Local Media for Democracy FAQ

Any incorporated legal entity can apply with a registered seat in one of the EU27 countries or teams of journalists (physical persons) having  legal residence in the EU27 (including the 9 EU outermost regions). 

In general, we ask applicants not to design a project starting from a target amount, but the other way around: start from a relevant project proposal, and then draft a realistic budget. The quality and realism of the budget you submit are one of the assessment criteria for the jury to grant your project. It is therefore NOT a good idea to inflate your budget.
The total available amount per two calls to be distributed among all supported projects is around €1,200,000.

Eligible costs for funding:
Personnel and operating costs that meet the following cumulative conditions:

• directly attributable to the project
• arise during the project period and after the signing of the grant agreement with Journalismfund Europe
• necessary for carrying out the project, reasonable and justified 
• effectively incurred by the grant beneficiary, identified and verifiable, in particular recorded in the grantee’s accounts in accordance with the accounting standards applicable in the country where the beneficiary is established and with the grantee’s usual cost accounting practices
• not funded by other donors or support programmes
• compliant with the applicable national law on taxes, labour and social security

With regard to the eligible costs regarding investments:
Purchases of equipment, infrastructure or other assets used for the project must be declared as depreciation costs, calculated on the basis of the costs actually incurred and written off in accordance with international accounting standards and the beneficiary’s usual accounting practices. Only the portion of the costs that correspond to the rate of actual use for the project during the project duration can be taken into account.
Non-eligible costs for funding:

• personnel and operating costs not directly attributable to the project
• internal rental costs (rental to oneself - as owner - of premises or other infrastructure)
• overhead costs
• meal costs, food and beverages
• In-kind contributions by third parties
• Interests, debt service charges, currency exchange losses
• recoverable VAT

Applications need to include a budget calculation according to the budget template.
Please read the instructions tab in the budget template carefully.

We ask applicants to start from a project proposal that is relevant and convincing within the framework of the grant programme, and put forward a time frame and budget that are realistic and feasible to execute the proposed project.
The duration of projects could range from a very short period up to seven months maximum, if that is relevant. Only separate projects that are clearly defined and limited in time are eligible for this grant programme. This grant is not intended to support the permanent operations of an organisation.

A news desert is a geographic or administrative area, or a social community, where it is difficult or impossible to access sufficient, reliable, diverse and independent local, regional and community media and information. If you want to read more about this, click here.

No, not necessarily.
However, it is required to submit your full project application in English. English is the common language of our international jury, and all jury members need to be able to assess all applications on the same basis.

The first deadline is on 25 May 2023 and the second deadline is on 28 September 2023. Please kindly consider that if you apply on the first round in May and your project is rejected, you have the possibility to apply in September. We encourage you to aim to apply for the first deadline to increase your chances to get a grant. 

Applicants are usually informed about the jury decision around 40 days after the application deadline.

Journalismfund Europe's Local Media For Democracy Grant Programme is funded by the European Union.
All formal agreements between Journalismfund Europe and its donors stipulate independence and no editorial interference. (Representatives from) donors can never be part of the juries that award the grants. Journalismfund does not take money from donors that don’t agree with these terms.
We adopted an Ethical Funding Policy to ensure that Journalismfund Europe properly manages its priorities and projects with appropriate independence from its funders. This Policy also aims at providing transparency regarding the identity of Journalismfund Europe’s sources of funding to avoid any suspicion of inappropriate influence or conflicts of interest concerning Journalismfund Europe’s activities.
Journalismfund Europe’s financial records are reviewed annually by an independent auditor. You can find all funding information and financial documents here.

Journalismfund Europe strives for the highest standards for data protection and security. Read about our privacy and data protection measures here.

Journalismfund Europe vzw is a Belgium-based independent non‐profit organisation established with the purpose of promoting independent investigative journalism.

Check the general FAQ about our organisation.

Register to speak with our project coordinator. Click here to view the calendar.