Photography grants for new visual projects

The photography world has many awards, grants and competitions. Many of these reward work already done. But where do you go if you want funding for a new project?

World Press Photo
Witness

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© Manuel Sulzer / Hollandse Hoogte

Who will fund a visual story you are planning but have not yet commenced?

Collected here are funding opportunities that meet two basic criteria:

  1. The grant is provided specifically for the production of new visual projects (meaning grants like the OSI Audience Engagement Grant are not included because they exclude the shooting of new work);
  2. An open application process (meaning they do not depend on prior selection, as in the Magnum Emergency Fund which uses a group of nominators to invite applicants).

The grants we’ve selected also don’t charge significant entry fees.

The text below is taken from their respective websites. Click on the links to go to those sites for further information, including the deadlines for the next round of applications.

This living list was made in January 2017 and will be updated periodically. If you are aware of other funders, or errors in this listing, please contact us.
The following list is in alphabetical order:

  • The Aaron Siskind Foundation (Spring deadline): The Aaron Siskind Foundation’s Individual Photographer’s Fellowship (IPF) grant program encourages and celebrates artistic achievement in contemporary photography by supporting the creative endeavors of artists working in still photography and photography-based media.
  • Alicia Patterson Foundation (October 1 deadline): The Alicia Patterson Foundation’s mission is to foster, promote, sustain and improve the best traditions of American journalism. The foundation provides support for journalists engaged in rigorous, probing, spirited, independent and skeptical work that will benefit the public. 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.
  • Alexia Foundation (Fall deadline): The professional Alexia Grant was not established with the single purpose of rewarding the best photographers — this is not a portfolio competition. The grant will be awarded to a photojournalist who can further cultural understanding and world peace by conceiving and writing a concise, focused, and meaningful story proposal, and who can demonstrate the ability to visually execute that story with compelling images. There is no mathematical formula for determining grantees, but the proposal and photography must both be considered of the highest quality. The Foundation also provides cash grants to enable student photographers to have the financial ability to produce a picture story that furthers the Foundation’s goals of promoting world peace and cultural understanding.
  • The Arab Documentary Photography Program (ADPP) (Open call in February): The Arab Fund for Art and Culture and the Prince Claus Fund in Amsterdam, in partnership with the Magnum Foundation in New York, launched the Arab Documentary Photography Program (ADPP) in 2014 to target creative documentary photographers in the Arab region. This special program provides up to 12 annual production grants of $5,000 USD each. Grantees are expected to work on their projects in their country of residence over a period of eight months. The grant may be used to begin a new project or to complete work on an existing project. Applications are accepted only through the online application available on the AFAC website.
  • Artist Grant (Deadlines in January, April, July and October): Founded in 2017, Artist Grant is a new venture that aims to support and fund visual artists who are 18 and older from anywhere in the world. To that end, this charitable organization funds the efforts of artists to continue their important work and contributions to society, providing a modest competitive grant of $500 to one artist every quarter. There are four grant cycles per year — January 15, April 15, July 15, and October 15—and an application fee of $25 USD that helps defray the costs of administering the grant so that they may continue to support and fund artists’ important work.
  • Awesome Foundation Grant (monthly): A micro-granting organization, funding “awesome” ideas, The Awesome Foundation set up local chapters around the world to provide rolling grants of $1,000 to “awesome projects.” Each chapter defines what “awesome” for their local community, but most include arts initiative and public or social practice art projects. Anyone in any field is eligible for a grant and there’s no deadline—grants are offered monthly.
  • Burn Magazine (September deadline): The Emerging Photographer Fund ($10,000) and Young EPF Award (introduced in 2014) is provided by burn magazine, and given to support ongoing work by a young documentary photographer nominated by the magazine’s community.
  • Catchlight (Applications open in January): The inaugural CatchLight Fellowship of $30,000 each will be awarded annually to three creative leaders in the field of visual storytelling who have demonstrated excellence in the novel use of photography to depict and bring awareness to challenging social issues. The grants will build on work by each of the fellows with potential to achieve a next level of excellence in visual storytelling, innovation in distribution and measurable social impact.
  • Canon Female Photojournalism Award (May deadline): Organized annually, the contest has run since 2000. The winning photographer receives €8,000 to finish a photojournalistic project, which will then be shown the following year at the Visa pour l’Image festival. The competition is open to female photojournalists of any age and nationality.
