Grant Guidelines

Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation’s mission is to invest in the future of journalism by building the ethics, skills and opportunities needed to advance principled, probing news and information now and for the future.

General Guidelines
The Foundation makes grants to journalism schools and other non-profit organizations focused on the news media. In most cases, it does not fund:

• Book publishing
• Literacy programs
• Documentaries
• Endowments
• Grants to individuals
• International organizations
• Personal research projects
• Scholarships
• Equipment purchases for youth education

Program Areas
The Foundation has four program areas: investigative reporting, professional development, youth education and special opportunities. Within each of these program areas, the Foundation gives special preference to programs focusing on ethics and new media.

Investigative Reporting
Through its support of non-profit organizations and educational institutions, the Foundation seeks to:

• Increase the quantity, quality and ethical standards of investigative reporting and watchdog journalism on state and local issues;
• Stimulate and nurture the development of organizations, infrastructures, services, collaborations and business models that can help secure a future for investigative reporting and watchdog journalism;
• Encourage the development of digital innovations that make data about state and local issues more available to the public.

Geographic focus: The Foundation supports investigative reporting programs throughout the United States.

Professional Development
Through its support of professional development programs at non-profits and educational institutions, the Foundation seeks to:

• Improve the credibility and impact of journalism;
• Stimulate adherence to the highest ethical standards and practices by both traditional and new media;
• Sustain and encourage more journalism that produces civic results;
• Help journalists make use of new tools and new outlets for their work;
• Increase and renew the enthusiasm of journalists for their important work.

Geographic focus: The Foundation supports professional development programs throughout the United States.

Youth Education
Through its support of high-quality journalism education programs in high school, college and graduate school, the Foundation seeks to:

• Increase the number, diversity and quality of students attending journalism schools and pursuing careers in journalism;
• Increase the availability and effectiveness of instruction in journalism ethics, investigative reporting and new media;
• Give more young people first-hand exposure to the practice of journalism to help them become better-informed, more discerning citizens;
• Foster the development of models, prototypes and skills for the future of news.

Geographic focus: The Foundation supports youth education programs for high school seniors in Oklahoma; and supports accredited undergraduate and graduate journalism programs at colleges and universities in the central region of the United States and at top-tier university journalism programs throughout the United States.

Special Opportunities
The Foundation considers applications for innovative projects that address an emerging need in journalism.