Grants

Apply for $1000 SJN solutions journalism grant

Newsrooms can now apply to the Solutions Journalism Network (SJN) for funds to sponsor and cover solutions journalism reports.

The network is offering a lottery through which newsrooms could win $1000 to support a freelancer’s solutions story or stories.

This is part of efforts by SJN to help stretched newsrooms do solutions journalism; offer financial and network support to freelancers; encourage newsrooms to republish stories on the SoJo Exchange; catalyse more solutions stories on the Exchange

The requirement is that applicants republish a story from the SoJo Exchange, and make sure the SJN is aware by emailing soJoExchange@solutionsjournalism.org. (If you’ve already republished at least one story you can apply straight.)

From June 8 and then every other Monday, SJN will draw two newsrooms from the cumulative pool of republishers, until the fund is exhausted.

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Any newsroom picked will get $1000 to recruit and pay an SJN-trained freelancer to report a solutions story. If you need support, SJN will help you find the right freelancer, train one of journalists in solutions reporting, manage the freelancer or do a first edit of a SoJo report.

The selected newsroom would be the first publisher of the story but SJN would ask for the story to be featured on the SoJo Exchange, and as well seek permission to allow other newsrooms to localise its content if possible.

Newsrooms are encouraged you to use the $1000 in a way that’s consistent with your current rates and coverage needs.

The network will arrange a timeline that works for a newsroom as well as the freelancer when they issue a contract to the freelancer to decide when and how often a story is to be published.

SJN will consider increasing the number of newsrooms that will benefit if this first phase is considered successful.