IWMF Howard G. Buffet Fund for Women Journalists, 2015

The Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists of the International Women’s Media Foundation provides the financial support for women journalists to pursue opportunities that will make them leaders in the news industry. Flexible grant amounts will support a wide range of innovative, original, and collaborative news media projects, and to strengthen the skills of women journalists worldwide. The IWMF believes in the importance of women’s voices in providing high-quality information in the public interest, and they advocate for the advancement of women in the global media. Howard G. Buffett is a longtime supporter of the IWMF’s work. The Fund was developed in the spirit of his support for 2005 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award Winner Anja Niedringhaus (1965-2014).

A Fund selection committee will evaluate for support based on a number of criteria, including a commitment to diversity and innovation. There will be two broad categories of funding: grants for media projects and grants for skills building.

The Fund’s goals are to:
- Advance women in the news media worldwide by funding innovative projects and unique opportunities ;
- To help journalists build skills critical to their development as professionals;
- Encourage journalists working in hostile environments to obtain necessary security training;
- Support projects from a diverse pool of applicants;
- Offer flexibility in funding amounts and projects;
- Urge applicants to pitch ambitious ideas;
- Inspire original collaborative projects;
- Provide opportunities for journalists with limited access to other funding sources.

Eligibility
- Women journalists from anywhere in the world are eligible to apply;
- Journalism must be the applicant’s primary profession;
- Applicants must have three or more years of professional journalism experience;
- Teams of journalists may apply, however the submission must be from a woman journalist and her team must include at least 50% women;
- Special consideration will be given to freelance journalists.

Grants
Approximately $230,000 will be dispersed each year. Grant sizes will depend on the projects or skills building opportunities in question, and the inclusion of a detailed budget. The organization anticipates that grants will be disbursed in May, July, September and November each year, starting in May 2015 (the number of rounds per year depends on the amount of funding dispersed in prior rounds). These dates are approximate and timelines for application review and grant distribution will shift depending on how much money is given away each quarter. The application process will close prior to each review cycle, and a full submission timeline will be available on the IWMF’s website in March.

Further details:
http://www.mladiinfo.eu