Funding and Support

The goal of LEF New England is to fund the work of independent documentary film and video artists in the region and to broaden recognition and support for their work, both locally and nationally.

The goal of LEF New England is to fund the work of independent documentary film and video artists in the region and to broaden recognition and support for their work, both locally and nationally.

Berkeley Film Foundation will provide grants in pre-production, production, post-production and distribution for narrative short film projects, and is interested in short films that use creative, thoughtful and innovative methods to tell a story with a strong theme of social or environmental justice.

The Film Fund supports in-progress narrative short films. Their grant covers costs associated with the production of your film, including travel, equipment, talent etc.

The Austin Film Society Grant funds filmmakers working in any style or genre with cash grants of $15,000 for any phase of production or development.

The MediaMaker Fellowship is devoted to supporting documentary filmmakers using bold cinematic language and innovative impact strategies to grapple with critical issues of our time, supporting the development of projects that are nearing post-production.

The Ian Parry Photojournalism Grant supports young and emerging photographers as they embark on the their careers in the world of photojournalism. They offer financial support, mentorship and ongoing assistance for the promotion of their work.

The H. Allen Brooks Traveling Fellowship will be offered for 2026 and will allow a recent graduate or emerging scholar to study by travel for a continuous period of three, six or twelve months. The fellowship is not for the purpose of doing research for an advanced academic degree or publication. Instead, Professor Brooks intended the recipient to study by travel and contemplation while observing, reading, writing, photographing, or sketching.

This award is intended to support early- to mid-career artists as well as established photographers who have demonstrated a sustained commitment to their practice but may not yet have received significant critical recognition.

The Freelance Fellowships are awarded for nonfiction project proposals which demonstrate impact, breadth and significance. Proposals for books, documentaries, cable series and other long-form projects are eligible. They also accept proposals for shorter term work such as video or audio projects for broadcast or online sites, articles for newspapers, magazines, online sites and niche news publications, among others.

Magnum are accepting applications for the Fall 2026 New York City Fellowship, offering a project production grant and mentorship, for early-career photographers looking to deepen, expand, and complete an NYC-based project that speaks to social issues.

Doc Society’s global fund supports feature-length documentaries from filmmakers worldwide, backing ambitious independent nonfiction projects through its open Expression of Interest process. It prioritises bold, director-led storytelling and projects with strong creative ambition and potential social/cultural impact.

The Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards are an annual celebration of the photobook’s enduring role within the narrative of photography. The awards, established in 2012, recognize excellence in three major categories of photobook publishing: First PhotoBook, PhotoBook of the Year, and Photography Catalog of the Year. Each year winners are selected from among nearly one thousand books submitted by artists and publishers from around the world.

The Finish Line Script Competition offers a grand prize of $10,000, helps showcase your writing skills, connects you with industry experts and lets you submit unlimited new drafts.

The Leica photo grant provides financial support for deserving photographers who are in the process of creating or completing a personal photographic project.

The Fundación Ama Amoedo Grants provide resources and opportunities to strengthen the visual arts ecosystem and its institutions. Ten grants of $10,000 are awarded annually to projects with a meaningful connection to Latin America, across four categories: Artists, Art and Social Engagement, Organizations, and Publications.

The Radcliffe Fellowship supports engaged scholarship, where fellows develop new tools and methods, challenge artistic and scholarly conventions, and illuminate our past and our present. They welcome applications from scholars and artists proposing innovative work that confronts pressing social and policy issues and seeking to engage audiences beyond academia.

The Film Pipeline Short Script Contest is geared toward writers and directors looking to get a project financed and produced, or seeking development on a proof of concept for a feature. All genres accepted, including non-narrative or experimental shorts and proofs-of-concept.

The Fondazione Prada Film Fund is an annual initiative that supports independent cinema, supporting projects without restrictions regarding geography, theme, genre, or language. Films may be submitted at the development, production, or post-production stage.

Vogue welcomes photography, video, and multimedia projects across all genres, including fashion, documentary, portraiture, fine art, and experimental practices. They're looking for work that expresses a clear point of view, whether through the ideas it explores, the emotions it evokes, or the strength of its visual language. This can take many forms, from powerful storytelling to images that stand out for their aesthetic impact.

Impact Kickstart was created to fill a gap in support for underrepresented filmmakers and stories, amplifying and increasing support for those who work in deep accountability with the individuals and communities featured in their films.

Regular Grants for reporting expenses for investigative stories on any topic, in any type of media in the U.S. These grants are up to $10,000. The Fund provides grants to journalists for investigative stories that break new ground – which means they uncover wrongdoing in the public and private sectors and reveal information that was previously unknown or hidden, and they shed light on accountability for wrongdoing.