  • Carmignac Gestion: The Carmignac Gestion Photojournalism Award aims to support photojournalism since it demands courage, audacity, freedom and determination. Each year, a reportage subject that is directly linked to current events is suggested to international, professional photojournalists. An independent jury of experts made up of image and information specialists will select a reportage project to be achieved that will receive 50,000 euros in support. This grant includes the execution of the reportage and the acquisition by Carmignac Gestion of four photographs chosen from the reportage. Carmignac Gestion will also provide its full backing for the photojournalist to develop, promote and distribute the reportage. An exhibition will be organized within 12 months of the prize being awarded and a monographic book presenting the award-winner’s work will be published.
  • CENTER: The annual Project Development Grant was initiated to help a photographer complete a work in progress, and the Project Launch Award helps the completion and dissemination of a project. Open to all photographic fine-art and documentary projects or series.
  • Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University (May deadline): The Dorothea Lange–Paul Taylor Prize (US$10,000) is open to documentary artists of any age and nationality who are involved in extended, ongoing fieldwork projects that rely on and exploit, in intriguing and effective ways, the interplay of words and images in the creation and presentation of their work.
  • Creative Capital: Creative Capital is an impact-driven arts organization that supports adventurous artists across the United States through funding, counsel, and career development services. Accepting submissions in 34 disciplines (including photography, multimedia, and documentary film), Creative Capital provides each funded project with up to $50,000 in direct funding and career development services valued at $45,000, for a total commitment of up to $95,000 per project. Open for U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents at least 25 years old with at least five years of professional experience.
  • The Diane Dammeyer Fellowship in Photographic Arts and Social Issues: This postgraduate fellowship creates an opportunity for a socially engaged photographer to immerse themselves in the communities of Columbia College Chicago and Heartland Alliance, two internationally recognized institutions with Chicago roots dating back more than 120 years, to produce a new, original, and compelling body of photographic work that speaks to the human rights and social issues revealed through these experiences. The fellow will also spend significant time at Columbia College Chicago, where they will be mentored by a Department of Photography faculty member and will work with Columbia students. The fellow will also have a Heartland Alliance project sponsor dedicated to aid their immersion in the Heartland community and to provide valuable feedback during the nine-month project. The fellowship will culminate with a public presentation, exhibition and/or publication of the fellow’s newly created body of work at the completion of the fellowship period. Because of the dynamic nature of the fellowship, a full-time commitment is required during the academic year (September to May). It is expected that the fellow will reside in Chicago during the term of the award. A $25,000 stipend will be awarded for the 2018–2019 academic year to support the fellow’s work. Talented individuals who have completed an MFA in photography or in another related creative field and who are committed to active immersion and participation with Heartland Alliance and Columbia College Chicago are encouraged to apply.
  • The Documentary Project Fund: The Documentary Project Fund will be offering two Project Support Awards. The first is the Established Artist $5,000 award, open to anyone on any topic local to the photographer. The second is the Emerging Vision $3,500 award, meant for new or transitioning photographers. All applicants must have the appropriate skill level necessary to plan and execute a documentary project. Selected artists will have one year to complete the photographic work.
  • European Fund for Investigative Journalism: The aim of Journalismfund.eu is to promote quality journalism in Europe by giving journalists the chance to carry out journalistic research projects. The project should be one that, in principle, could not be realized in this format within the remit of regular journalism — a project that can include cross-border research, networking between colleagues, established and innovative investigative methods and that is at the same time original, innovative and intensive. Journalismfund.eu will support journalists, who have good ideas for cross-border research and for research on European affairs. Support for travels, translations and simply time for research can be granted.
  • Firecracker Photographic Grant: The Firecracker Photographic Grant is an annual award providing funding for a female photographer to aid with the completion of a documentary photographic project. The grant fund is a minimum financial contribution of £2,000 plus credit of professional printing, mounting and framing services from Genesis Imaging. Applications are open to female photographers internationally, and those who are female-identifying. Submissions are subject to a £10 application fee, with all funding contributing to the grant total.
  • Fund for Investigative Journalism: The FIJ’s Board of Directors meets periodically throughout the year to consider grant applications for investigative projects and books. It is the fund’s policy to pay the first half of approved grants to successful applicants, with the second half of the grant paid on evidence of publication of a finished project in accordance with the original proposal. Second-half grants are not guaranteed if projects are not completed in a timely fashion or if the projects are published in a different form or in a different outlet than originally proposed. In 2010, the Seattle photojournalist Tim Matsui received a grant to document human trafficking in Cambodia. He contributed to a multimedia series on trafficking published online by KUOW Radio (Seattle).
