Partial Grants from The Fledgling Fund for Documentary Films on Climate Change

The Fledgling Fund invites documentary filmmakers to take part in its  2019 call for projects addressing human impact on climate change. It goes without saying that climate change is an urgent issue with far-reaching effects that are already happening.  While public awareness about climate change has increased, there is a need to do more to highlight the impact of climate change on the health and economic status of already vulnerable populations. Strong stories can help keep this issue at the forefront of the public conversation as critical decisions are being made by policymakers, businesses and communities about how to best protect against and mitigate the effects of climate change  To that end, the fund is looking for projects that provide new perspectives on climate change. More specifically, The Fledgling Fund is interested in stories that highlight how climate change exacerbates economic inequality and health disparities. 

Eligibility Criteria:

1. Applications from individual filmmakers and media makers are welcome to apply. Student projects are not eligible.  
2. Before receiving a grant, all applicants must have a 501c3 fiscal sponsor based in the United States. This does NOT need to be in place for an applicant to submit the application, but it must be in place for the funds to be disbursed. 
3.  The fund will give priority to projects that have not yet received funding from The Fledgling Fund.

Proposed Project Specifications:

• The Story: Fledgling sees storytelling as a lever to improve the lives of the most vulnerable. Since a strong filmmaking vision and a beautifully crafted story are essential. It is looking for non-fiction, compelling, and timely stories that illustrate the urgency and impact of climate change.  Projects should have unique power to inspire, educate and mobilize diverse and sometimes overlooked audiences. Priority will be given to those projects that seek to reach a U.S. audience and focus on American communities. 
• Stage Of Project: The Fledgling Fund needs to understand how the story develops and whether it can carry the project’s outreach and engagement goals. Typically, film projects have at least at a rough cut that could be reviewed. Priority will be given to projects that are complete or will be ready to launch within 6 months and can be deployed to influence the political and social conversations around climate change and the need for action.
• Issue Area: Projects that highlight the immediate and long-term health and economic impacts of our changing climate are what the fund looking for. Climate change is an urgent issue and the effects on individuals and communities are wide-ranging – including but not limited to increases in diseases related to poorer air and water quality, a greater number of heat-related illnesses and deaths, increases in and changing patterns of vector-borne diseases, forced migration, sea level rise, and economic insecurity. Successful projects will have the potential to engage audiences around climate change through the lens of public health and economic justice.
• Audience Engagement and Distribution: The Fledgling Fund is seeking projects that can be quickly deployed and are looking for thoughtful, ambitious and achievable ideas about using the content. Having nonprofit or other partnerships in place, unique plans to build viewership and timely calls to action will help a project stand out.  
• Budget: The Fund will consider the overall budget and prioritize projects where its outreach and engagement funding can play a key role in moving a project forward or seeding an idea for greater impact and momentum. Funding may not be used for production expenses. The fund will prioritize projects that have secured most of their production funding and have a solid plan in place to close any budget gap. 

Awards:

The fund will award 3-5 outreach and engagement grants that range from $15K to $25K and will give priority to projects that are well-positioned to make an impact quickly.  It welcomes both short-form and long-form documentary films and is open to other forms of non-fiction storytelling. In all cases, and will look for a solid plan to reach key audiences and engage them around climate change through the lens of public health and economic justice.

Required Documents:

1. Project Summary: In 300 words or less.
2. Social Change Goal: In 250 words or less.
3. Film or Project Website.
4. Total Project Budget.

About The Fledgling:

Fledgling is a small private foundation guided by the vision that film and other creative media projects can educate, engage and mobilize us around entrenched and complex social issues that affect the most vulnerable. And, with the right support, at the right time, these visual stories can contribute to social change in important and unique ways.

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