Reporting Grants

Rukeyser Reporting Grants Program

The business of international news once relied on a network of foreign bureaus scattered across the globe. Today, most of those bureaus have closed and the jobs, especially for recent graduates, are no longer there. Instead of staffers, today’s early career journalists are more apt to be freelancers.  

Recognizing the changing landscape of international newsgathering and the economic hardships freelancers often face, the OPC Foundation is launching the Rukeyser Reporting Grants, a new program to support OPC Foundation Scholar Award winners find seed money to fund international freelance reporting projects. Freelancers have told us that often some financial support is the difference between pursuing and abandoning an important story. Furthermore, having some funding in place can be helpful when pitching a story to a media outlet.

The grants range in value from $1,000 to $5,000 and may be combined with grants from other funders and grant-making entities. The OPC Foundation program is open to the nearly 400 journalists who have won OPC Foundation scholarships and fellowships since 1996. The project can be print, photo, video or audio. There are two annual deadlines: September 1 and April 1.

The Rukeyser Reporting Grants program is a natural extension of the OPC Foundation’s mission to help bright, motivated students launch their careers in international journalism and to care about the quality and professionalism of American coverage of world affairs.  The program is named for William Rukeyser, a beloved OPC Foundation board member, whose bequeath is underwriting the program’s launch. Rukeyser was the founding editor of Money and managing editor of Fortune.

Application details here.

Meet the 2024 winners here.