Call for Proposals: The International Fund for Public Interest Media 2022

Application Deadline: June 13, 2022

The International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM) is a bold, new multilateral initiative designed to support independent public interest media especially in low and middle income settings and to support long term systemic solutions to the current conditions that prevent independent media financing themselves.

The Fund aims to dramatically increase the amount of resources available to support trustworthy, ethical, fact-based journalism, and enable the media to work for democracy.

Objective. This first funding call is designed as part of a long term strategy to sustain as well as rebuild public interest media at a time of intense economic pressure with a view to ensuring continued support to journalism in the public interest and expanding audience reach and relationships.

For this first call, applications for funding should relate to one or more of the following objectives:

• the continued production and dissemination of public interest media reporting to sustain its role and impact in society in the context of adverse market conditions and critical funding needs
• the development of ambitious approaches to address disinformation challenges in societies, including by testing new forms of engagement with audiences and by partnering with other actors in the media ecosystem or civil society
• the increase of audience reach and engagement, including those that seek to address the needs of underserved audiences
• the improvement of representation of society in the media ecosystem including by promoting diversity in the newsroom and through coverage of under-reported issues and communities

Geographical scope

In this first call, concept notes are invited from media organisations with a strong record of public interest journalism in the countries listed below.

• Sub-Saharan Africa: Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Senegal, Sierra-Leone, South Africa;
• Middle East and North Africa: Lebanon, Tunisia;
• Caribbean, Central and South America: Brazil, Colombia, Mexico;
• Asia and Pacific: Afghanistan, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines;
• Eastern Europe: Georgia, Ukraine.

Grants must support public interest media in one of the countries listed above. Future calls will include additional countries beyond those listed here.

Grant amount: Grants will be provided over a period of up to 2 years. We expect the majority of grants to be in the range of $80,000 to $350,000. IFPIM is conscious of the requirement to balance the need for critical funding and the risks associated with creating dependency over one funder. The amount of grant per year is generally expected to be in the range 10% – 30% of the organisation’s annual budget

Application and Selection Process

Organisations wishing to apply for funding in this first call will, in the first instance, need to submit a short concept note (approximately 3 to 4 pages) that sets out a description of:

• the applicant’s organisation, including its fit with IFPIM’s definition of public interest media; and
• what the applicant is looking to achieve with IFPIM funding.

Timeline: Monday 13th June 2022

• Deadline for submission of concept notes (Monday 13th June 2022 11.59pm GMT).
• Applicants will receive an email confirming we have received your submission. Monday 11th July 2022

All applicants informed of the outcome of the short-listing process. Short-listed applicants will be required to submit a more detailed proposal. Further guidance will be provided to shortlisted applicants at this stage.

For More Information: Visit the Official Webpage of the International Fund for Public Interest Media