The Internews Information Saves Lives Rapid Response Fund is accepting applications from media outlets, organizations and individuals who are working to provide local language journalism and other forms of public information related to the COVID/Corona Virus pandemic and its impacts.
A: Grant Information: The grant program aims to support activities including but not limited to:
- Content designed to reach audiences in any medium: print, audio, video and on any platform: print, radio, TV, website, mobile phone, social media.
- Creation, production and dissemination of information related to the COVID/Corona Virus that will keep people safe and help them make informed decisions for themselves, their families and communities: scientific developments, symptoms and treatment, local health policies and procedures, daily useful local community news and information etc
- Creation, production and dissemination of information related to the COVID/Corona Virus that targets and/or elevates the voices and needs of the most vulnerable and marginalized: refugees, displaced, LGBTQI, People with Disabilities, people living with HIV, victims of GBV,
- Creation, production and dissemination of journalism and reporting related to the COVID/Corona Virus that elevates the voices of citizens and holds governments and service providers accountable for their handling of the crisis: data journalism, tech reporting, economic reporting, political and policy reporting.
- Creation, production, and dissemination of reporting related to digital safety best practices, as well as digital security threats or cyberattacks that relate directly to risks being created by the COVID/Corona Virus pandemic.
- Training and mentoring of content creators and information providers
- Data science, network mapping, data visualization/localization, and other innovative initiatives that contribute to the dissemination of and safe access to quality information related to the Corona Virus pandemic.
- Fact checking initiatives, work that tracks or combats rumors and misinformation.
- Procuring supplies necessary to improve newsroom safety or to allow for remote newsroom set ups and remote coverage of COVID/Corona Virus, including phone/internet cards for staff, boom microphones, online/remote recording tools, transportation for staff who would normally take public transportation, cleaning costs for newsrooms, etc.
Grant Provisions and Limitations
How much are the grants? $500 — $5000
How long does each grant last? Grants in this round of application are one-time only and grants should be spent within 30 days.
What can the grants be spent on? You can spend the grant on whatever is most urgently needed to keep doing the kind of work that is described above and in your application brief.
Is there anything the grants are not allowed to be spent on? Internews recommends that these grants are not spent on personal protective equipment.
Must I/we submit a budget? NO
Will I/we need to submit financial reporting on how I/we spend the grant? No
Will I/we need to submit any narrative reporting on how we spent the grant?
Internews requests that within 30 days of receiving the grant that you provide a short (maximum one page) story about the work you have been able to do related to the COVID/Corona Virus as described above. Include any numbers or data on people you reached, photos, website links etc. There is no formal template for this feedback from you.
If you can show that the grant enabled you to reach audiences with this kind of work, you may be prioritized for further funding in following rounds of application, but provision of a grant under this round of funding does not guarantee further funding under future applications.
Grants will be allocated according to the following priority considerations:
- Is the work relevant to the descriptions under A: Grant Information above
- Is the applicant already doing the work described in the application?
- Can the applicant show that they are a trusted source of information in their community?
- Does the applicant reach a vulnerable, marginalized or underserved group?
- If the work is not already happening, is the applicant in a position to do the work to meet an urgent need in their community?
- Can the applicant demonstrate that they take steps to ensure the accuracy of their content?
- How does the applicant know there is a need in their community for this work? Is anyone else doing it?
- Will the grant enable the work to happen quickly? (If the work proposed is new and will cost much more than the grant will cover, like developing an app or setting up an expensive and time-consuming new project, the applicant would need to show they have additional funding.)
Please submit applications electronically to: Health-InfoSavesLives@internews.org.
Applicants will receive notification within one week of submission.
Please note:
- Applications will not be considered if they are not in the Application Format
- Applications will not be considered if they exceed the word limits in the guidelines
- Applications will not be considered if they include extra documents
Download Application
More information: Internews Launches Rapid Response Fund to Support Local Journalism Worldwide
https://internews.org/information-saves-lives-rapid-response-fund-application-guidelines-and-form