Seed Grants are offered for preliminary reporting that can help shape investigative stories on any topic. This grant is intended for stories based on U.S. topics. The Fund provides grants to journalists for investigative stories that break new ground – which means they uncover wrongdoing in the public and private sectors and reveal information that was previously unknown or hidden, and they shed light on accountability for wrongdoing.

The Guardian and arte.tv are looking for short documentaries with deeply human stories and creative approaches that reveal how political shifts are lived, felt, resisted, defended, or exploited in everyday life.

The Lucie Photo Book Prize, presented by the nonprofit Lucie Foundation, is a global, juried competition celebrating excellence in photography in book format. It welcomes a wide range of submissions—from fully published editions to prototypes, handmade books, and zines. This program supports photographers, editors, curators, and publishers who use photobooks to tell compelling visual stories and drive appreciation of the medium.

The Guggenheim Fellowship offers support to exceptional individuals in pursuit of scholarship in any field of knowledge and creation in any art form, under the freest possible conditions.

The Emerging Filmmaker Awards, part of Film Independent's Spirit Awards, honor independent film and television internationally in multiple categories, offering winners a $25,000 unrestricted cash grant.

Awarding the honors of Photographers of the Year to a distinguished group of those working with the camera as an art form, and welcoming both series and individual entries that remind viewers of the indisputable power of photography.

Innovate Grant supports artists and photographers through quarterly $1,800.00 grants. They aim to provide access to mighty bursts of financial support so that you can focus on making your important and innovative work.

The Pulitzer Center invites journalists who are working on projects related to tropical rainforests to submit a proposal to the Rainforest Journalism Fund. This particular grant focuses on work around the themes of the rainforest in our overall climate equations, and the solutions and effects of deforestation.

Mongabay are asking for pitches on topics related to Bangladesh’s response to climate change. They’re offering payment for already completed work, and grants to fund future trips for the creation of new stories. Due to limited resources compared to the scale of the challenges, Bangladesh is now facing hurdles in taking adequate adaptation measures to tackle the harmful impacts of climate change.

The Pulitzer Center’s global reporting grants support in-depth, high-impact reporting on critical issues that are often overlooked in the media, from global health to climate change. Their stories address the root causes of crises around the world, including within the United States. They support projects across all media platforms and encourage ambitious, prize-worthy proposals that combine print, photography, audio, and/or video for one or more news outlets.

The Congo Basin Journalism Fund aims to support and build capacity of local, regional, and international journalists reporting on issues related to rainforests, funding costs associated with reporting projects on rainforests, with an emphasis on unreported or underreported issues in the regions and how they connect on a global scale.

The South Asian Journalists Association Fellowship program is designed to promote in-depth, long-form news reports covering issues which are often ignored or given only fleeting coverage by the media. Examples of these are news of natural disasters, accidents and scandals which are often prominently featured as "Breaking News" over a few new cycles, spanning a few days but whose long-term impact are seldom covered in depth, if at all.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a New York based, philanthropic, not-for-profit institution that makes grants in three areas: research in science, technology, and economics; quality and diversity of scientific institutions; and public engagement with science.

Impact Partners Films are looking for early-stage projects that have a director attached and have secured some access. Submitted projects should tell strong, cinematic stories, explore the urgent issues and questions of our time, and have a clear point of view and artistic vision. Through Impact Partner's general and development funds, they invest in 10-15 projects a year, and review projects year-round on a rolling basis.

Culture Colab seeks grantees working at the intersection of pop culture and social change who identify culture change as a clear outcome of their work. Submitted projects must demonstrate commitment to long-term narrative and culture change strategies in the arts, entertainment, digital, mass media, and/or social justice sectors.

This grant aims to support projects that will further understanding of Japanese arts and culture. Successful projects are granted up to $5,000. This grant also supports online projects related to Arts & Cultural Exchange such as virtual exhibitions, virtual performances, film streaming, online conference as well as webinar.

Providing outreach, access, and support to aspiring filmmakers throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The Revolution Fund accepts nominations for proposals for small one-time grants that last no longer than a year. Mama Cash aims to be responsive to movements by meeting them where they are. The Revolution Fund is Mama Cash’s participatory grantmaking fund that enables them to respond to funding requests that fall outside other grantmaking criteria.

Fiscal sponsorship is an arrangement between an existing 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and an individual or entity lacking the legal status needed to receive grants from foundations, individual donors and government agencies.

The Hundred Film Fund aims to fund and produce one hundred films which are making use of AI to tell their stories. If you are a professional director, producer, screenwriter or creative professional looking to tell new stories with an AI-augmented project in need of funding, you're invited you to apply.

The IWMF supports 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. Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. 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.

The Verizon Small Business Digital Ready Grant will select 10 small businesses monthly from June to December 2026 to receive $10,000 grants.

The Shophand $5k Small Business Boost Grant is awarded three times a year to give small business owners the support they need to overcome their biggest tech or operational challenge.

