IWMF Launches New Funding Initiative: Reporting Grants for Women's Stories

IWMF LAUNCHES NEW FUNDING INITIATIVE: REPORTING GRANTS FOR WOMEN’S STORIES $300,000 to be Awarded to Women Journalists Over Next Three Years

Washington, DC – The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) is proud to announce the launch of Reporting Grants for Women’s Stories, sponsored by The Secular Society. This new funding initiative will support women journalists pursuing stories that affect the daily lives of women and girls worldwide.

Reporting Grants for Women’s Stories will launch in early May and accept applications on a rolling basis. Funding will be awarded three times a year in August, December, and May.

“The need for coverage of gendered topics is critical to a free and representative press. Reporting Grants for Women’s Stories will catalyze this coverage and provide women journalists the opportunity to report on topics that affect us all,” said IWMF Executive Director Elisa Lees Muñoz.

Reporting Grants for Women’s Stories were established by the IWMF in 2016 with a generous gift from The Secular Society, a Virginia based non-profit dedicated to promoting the understanding of secularism’s role globally. The IWMF established these grants to advance the contributions of women in the media around the world. “Amplifying the voices of women around the globe by supporting women journalists who are covering their stories is critical to empowering women and recognizing their contributions to our societies,” said Secular Society Director Peter Trower, “the Secular Society is proud to partner with the IWMF and the remarkable women who are dedicating their careers to pursing these important stories.”

The IWMF’s Reporting Grants on Women’s Stories is its second grant making initiative launched in just under a year; through this new initiative, the IWMF will award an additional $100,000 in small grant opportunities every year for the next three years. The reporting this fund will generate is critical to transparency, gender-balanced reporting, and embracing the diversity of women’s voices reporting across all media platforms. Grantees are female journalists working full-time fora specific media outlet or as a freelancer and are seeking funding to report on issues that affect women worldwide. Grant awards will average $5,000 USD and will be awarded to cover reporting-related costs. Applicants will need to make the case for how their proposal addresses new narratives on issues that affect women and expose under-reported stories.

Learn more about Reporting Grants for Women's Stories and submit proposals at www.iwmf.org/programs/reporting- grants-for-womens-stories/

For more information about the IWMF, visit IWMF.org, contact Izzy Rode (irode@iwmf.org), and follow media (@IWMF on Twitter, @IWMFpage on Facebook, @TheIWMF on Instagram).