The Western Washington chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists awards five annual scholarships and grants to journalists and journalism students from Bellingham to Vancouver. The deadline for all scholarship and grant applications is usually in May each year. Please check back to the News section of spjwash.org for the exact deadline each year. All materials should be emailed as attachments to spjwascholarships@gmail.com with the appropriate subject line for consideration. No deadline extensions will be granted.
SPJ WESTERN WASHINGTON SCHOLARSHIPS Â Â Â
SPJWash awards two $4,500 scholarships to undergraduate students majoring in journalism at two- or four-year Washington state colleges and universities. An additional $1,500 award, the June Anderson Almquist Memorial Scholarship, is offered to a female undergraduate journalism student at the University of Washington.
To apply, please send the following items to spjwascholarships@gmail.com with the subject line “Scholarships.†Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. Scholarships are limited to
students with aspirations to enter the field of journalism.
SPJ WESTERN WASHINGTON INTERN GRANT
Internships are an important entry into journalism, but most are cost-prohibitive and prevent diverse voices from joining the field. This scholarship is intended to support an undergraduate or graduate student at a Washington state college or university who needs financial assistance to complete an internship. The amount of this grant is undetermined and will be based on the student’s financial need. To apply, please send the following items to spjwascholarships@gmail.com with the subject line “intern grant:â€
THE ANDREW SCHNEIDER MID-CAREER GRANT
Andrew Schneider, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, worked at uncovering truth, finding justice and giving voice to the voiceless as one of the nation’s pre-eminent public health and environmental reporters. A former Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter, Schneider worked at news organizations across the country, including in Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh and St. Louis. His investigation of asbestos and the vermiculite mine in Libby, Mont., revealed one of the worst cases of industrial poisoning in American history and resulted in an EPA Superfund cleanup. His reports on hazardous gaps in airline safety and on violations and failures in the U.S. organ-transplant system won Pulitzer Prizes. He was described as a “public health hero.â€
Schneider was known to keep digging on a big story. Many journalists today lack the resources to carry out such specialized, in-depth investigative reporting. SPJWash’s inaugural Andrew Schneider Grant is now open to mid-career journalists in Washington state looking to fund an investigative journalistic project, either new or in progress. Applicants are eligible whether they work at a news organization or freelance.
This grant will open in the fall 2019.
To apply, please send the following items to spjwascholarships@gmail.com with the subject line “Schneider Grantâ€:
PASSION PROJECTS GRANT FOR PHOTOJOURNALISTS
The Pew Research Center reported photographers and visual journalists have been the newsroom staffers hit hardest by layoffs throughout the United States. Their jobs have been trimmed by about half during the last 10 years. More than ever, photographers and videographers are self-funding important documentary projects within our communities. This SPJ –Western Washington Passion Projects professional grant will award $2,000, $1,000 and $1,000 award to a photojournalist of color to help a visual journalist continue a self-initiated project in 2019.
Grants are open to professional photographers and videographers in Washington state. All submissions must be documentary-style projects, and should be focused on social issues, environmental issues, or issues of social concern. Proposals will be judged by the merits of the project, the applicant’s photographic skills and the likelihood the photojournalist will accomplish the project.
Staff photographers are welcome to apply but the work must be on your own time outside of employment hours. You must be able to retain the rights to your work. The point of these projects is to challenge yourself – go where you’ve never been before in your career, stretch to new markets, control over how you dream your project is presented without the restrictions of your employer. Think strategically – if you’ve already been working on it on behalf of your paper, perhaps there is a portion of the project you could apply for (ie. a specific time period, chapter, or far away place). This is grant is for new work that wouldn’t be funded by your paper. Dream big.
This grant opens in April every spring.
To apply, please send the following items to spjwascholarships@gmail.com with the subject line “Passion Projectsâ€:
In the proposal, please include:Â
*The SPJ Western Washington board reserves the right to vote on and award scholarships and grants at its discretion, based on application materials. There may be a situation when a scholarship or grant is not named in a given year. All awards are announced at the SPJ Western Washington awards party in June. Previous winners must take a year off before applying again.