Fund for Investigative Journalism opens 2026 grant cycle

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 3 December 2025 |  JP Staff Report

The Fund for Investigative Journalism has initiated its 2026 grant cycle to support a variety of investigative reporting projects. Grants available range from $2,500 to $10,000, with multiple application deadlines.

Summary

WASHINGTON — The Fund for Investigative Journalism has opened applications for its 2026 grant cycle, offering financial support to journalists pursuing in-depth, nonpartisan investigative reporting across a wide range of formats. The nonprofit organization supports freelance journalists, staff reporters, and media outlets producing stories for print, digital, broadcast, books, documentaries, and podcasts.

Founded to strengthen independent watchdog reporting, the Fund aims to help journalists undertake projects that require rigorous research, travel, or specialized resources. Its grants are designed to remove financial barriers that often limit investigative work, especially for reporters operating without institutional backing.

Range of grants for investigative projects

The Fund offers several categories of grants, each tailored to a different stage of reporting. Regular grants, available three to four times a year, provide up to $10,000 for full investigative projects. The next deadline for regular grant applications is Monday, January 26, 2026.

Seed funding supports early-stage reporting that can develop into a larger investigation. These smaller grants, which cover costs such as open-records requests or initial reporting trips, provide up to $2,500. The next deadline for seed funding applications is Thursday, January 29, 2026.

Support for follow-up investigations and prior grantees

Follow-up grants of up to 2,500 dollars are available for timely extensions of investigations previously funded by the organization. These proposals are reviewed on an expedited basis.

Journalists who previously received seed funding may also apply for a regular grant of up to $10,000 through a separate rolling application process. Decisions for these applicants are typically issued within two to four weeks.

The Fund also offers a Diversity Fellowship to expand representation within investigative journalism. Details on fellowship openings are posted on the Fund’s website when available.

Application rules and submission guidelines

Applications for regular grants, seed funding, follow-up grants, and regular grants for prior seed recipients must be submitted through separate forms. Diversity Fellowship applications follow a standalone process.

The Fund does not accept resubmissions of previously declined proposals unless applicants receive a direct invitation to reapply. It also limits individuals to one proposal per grant cycle, with rare exceptions reviewed by email request.

The next major application deadline for seed funding is January 29, 2026.

For more information, click here

ATTRIBUTION: Information sourced from the Fund for Investigative Journalism’s publicly available program details.

PHOTO: AI-generated; for illustrative purposes only.

KEY POINTS:

• FIJ has opened its 2026 cycle, offering multiple investigative journalism grants
• Regular, seed, follow-up, and diversity-focused grants provide $2,500 to $10,000
• Deadlines include January 26, 2026, for regular grants and January 29, 2026, for seed funding
• Applications require separate forms for each grant type
• Previously declined proposals cannot be resubmitted unless invited