How to Pitch the Funders, a session at the 2023 NAJA/IJA conference in Winnipeg

Budget cutbacks and layoffs are forcing more staff reporters and independent journalists who once relied on newsrooms to cover reporting expenses, to now find their own funds to carry out their reporting projects. The good news is there is money out there for reporting projects, thanks to organizations such as the Fund for Investigative Journalism, Pulitzer Center, and the Data-Driven Reporting Project. This workshop will give NAJA members a unique opportunity to meet and ask the funders about the various types of resources available to journalists, especially those new to the world of freelancing and grants, to find the money for reporting expenses, secure letters of commitment from publishers and draft pitches to land reporting grants. We’ll focus on the elements of a successful pitch, how to draft a budget and how to grab the attention of editors and grant evaluators.
Presenters: Steve Sapienza, Pulitzer Center; Eric Ferrero, Fund for Investigative Journalism; Pam Dempsey, Data-Driven Reporting Project