  • Getty Images: Getty Images offers many types of grants. The Editorial Grant, is available to both professionals and students. They award five grants providing $10,000 as well as editorial, logistical and promotional support. In addition, they annually award three $10,000 Instagram Grants to support photographers documenting stories from underrepresented communities around the world using Instagram.
  • Gomma Photography Grant: The Gomma Photography Grant offers €1,000 for an ongoing project that is to be completed within 18 months of submission.
  • Ian Parry Scholarship: The Ian Parry Scholarship is designed to award young documentary photographers with a bursary that will enable them to undertake a chosen project and raise their profile in the international photographic community. The award is divided into two, The Award for Achievement and the Award for Potential, and is for young photographers who are either attending a full-time photographic course or are under 24. Each winner receives $3,500 and Canon equipment. The winner of the Award for Potential also receives one year of personal mentorship. The winner of the Achievement Award also receives automatic acceptance into the final list of nominees for the World Press Photo Foundation Joop Swart Masterclass and is added to Reportage by Getty Images’ online Emerging Talent group.
  • The Imagely Fund: The Imagely Fund offers $5,000 grants to emerging photographers to undertake important humanitarian and environmental photography projects. Their goal is to identify outstanding, up-and-coming photographers and give them the resources necessary to pursue projects that will have a tangible and positive effect on the world.
  • Inge Morath Foundation: The annual Inge Morath Award is given to a female photographer under 30 years of age, to assist in the completion of a long-term documentary project. The winner and finalists are selected by the photographer members of Magnum Photos and a representative of the Morath Foundation at the Magnum annual meeting. The call for submissions and guidelines are announced annually by The Magnum Foundation and The Inge Morath Foundation on their web sites, usually in January/February. Winners of the Award are announced in July.
  • International Reporting Project: The IRP fellowships allow international journalists to do original, in-depth reporting projects. Since the program was created in 1998, more than 600 journalists have been awarded IRP fellowships and have reported from more than 100 countries around the world. In 2013, IRP opened the fellowship program to international media professionals. The program encourages journalists to cover neglected, under-reported stories of global importance. As much of the mainstream media have reduced their coverage of international issues, the International Reporting Project is filling some of the void.
  • International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF): The IWMF supports women (only) with grants and reporting fellowships. The Reporting Grants For Women’s Stories provides opportunities for women journalists to pursue international stories of importance through gender-sensitive coverage of underreported topics. The grants will average $5,000 USD and will be awarded to cover reporting-related costs including travel (flights, ground transportation, drivers), logistics, visa fees, and payment for fixers/translators. The Howard G. Buffett Fund For Women Journalists provides financial support for women journalists to pursue opportunities that will make them leaders in the news industry. Flexible grant amounts will support a wide range of innovative, original, and collaborative news media projects, and to strengthen the skills of women journalists worldwide. Beginning in 2018, The Kim Wall Memorial Fund will distribute one $5,000 grant once a year to a female journalist whose reporting carries forward the legacy of Swedish journalist Kim Wall. The first award will be made in mid-March 2018 and winners will be paired with a mentor to assist them in their reporting.
  • Lucie Foundation Programs: The Lucie Foundation Scholarship Program offers three cash grants to support the work of emerging photographers — one $2,500 scholarship with an open theme and two $1,000 scholarships for photographers working in the fields of Fine Art or Documentary/Photojournalism.
  • The Luminous Endowment for Photographers: The M. Reichmann Grant is valued at $5,000 and is awarded twice yearly. Sponsored by the endowment’s founder, this award is granted to photographers of all ages who are moving to the next level in their art and craft. This is just one of the many grants offered by The Luminous Endowment for Photographers. The Greater China Grant is valued at US$5,000 and is awarded twice yearly. It is open to photographers of all ages and levels of experience, from anywhere in the world. There are no restrictions on the style of photography or subject(s) chosen except that the subject(s) must be located in Greater China, which for these purposes is defined as being Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
  • The Magenta Foundation: The Canadian-based Magenta Foundation opens a call for submissions at the beginning of the year and awards $10,000 to the winner of their Flash Forward Emerging Photographer Project Grant. Applicants must be Canadian, British or American photographers who are 34 or younger at the end of the prior year. In addition, the Bright Spark winner will be awarded a $8,000 cash prize and the runner-up will be awarded a $2,000 cash prize. Check out the foundation’s FAQ page for more information.
  • Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation for International Photography: Photographers around the world are encouraged to submit entries focusing on lives and populations ravaged by war, famine, poverty, religious persecution, political oppression, forced migration, and other social injustices. The winning submission will be awarded a Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation Grant of $5,000 to be utilized for the production or completion of a social documentary project. The shortlisted photographers will be exhibited in Arles at Galerie Huit during Les Rencontres d’Arles. Photographers of all nationalities who are at least 18 years of age are encouraged to apply.
  • National Geographic: The National Geographic Society awards grants for storytelling through its Committee for Research and Exploration. National Geographic welcomes applications from around the world, and specifically encourages applicants from outside the United States to apply. Storytelling grants support people who pursue projects that demonstrate the power of science and exploration to change the world. Storytelling grants are awarded based on fresh story angles; potential of the project to reach its target audience; qualifications of the applicant and team; and alignment with one of the Society’s lenses (The Human Journey, Wildlife and Wild Places, and Our Changing Planet). Awarded funds will support field expenses and equipment, and budgets may include stipends to applicants without full-time, paid positions.
  • Philip Jones Griffiths Foundation: The Philip Jones Griffiths Foundation is a charitable trust established in 2000 by the late photojournalist Philip Jones Griffiths to further the education of the public in the art and science of photography with a particular emphasis on helping and aiding young photojournalists. The foundation annually awards £10,000 to complete a body of documentary photography work, regardless of what stage the project is in as long as the subject matter is related to issues of social and political importance.
  • PHMuseum: The PHmuseum Grant is an annual initiative that recognizes the importance of photography and visual storytelling. Now in its sixth edition, the initiative is designed to support the production and promotion of visual stories through cash prizes and relevant opportunities across international festivals and online media. Applicants are invited to submit one or more projects centered around a specific theme, narrative or concept. The international jury awards £15,000 in cash prizes, a solo exhibition at Cortona On The Move, features on World Press Photo’s Witness blog and other relevant opportunities.
  • PhotogrVphy: PhotogrVphy’s grant awards $1,000 annually to the applicant with the most inspirational photographic idea to support a visual project. The grant is free to enter for all photographers over 18, but your series of photographs should be built off one of these themes: architecture, conceptual, nature, photojournalism or culture.
  • The Pierre and Alexandra Boulat Association: In order to to assist photojournalists struggling with the economic hardships associated with this profession, the association is promoting an annual grant (€8,000). The award is presented to a professional photographer of any age, sex or nationality who wishes to cover a social, economic, political or cultural issue in a journalistic manner, on presentation of a dossier. The award is given in order to allow the winner to produce a story that has never been told but that the photographer cannot find support for within the media.
  • The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting: The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting funds international travel costs associated with reporting projects on topics and regions of global importance, with an emphasis on issues that have gone unreported or under-reported in the mainstream American media. The amount of individual travel grants will depend on the specific project and detailed budget planning. Most awards fall in the range of $2,000 to $10,000, but depending on project specifics may be as much as $20,000.
  • Rebecca Vassie Trust: The Rebecca Vassie Memorial Award comprises a grant of £1,200, a mentor, development sessions with industry professionals, and premier printing services at Metro Imaging. They then work with the award recipient to organize public and industry exposure of the final work. The award aims to support early-to-mid career photographers with multiple credits and excellent portfolios, who are working professionally but not yet earning a full living from photographic work.
  • Reminders Project: The Reminders Project Asian Photographers Grant offers financial support of up to US$3,000 for an in-depth photographic documentation in Asia. The awarded project will be shown at the 2017 Angkor Photo Festival. The grant is open to all Asian photographers with no age limit. Applicants who are ethnically Asian, but who were born or are currently residing outside of Asia are also eligible.
  • Reuters photography grant program: For the inaugural Yannis Behrakis Photojournalism Grants program, Reuters Pictures is offering 10 grants of $8,000 USD for photojournalists and students to produce a photo project and develop their visual storytelling skills. Successful stories will be distributed on Reuters platforms and Reuters Pictures editors will mentor recipients throughout their projects. Grantees will also receive Reuters instruction, including reporting and hostile environment training.
