- Emergency fund launched to support local, community media – targeting $1 million in global commitments
- Governments, foundations, companies and individuals urged to contribute additional funds
- The fund is part of Internews’ global Information Saves Lives campaign to help media continue to operate through COVID pandemic
Update: The Rapid Response Fund is not currently accepting applications. See bottom of page for more details.
Global non-profit Internews today launches a rapid response fund to help small, local news organisations worldwide survive in the face of COVID-19. The fund will launch with $100,000 to be made available immediately and is targeting $1 million in donations to provide immediate support for journalists globally.
In this time of international pandemic, access to trustworthy information is not just important – it can save lives. Journalists play a pivotal role in providing that information, yet they now face enormous new challenges in doing so.
The new rapid response fund will give Internews’ local media partners – such as community radio stations and online news outlets in more than 80 countries — access to emergency funding so they can continue to operate in increasingly dire economic conditions.
Internews will immediately provide $100,000 to this fund and is calling on donors globally to contribute to significantly increasing this amount. This will help to ensure information is provided where it is most needed: in some of the world’s hardest to reach communities, where healthcare and sanitation services are already under huge strain.
The fund will be the cornerstone of the campaign: Information Saves Lives, which aims to raise funds to help additional local and community media organisations, especially in countries where such organizations struggle to exist.
Internews will additionally invest to provide advisory services to journalists, offering free advice and expertise on covering the virus in languages including English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian.
Our pandemic crisis is also an information crisis, and journalists are the first responders. They provide essential information on the status of the virus in their communities, how health services are responding, on changes in policy and community norms, and – importantly – they hold governments to account. These first responders need our help.
In an emergency, information saves lives. Please help those on the information front line.
Why Internews
Internews has nearly 40 years experience working with journalists and media outlets in some of the most challenging environments in the world: from refugee camps in Kenya, to journalists on health crises like Ebola, to local reporters exposing corruption.
Applicant Update:
Due to the very high number of applications we have received from our second round (closed May 28), we need more time to make decisions about grant finalists. If you applied, please be aware that no winners have been chosen yet. We will be making an announcement here by July 18. Please note we are unable to engage in direct correspondence on the fund.
#informationsaveslives
For more information: [email protected]