The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) has announced the opening of the Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists. The Howard G. Buffett Fund which is the first of its kind, was created with the major aim of promoting the work and advancing the role of women in the media sector across the globe.
The IWMF believes in the importance of women’s voices in providing high quality information in the public’s interest, and they advocate for the advancement of women in the global media. The fund was developed in the spirit of Howard G. Buffet’s support for 2005 IWFM courage in Journalism Award Winner Anja Niedringhaus (1965-2014)
According to the IWMF Executive Director, Elisa Lees Muñoz, “The launch of this Fund marks an unprecedented opportunity to provide significant support to hundreds of journalists on the path to future leadership roles in the news industry.”
The foundation proceeds with the inaugural funding of an annual total of $230,000 awarded to applicants, who demonstrate proposal leading to the exposure of under-reported stories, strengthen story-telling skills, develop their expertise or support entrepreneurial media projects. Grant sizes will depend on the projects or skills building opportunities in question, and the inclusion of a detailed budget.
A fund selection committee will be responsible for the evaluation of applicants based on a number of criteria, including the commitment to diversity and innovation. There will be two categories of funding namely: grants for media and grants for skills building.
The next round of funding will be open for applications from June 15 – July 27, 2015. A full review schedule for the later September and December 2015 funding rounds will be released on the IWMF website after the close of prior rounds. The number of rounds per year depends on the amount of funding dispersed in prior rounds.
To learn more about the Fund and to submit proposals, kindly visit http://www.iwmf.org/our-impact/howard-g-buffett-fund-for-women-journalists/