The QuickBooks Small Business Hero Grant awards $20,000 to US-based small businesses that demonstrate strong community impact, resilience, and integrity. It’s nomination-based, runs in multiple rounds throughout the year, and winners also receive promotion and business support resources to help grow their company.

The BFI National Lottery Filmmaking Fund invests National Lottery funding in a diverse range of work with creative merit and ambition, which the commercial sector is not able to back, in full or in part. Funding supports features from experienced directors with productions budgets of £1,000,000 to £15,000,000 and debut feature directors with production budgets of £3,500,000 to £15,000,000.

The fund will support UK-focused activity at established international festivals, markets, co-production forums, or other industry events or platforms, with international reach and dedicated to screen content.

To bring awareness to the injustice of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People/Women, Girls, Two-Spirit and Transgender people (MMIP/WG2T), the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Fund for Indigenous Journalists supports U.S.-based reporting projects by journalists on the issue.

Invideo Research Grants fund experiments and ambitious ideas filmmakers have wanted to test, iterate on, and bring to life, but could never justify. The program launches with a $200,000 grant pool for its first cohort, with applications open worldwide on a rolling basis.

The Kino Short Film Fund is designed to get your short film made, and covers the costs of production, post-production or distribution.

ND Awards aims to promote photography and photographers. Their idea is to create new opportunities to present valuable work to audiences all over the world, aiming to build a place where photographers can show different points of view and thrive through competition.

Photographer Edward Burtynsky and CONTACT established the Burtynsky Grant in 2016–a $5,000 annual grant to support a Canadian artist in the creation of a photobook.

The City Lights Short Film Fund offers filmmakers globally the opportunity to apply for funding towards the production of their short film. Honoring undiscovered stories and bold new talent making waves in the industry, the fund supports distinctive voices and ambitious filmmaking from emerging and established creatives.

PhotoVogue’s Regional Open Call invites photographers and video makers from Middle East and North Africa and their diaspora to bring forward their perspectives, celebrating image-making as a space of expression, resilience, and cultural dialogue, and offering global visibility to their work.

The Foundwork Artist Prize recognizes outstanding emerging and mid-career artists working in any media.vHonorees receive unrestricted $10,000 grants and studio visits with jurors who include acclaimed curators, gallerists, and artists.

The Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers is an international fellowship program open to people whose work will benefit directly from access to the collections at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building—including academics, independent scholars, and creative writers (novelists, playwrights, poets). Visual artists at work on a book project are also welcome to apply.

Nature and Humans Photo Competition rewards images that help us reflect on the relationship, positive or negative, of human beings with the natural environment, celebrating the immense beauty of our planet and the species that inhabit it.

The Queens Museum is pleased to launch its eighth iteration of the Jerome Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Artists in New York City. Two visual artists will receive $20,000 each and professional development consultations from QM staff members working toward an artist’s project.

The Eidolon Grant is an international initiative aimed at exploring, promoting, and preserving vernacular photography. It invites artists, academics, researchers, and enthusiasts to submit projects that delve into the heritage and contemporary practices of everyday imaging.

The Lucie Foundation Scholarship Program is dedicated to supporting both emerging and professional photographers worldwide. It aims to foster dynamic ideas that challenge and progress the art of still photography. The program encompasses various genres, including Fine Art, Photojournalism, and Documentary photography, supporting works that are original and compelling.

The Luxembourg Art Prize is an annual international art award organized by La Pinacothèque, a private museum located in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The Luxembourg Art Prize is awarded annually to showcase the talents of amateur and professional artists of any age or nationality.

The First Flights Short Film Fund is intended for live action and documentary short films of any genre. Filmmakers will have full creative control of the project but will receive support in submitting the film to festivals and distribution opportunities.

The IPPG is excited to announce The Tom Stoddart Award for Excellence will be partnering with GOST Books. This unique award offers established photographers working in long form documentary photography a photo book produced by world renowned publisher GOST Books.

What role do shared spaces beyond home and work, where urban life unfolds, play in the contemporary city? CTBPA26 invites projects exploring this question.

The Wilson Center invites scholars, practitioners, journalists, and public intellectuals to take part in its flagship Research Fellowship Program. Fellows conduct research and write in their areas of interest, while interacting with policymakers in Washington and other fellows.

The Working Artist Grant is a one-time award intended to disperse bursts of funding to support an artist's ongoing art making process. This award is available to all artists worldwide, working in all traditional and new visual arts mediums, including photography, video, conceptual, installation, drawing, painting, prints, sculpture, mixed media, and new media.

The First Look Project Award is searching for higher-concept material in screenplays and TV pilots, across all genres. Winners in each genre category receive $2,500 cash award. Send your script to enter.

