News media and newsrooms still predominantly operate nationally. However, the climate crisis and power structures that hinder the transition away from fossil fuels markedly transcend national boundaries.
The Fossil Fuel Grant Programme is therefore aimed at cross-border teams of professional journalists and/or newsrooms to investigate and document unreported activities by European fossil fuel companies and their proxies within and beyond the continent.
Next to investigations of fossil fuel industry activities that transcend borders, this programme can also support investigations that compare local industry activities or policies between two or more regions.
The resulting stories must be published in at least two outlets in two different countries, at least one must be a European media.
The grants can also offer support to preliminary work in the development of new investigative projects.
It can cover working time and expenses such as logistics, travel, insurance, access to legal support, translations, access to technology and data sets, etc.
Next to financial support, teams can also apply for an experienced mentor to provide assistance with the focus of the investigation or a specific skill or competency.
This grant is supported by the Meliore Foundation and housed under a larger programme: The Earth Investigations Programme supported by Arcadia.
Cross-border teams of at least two professional journalists and/or news outlets can submit a proposal for a journalistic investigation about an issue that concerns the European fossil fuel companies and their proxies within and beyond the continent.
The total available amount to be distributed among all supported investigations will be €50,000.
The programme is supported by Meliore.
For this grant programme there are 20 application rounds scheduled over a period of six years (starting from January 2022).
- The last two deadlines in 2024 will be on Thursday 25 July 2024 at 1pm CET (Brussels time)
- and on Thursday 24 October 2024 at 1pm CET (Brussels time).
Location:
EuropeBenefits
- The total available amount to be distributed among all supported investigations will be €50,000.
Eligibilities
- Cross-border teams of at least two journalists and/or news outlets can submit a proposal for a journalistic investigation about an issue that concerns the environment. Only applicants who are legally residing in at least two different countries are permitted to receive funding.
- The applicants must be professional freelance journalists or news outlets. Personal references and/or references to earlier work are essential in that respect.
News outlets must be legal entities officially incorporated at least one year before the application deadline of the grant call. - The investigation proposal must concern cross-border environmental investigative journalism on European affairs — in or outside Europe. This means that the investigation has (also) to be of relevance for Europe.
Next to investigations into environmental issues that transcend borders, this grant can also support e.g. comparative investigations into local environmental issues and policies between two or more countries, regions, cities, etc. - The result of the investigation must be published by at least two professional news outlets in at least two different countries, one of which must be in Europe. Letters of intent for publication from at least two professional news outlets are required.
- Investigative journalism published by professional media in any form is eligible, whether print, online, broadcast or cross-media. Your investigation can be published as newspaper and magazine articles, radio and television documentaries and series, photo-reportages and books, podcasts and journalistic non-fiction books.
Application Process
1. Before you start, please consult the grant details, where you can find the rules, eligibility and assessment criteria, timing etc.
2. After a one-time registration with your email address, you can access our online application form. You can freely navigate through the form to see which information you need to provide in your application. This includes:
- team members’ details
- information about the intended investigation
- information about the intended publication channels, including letters of intent from news outlets
- a detailed budget, according to our budget template
You will also be asked to upload some administrative documents.
One team member can start a draft application. He or she can then invite multiple people to collaborate on the online draft. The online application-in-progress can be saved and further edited at any time.
Application Deadline: July 25, 2024
Application ClosedOfficial link
