Impact Initiative Grant Program: Pulitzer Center Launches Call for Proposals

The Pulitzer Center’s Impact Initiative Grant Program empowers journalists to drive real-world change through impact design and engagement activities. We’re thrilled to announce our call for proposals for a second cohort of grantees.

Overview of the Impact Initiative Grant Program

The Pulitzer Center’s Impact Initiative Grant Program offers both financial support (grants up to $5,000) and capacity building (training and mentorship) to help journalists put impact at the center of their engagement strategies.

The program gives current and past Pulitzer Center reporting grant and fellowship recipients an opportunity to extend the life of their stories and ensure the information reaches the people who need it most. Participating journalists identify the changes their stories could help advance, and design activities that engage the audiences that can contribute to those changes.

Grants support projects that build on Pulitzer Center-supported reporting through one or more of the following pathways:

• Turning reporting into a resource for action: Making journalism accessible and useful to people and organizations positioned to act on its findings
• Supporting community-led dialogue and responses: Creating opportunities for communities affected by the issues covered to engage with reporting, contribute their knowledge, and identify possible responses
• Informing decisions and strengthening accountability: Bringing reporting into spaces where policies, practices, and resource allocations are debated and shaped
• Connecting learning with participation: Using reporting in classrooms and other learning spaces to deepen understanding, strengthen critical thinking, and support informed participation in civic life

After reviewing the eligibility criteria and program information below, click here to apply.

Who can apply

We welcome applications from former or current journalist grantees whose Pulitzer Center-supported projects were published after January 1, 2021.

Projects must be focused on one or more of the following topics:

• Rainforests
• The ocean
• Climate and labor
• Racial justice
• AI accountability
• Peace and conflict
• Transparency and governance (e.g., corruption and money flows)
• Global health (for this topic, the story must focus on the Global South and engagement activities must be delivered to U.S. audiences)

We encourage journalists from the Global South and from communities that are underrepresented in the media to apply.

What we offer

• A grant up to $5,000
• 1–2 one-on-one coaching sessions with the Pulitzer Center’s Impact Initiative team
• Virtual cohort convenings that offer training on impact journalism methodologies and the opportunity to connect with fellow grantees

What we expect

• Live participation in two virtual convenings (an introductory convening and a closing celebration)
• Completion of at least one coaching session during the grant period
• Submission of a final budget report and narrative report capturing engagement activities implemented, impact generated, and personal reflections on the experience
• Timely execution of all deliverables, including the final reports, by the grant’s closing date of June 30, 2027
• Active communication with the Pulitzer Center team throughout the grant period

What we fund

Some examples of activities that the Impact Initiative Grant Program could fund:

• Hosting convenings, virtual or in-person, including expert panels, reading or listening groups, and public screenings that spark dialogues around a reported issue
• Presenting reports and insights at events that can help orient debate, e.g., school workshops, student plenaries, legislative hearings, and people’s assemblies
• Engaging with affected communities and target audiences through knowledge exchange activities or citizen journalism initiatives that nurture ownership of the subject matter and catalyze grassroots dissemination
• Designing curricula with educators to incorporate report findings in educational settings
• Building partnerships with other media outlets and news creators to amplify reporting and reach broader, more diverse audiences
• Connecting with grassroots organizations to share report findings so they can translate them into actionable tools
• Realizing artistic interventions—e.g., plays, live performances, street art, and photo exhibitions—that raise awareness, shift perceptions, and inspire empathy and action around a story
• Producing highly engaging materials that communicate reporting in a new way (e.g. short videos for social media or an illustrated, comic-like series) that help reach specific audiences, accompanied by a clear plan to engage the target audience with these materials

Here are some examples of successful projects completed by members of the first cohort of the Impact Initiative Grant Program:

Program timeline

• November 3, 2026, 11:59pm EST: Applications due
• November 19–25, 2026: Grantees are informed of selection
• December 1, 2026: Hard deadline to sign contracts
  As a result of the compressed timeline for finalizing deliverables and signing contracts, we request that all applicants monitor their inboxes closely between November 19 and December 1, or until their contract is signed.
• January 7, 2027, 8:30–10:30am EST: Introductory convening (required)
• January 29, 2027: Deadline for scheduling first coaching meeting
• March 11, 2027, 8:30-10:00am EST: Capacity-building session (optional)
• May 13, 2027, 8:30–10:00am EST: Capacity-building session (optional)
• June 30, 2027: Deadline for the completion of all program deliverables, including final budget and narrative reports
• July 29, 2027, 8:30–10:30am EST [date tentative]: Closing celebration session (required)

FAQs

Q: Can I apply for funding to produce new reporting?
A: No. While funds can be used to adapt reporting into content designed to reach specific audiences in a new way (e.g. short-form videos for a strategic social media campaign or an illustrated, comic-like series for use in classrooms), the Impact Initiative Grant Program does not fund new reporting. Journalists interested in funding for new editorial content should explore our open call for journalism grants (rolling deadline).

Q: Do you provide logistical or coordination support for grantees’ engagement activities?
A: No. We are happy to share relevant tools, templates, and resources when we have them, but we do not have the capacity to create customized ones or support project logistics. If you anticipate needing this type of support, please consider allocating some of your budget to a stipend for someone to assist with these services.

Q: Can I apply as part of a team, outlet, or organization?
A: Yes, and the application will offer you a place to list collaborators. However, the person who submits the application will be the primary contact for the grant and will be responsible for its deliverables. The applicant may designate another individual or organization to receive the grant payment, but it must be disbursed to a single payee.

Q: What should my budget include?
A: Expenses may include but are not limited to direct program expenses (venue rentals; food for participants; printing; translation/interpretation; etc.); travel expenses; honoraria for speakers; marketing costs; payment to third parties supporting you with logistics, impact documentation, or other services.

Q: Can my budget include compensation for my own time?
A: Yes. Proposed budgets may include compensation for your own time.

Q: Can my budget include overhead (Internet, office space, administrative costs, etc.)?
A: We encourage you to dedicate your budget to direct programmatic expenses and to compensation for your time as needed. If you include overhead in your budget, please be explicit about what the overhead costs supported are; it should be clear why they are essential to your project.

Q: Can I apply for more funding if conditions on the ground change and require additional expenses?
A: No, flexible funding is not available for this program. Our team will work with you to adapt your project as needed, but cannot cover additional costs.

Q: If I was a grantee in the first cohort of the Impact Initiative Grant Program, can I apply again?
A: Yes. In the application form, you will be asked to explain how you plan to expand the impact of your project in new ways, rather than replicating results.

Q: What will the trainings cover?
A: There will be an opportunity to explore different engagement methodologies and activities, with attention toward providing practical exercises and tools. Participants will learn from Pulitzer Center Engagement staff, lead program mentor Jazmín Acuña, past Impact Initiative Grant Program recipients, and one another.

If you have questions that are not answered here, please reach out to Hannah Berk at [email protected], or join us for an Ask Me Anything event on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at 9:30–10:30am EDT.