The Independent and Freelance Photojournalist Award recognises excellence in independent visual reporting across three categories: Spot News, Environment, and Solutions. Each category winner receives a USD 5,000 cash prize, with three equal winners recognised annually.

The Pandora Short Film Grant awards an annual $12,000 grant to an early-career US filmmaker for the production of their short, narrative film. In addition, the grant winner and three finalists receive hookups from Panavision and Kodak.

Alicia Patterson Fellowships support significant, in-depth written reporting on subjects of public interest. Six-month fellowships pay $20,000, and 12-month fellowships pay $40,000. The Alicia Patterson Fellowships are open only to U.S. citizens who are full time print journalists, or to non-U.S. citizens who work full time for U.S. print publications, either in America or abroad. Freelancers are welcome to apply.

The Mycoskie-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Documentary Fellowship aims to empower a new generation of filmmakers exploring the field of psychedelics. They're looking for untold stories that shed light on science, policy, business and culture of this new era of psychedelics.

The Earth Partner Prize invites filmmakers, photographers, and artists of all nationalities to submit work that comments on the ecological crisis.

Organized by Más Retina, this photography competition promotes human rights and global justice. Ten projects will be selected by the jury to be exhibited in Barcelona. The best will receive a prize of €3,000.

The American Documentary and Animation Film Festival and Film Fund are supporting filmmakers with up to $50,000 in cash and post-production prizes.

In collaboration with Doctors of the World, The Luis Valtueña International Humanitarian Photography Award, recognizes images that document social inequities, injustices, and/or human rights abuses.

The W. Eugene Smith Grant is presented annually to a photographer or multimedia artist to help begin a project or complete an ongoing body of work related to the human condition: social change, humanitarian concern, armed conflict, or other topics of interpersonal, psychological, cultural, social, environmental, scientific, medical and/or political significance, ideally expressing an underlying acknowledgement of our common humanity.

The Howard Chapnick Grant supports leadership in fields such as editing, research, education, and management--activities essential to photojournalism and documentary photography that complement the creation of images.

The Dan David Prize is the world’s largest history prize, recognizing up to 9 outstanding practitioners in the historical disciplines such as history, archaeology, art history, digital humanities and human palaeontology, as well as independent scholars, public historians, museum curators and documentary filmmakers.

The Aesthetica Art Prize is a place of discovery. Art is the mechanism by which we can begin to make sense of a rapidly changing world. If there has ever been a time that we need art in our lives, it is now. The Main Prize is open to all practitioners working at any level, including students. £10,000 prize money for the winner, a group exhibition in a major public gallery, editorial coverage in Aesthetica Magazine, and a profile on the Aesthetica website.

Numéro Switzerland is pleased to announce its fourth visual arts contest, a celebration of transformation and creativity in constant motion. This year's theme is “Flux et Forma,” inviting photographers, videographers, visual artists, and creators from around the world to explore the beauty of change, movement, and evolution, showcasing their unique visions and perspectives.

The Short Film Fund provides an opportunity for emerging writers, directors and producers from around the world to receive much-needed financial support to get their work produced and seen. The fund accepts narrative short films (live-action & animation), web series pilots, and proof-of-concept shorts for TV series and features. Many of the fund's alumni have gone on to gain representation, sell their screenplays, get staffed on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, & BBC shows, and develop their shorts into features and TV shows.

The Short Film Fund provides an opportunity for emerging writers, directors and producers from around the world to receive much-needed financial support to get their work produced and seen. The fund accepts narrative short films (live-action & animation), web series pilots, and proof-of-concept shorts for TV series and features. Many of the fund's alumni have gone on to gain representation, sell their screenplays, get staffed on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, & BBC shows, and develop their shorts into features and TV shows.

The Roy W. Dean Grant funds independent films that are unique and make a contribution to society that, without its help, might otherwise never get made. Winners receive a cash prize of $3,500.

The American-Scandinavian Foundation offers fellowships of up to $23,000 to graduate students and academic professionals interested in pursuing research or creative-arts projects in the Nordic region.

Emergency Grants is a year-round, multi-disciplinary program that offers immediate, project-based assistance to artists living and working anywhere in the United States, for projects occurring in the U.S. and abroad.

Culture Forward is a $5 million grant initiative by The Svane Family Foundation supporting arts, entertainment, and culture in Downtown San Francisco. Grants are open to individual artists, collectives, and arts and culture organizations.

The Annual Photography Awards is an international competition celebrating the best photography from around the world. Open to professionals, amateurs, and students aged 18 and above, the contest aims to preserve photography as a contemporary fine art medium and assist artists in advancing their careers. Participants receive global exposure and are eligible for various cash prizes.

The CFA Institute, in partnership with IMGN, is awarding one filmmaker $4,500 to support an independent narrative project in 2026. Applications are open to U.S.-based filmmakers.