  • The Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center: The Capa Grand Prize Hungary is annually awarded to a photographer who works in any branch of photography, has been established professionally, and demonstrates a proven track record of outstanding talent. One can enter the contest by submitting an unpublished work already in progress, and a synopsis drafting the completion of this work, which also includes suggestions regarding the final form, the planned installation or presentation of the work. Each fellow receives HUF 500,000 (approx. EUR 1600 or USD 1700) as a grant, as well as HUF 200,000 each, as reimbursement for preparing their showcase exhibition. In addition, the grand prize winner receives HUF 3 million (EUR 9700 or USD 10,000).
  • The Royal Photographic Society Bursaries: The Royal Photographic Society offers some bursaries for new projects: in partnership with The Photographic Angle it offers two, one-year bursaries (£3,000) to support a photographic project that will promote environmental awareness. In partnership with the Guardian, it administers The Joan Wakelin Bursary of £2000 for the production of a photographic essay on an overseas social documentary issue.
  • SFFILM: Presenter of the San Francisco International Film Festival, SFFILM is a year-round nonprofit organization that supports the careers of hundreds of independent filmmakers from the Bay Area and beyond with grants, residencies, and other creative development services. Their $10,000 Catapult Documentary Fellowship supports American filmmakers in the early stages of development on compelling, story-driven, feature documentary films. The SFFILM Environmental Fellowship supports documentary filmmakers telling powerful stories about the environment and/or conservation with a $25,000 grant, an advisor with expertise in the specific environmental topic being explored, and access to SFFILM’s dynamic suite of artist development services, including an educational lesson plan. Their new Westridge Grant supports US-based, independent narrative feature films (taking place in the US) in the screenwriting or development phase. Grants are awarded twice annually to projects that address social issues and pressing questions of our time through creative and original storytelling.
  • STERN magazine: With its striking and often hard-hitting imagery the German weekly STERN magazine has been setting international standards in magazine photojournalism for decades. STERN magazine calls for submissions for the STERN Grant (also in German), a 10,000 euro scholarship award. With this award the sponsors aim to give talented young photographers the opportunity to work on a long-term photojournalism project they are passionate about. It is important that the proportion of photos yet to be produced must be 70 percent or more compared to those already available.
  • The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and Fund: The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and Fund (DFP) is is a resource for independent documentary filmmakers worldwide working on cinematic documentaries focused on human rights and contemporary-issue themes. Year-round support spans funding, creative support, and audience engagement support for individual films, as well as field-wide support in targeted regions globally.
  • University of Cape Town: The Ernest Cole Photographic Award has been established to stimulate creative work in photography in Southern Africa. The emphasis will be on creative responses to South African society. The bi-annual award, worth R150,000 (c. £13,000 or $21,000) is managed by the University of Cape Town library, and offers a unique opportunity for photographers to complete an existing project.
  • Visura.co: Visura.co (networking platform to build websites, connect with visual storytellers, and share news) offers a diverse program of scholarships, grants, consultations, and open calls to their members. In partnership with publications, brands and other leading institutions, Visura empowers content creators with opportunities to further their work, vision, and career. See their list of current open calls here.
  • W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography: The W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography (US $30,000) is presented annually to a photographer whose past work and proposed project, as judged by a panel of experts, follows the tradition of W. Eugene Smith’s concerned photography and dedicated compassion exhibited during his 45-year career as a photographic essayist.
  • Women Photograph: Women Photograph announced their inaugural round of project grants for female, female-identifying, and non-binary photographers. The $5,000 Women Photograph + Pulitzer Center grant will support a documentary project — either new or in-progress — from an established mid-career visual journalist. The second grant, supported by ONA, offers three (3) $2,500 grants to support documentary projects — either new or in-progress — from three emerging visual journalists. Applications open 1 April.
  • Women in Photography (WIPNYC): The Women in Photography (WIPNYC) Grant & Mentor Program will provide one female photographer with financial support and mentorship. The grantee will receive $5,000 to produce work. In addition, they will be paired with four photo/arts professionals for one-on-one Skype or Google Hangout sessions. Each mentor will be available for 6 hours over the course of one year (for a total of 24 hours). Launched in June 2008, Women in Photography is an innovative website founded by artists Amy Elkins and Cara Phillips that focuses on exhibiting work outside of the traditional model of the commercial art world, allowing it to reach a global audience and to provide opportunities at no cost.

Last update: November 2018

This list has been compiled by Jennifer Henderson and David Campbell. Text was taken from the relevant sites. Click on the links to go to those sites for further information, including the deadlines for the next round of applications.

If you are aware of other funders, or errors in this listing, please send an email to communications@worldpressphoto.org.

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