Miel Fellowships aim to support “journalists from outside the U.S. and Europe” and to bring their work to international audiences. Women and journalists in developing nations are prioritized for these awards, and the fellowship includes participation in a two-day workshop at the Pulitzer Center in Washington, D.C. Grants are generally awarded in the amount of $7,500, which includes travel stipends.
Each year, the Pulitzer Center also awards a single Richard C. Longworth Media Fellowship in partnership with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs to a Midwestern journalist engaged in international reporting and whose work has the potential for broad dissemination in Chicago and the Midwest. Journalists working in print, online and broadcast media are eligible to apply, and applicants may request additional funding to cover travel expenses related to their work.
The center’s newest program is the Breakthrough Journalism Award, a $10,000 prize for the outstanding work of a current or past Pulitzer-affiliated journalist on an underreported issue of broad impact.
Grants for Global Development
The Pulitzer Center does not support global development initiatives directly but funds several grants and fellowships that support journalism serving communities and regions in the developing world or informing consumers of international media about global development issues. The center’s Global Reporting Grants have supported journalism projects on Azerbaijan’s Karabakh War, the impact of COVID-19 in Kenya and the displacement of people in Lahore, Pakistan to accommodate a new subway system.
The center’s Rainforest Journalist Fund and Rainforest Investigation Fellowships support reporting on environmental issues in the three main rain-forested areas of the world: the Amazon, the Congo Basin and Southeast Asia. Recent grantees have reported on how community ownership of the Congo Basin rainforest may prevent the area’s further degradation and how Brazilian politicians have profited from deforestation of the Amazon.
Two of the center’s fellowships also support global development journalism. The Persephone Miel Fellowship helps foreign journalists share their work with wider, global audiences and strongly encourages journalists from developing countries to apply for funding. The Richard C. Longworth Media Fellowship supports international reporting by a U.S. journalist from the Midwest region.
Grants for Environmental Conservation and Justice
The Pulitzer Center does not support environmental conservation directly, but its journalism grants support the dissemination of information about the environment in the U.S. and around the world. The center’s Connected Coastlines Grants facilitate journalistic projects on the effects of environmental degradation and climate change on communities and ecosystems of the East, West, Gulf, Alaskan, Hawaiian and Great Lakes coasts. The center’s Rainforest Journalist Fund supports the work of environmental journalists working in rainforest regions of the Amazon, the Congo Basin and Southeast Asia, as well as journalists working for global news outlets in the U.S. and Europe. The Pulitzer Center also runs a Rainforest Investigation Fellowship program, which supports the collaborative work of one experienced environmental journalist in each of the world’s main rainforest areas and a journalist or team at a major global news outlet. In addition to stories about deforestation and climate change, fellowship collaborations have addressed human rights violations and the influences of politics and money on deforestation in all three global rainforest regions.
Grants for Racial Justice and Indigenous Rights
Pulitzer’s Eyewitness Photojournalism Grants support the work of U.S.-based photojournalists and photographers who are underrepresented among media professionals and who, in turn, often report on issues concerning underrepresented and underserved communities in the U.S. Recipient’s of the center’s Global Reporting Grants, Rainforest Journalist Fund, Connected Coastlines Grants, Civil Asset Forfeiture Grants and Persephone Miel Fellowships have also contributed to awareness of national and global issues of racial justice and indigenous rights. One funded project, an article by Ashonti Ford for the Atlantic Black Star, discussed the difficulties faced by African American farmers in Florida after damages caused by tropical storms. Another article, written by Kelly Cannon for NBC News, explores the difficulties faced by Native American Hopi communities in Arizona in distributing the COVID-19 vaccination.
Grants for Criminal Justice Reform
The Center’s Taken: Civil Asset Forfeiture Grants support journalism on an underreported aspect of criminal justice in the U.S.—the practice of property seizures by law enforcement that often occurs without due process, especially in the Midwest. Current funding prioritizes projects reporting on seizures in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri and Texas.
Grants for Women and Girls
The Pulitzer Center does not name women and girls causes as areas of interest for their grantmaking, but women are strongly encouraged to apply for the center’s Persephone Miel Fellowships. Additionally, grantees of other programs have researched and reported various women’s issues. Natasha Senjanovic wrote for the Daily Memphian about the rise in domestic violence during the COVID-19 crisis, and Safina Nabi wrote for Nikkei Asia about the dearth of quality maternity care in Kashmir.
Grants for Higher Education
The Pulitzer Center supports higher education via its Campus Consortium Reporting Fellowships. Student fellows at participating two- and four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. pursue independent or group international reporting projects and are advised by the center’s staff. Completed projects, including articles, videos and photographic essays, are featured on the center’s website. About forty institutions currently participate in the program, and the center accepts applications from new colleges and universities on an ongoing basis.
Grants for K-12 Education
Pulitzer does not make grants for K-12 education, but supports teachers and classrooms with free lesson plans and programs. The center’s K-12 offerings include classroom visits, professional development and student workshops in writing, media literacy and photography.
Important Grant Details:
The Pulitzer Center’s grants are generally awarded in set amounts and vary by program. The center prioritizes collaborative work, underserved communities and the reporting of underreported topics of global or national importance. The center maintains a searchable database of funded projects.
The Pulitzer Center accepts applications for all its grant programs. Independent journalists, filmmakers and photographers, as well as newsrooms and news organizations in the U.S. and abroad are all eligible for funding. Many of its reporting grants programs accept applications on an ongoing basis, but fellowships usually post specific due dates during the year and vary by program. General inquiries may be directed to the center’s staff via email or telephone at 202-332-0982.
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