Aftermath Project “War is only half the story.” This organization’s important mission is to help reveal the other half of the story: the aftermath. Stories of devastation and loss, but also of reconstruction and regeneration. Founded by a photojournalist, Sara Terry, who investigated the consequences of the Bosnian war, The Aftermath Project’s main goal is to fund photographers who are covering the aftereffects of conflict through an annual grant competition. The money for the grants for the 2006 program was raised through the auction of photographs generously donated by some of the most recognized photojournalists, fine art photographers, and reportage photographers. The site offers an impressive gallery of the auction photos, as well as guidelines for applying for the grants.
 

Alexia Foundation This foundation awards annual professional and student grants to photographers, encouraging work that promotes world peace and cultural understanding. There is a cash grant to help professional photographers realize a photo documentary project as well as a scholarship for student photographers to study photojournalism at Syracuse University in London, England. The Foundation was established to honor the ideals and spirit of a young photojournalism student killed in a terrorist incident. 

Alicia Patterson Fellowship Award Founded with a goal of boosting the quality of American print journalism (including photography), the Alicia Patterson fellowships are generously funded 6 month or 1 year stipends open to fulltime American print journalists or foreign journalists who work fulltime for an American print publication. Although they seem to ignore the implications of the digital revolution, the rules for applying for the fellowships are clearly outlined on the site, and no one should miss the wonderful biographical story of newspaper publisher and foundation namesake Alicia Patterson. 

Blue Earth Alliance Based on the idea that “Photographers are the eyes and conscience of society,” Blue Earth Alliance uses the knowledge and experience of its network of members to foster significant documentary projects on cultures, the environment, and social issues. The Alliance accepts project proposals from photographers twice a year. Those chosen are guided by selected Alliance board members through the process of organizing, fundraising, shooting, and publishing or exhibiting the project. This mentoring approach transmits invaluable experience to emerging documentary photographers, allowing them to bring their stories to light. 

Center for Creative Photography - Ansel Adams Research Fellowship In order to open its important photography collection to the world and continue to be a place where “new knowledge about photography is created and shared,” the Center for Creative Photography launched a fellowship for photo researchers. Named to honor photographer and CCP founder, Ansel Adams, the Fellowship supports the research projects of scholars investigating photography. This paid position allows full access to the Center’s rich archives as well as a supportive environment in which to work.  

Center for Photography at Woodstock Photographer’s Fellowship Fund The Center for Photography at Woodstock wants “to build audiences, enhance dialogue, and encourage inquiry about contemporary photography and related media.” Their Fellowship Fund was established to recognize and support the work of New York State photographers, providing two annual grants of $1000. Guidelines and application forms can be found on their busy web site, along with information on programs in education, exhibitions in their gallery space, Photography Quarterly Magazine, and news of artists residencies and other services. 

Educational Foundation of America As the name suggests, this philanthropic foundation was founded to support education, and they seem to view their mission in the widest sense. Started by the one of the originators of Prentice-Hall Publishing, this family-run granting agency appears to follow its founder’s old fashioned, person-to-person approach to giving, preferring to encourage well-defined grass-roots projects. The Foundation’s recent annual reports, available on their site, give a good sense of the scope and depth of their commitment to learning in its many forms.  

Eugene Smith Fund Eugene Smith’s legacy of committed, idealistic and humanistic work is perpetuated by this major annual grant of $30,000. The site’s gallery of past winners exhibits the powerful work of established photographers. Although the themes are generally far less optimistic than Smith’s work, they are rigorous and compelling photo essays, true to Smith’s humanistic vision. The Fund also offers the Howard Chapnick Grant for the Advancement of Photojournalism, an annual $5000 grant to encourage and support leadership in fields connected to photojournalism, such as editing research, education, and management. Special preference is given to work that promotes social change or furthers the concerns of photojournalism. Application forms for both grants can be downloaded from the site. 

Fifty Crows International Fund for Documentary Photography As an off-shoot of the venerable Mother Jones Magazine, the Foundation aims to raise public awareness through “Social Change Photography.” Fifty Crows raises and manages a fund that awards annual grants of $5,000 to local and foreign photographers documenting important social and political issues in an assigned region of the world. Their aim in not only to support the independent work of politically and socially engaged photojournalists and documentary photographers, but to give challenging stories the widest possible audience. A well-constructed site gives application information, galleries for the winning projects, and valuable commentary from the judges. A look at the winning projects gives an immediate sense of the value of this program. 

Foundation Grants to Individuals Online A gold mine for grant-seekers, the Foundation Center offers detailed descriptions of more than 6,000 foundation programs that fund students, artists, researchers, and other grant-seekers, all organized in an efficient online database. A monthly subscription fee opens the door to this information bank, which is updated quarterly, and includes tutorials and search tips.  

Funders Online Photographers and others seeking the funds to bring their Europe-based project to life can find advice at this simple, straightforward Web site, run by the European Foundation Centre. It offers tips on how to locate appropriate funders, write a proposal, and even build a Web site using Funders Online’s user-friendly tool (free of charge). Funders Online also offers links to other resources including funders, nonprofit journals, and philanthropy research organizations. 

Getty Grants for Good Getty Images, a giant among purveyors of stock photography and editorial images, supports the work of both committed photographers and grassroots nonprofits when they award their “Grants for Good.” As the Getty Images site explains: “Nonprofit agencies need imagery to tell their stories,” so the agency offers two annual grants of $15,000 to help photographers and nonprofits come together and make the sort of compelling images that create positive change. The grant recipients, chosen by a panel of respected photo-industry professionals, are even offered the support of Getty’s team of art directors, photo editors and producers. Recent winning projects are promoted by Getty Images in the press and prominently featured on the site’s Community Involvement page. 

Getty Images Grants for Editorial Photography The world’s largest stock photography agency, Getty Images, awards five major annual grants of $20,000, with the intention of providing the winning photojournalists the support and the editorial freedom to pursue projects of social and cultural importance. In addition to the funding, recipients receive support from Getty Images' team of photo editors and the resulting work is initially marketed through Getty Images. 

John Gutmann Fellowship Not only did German-born, San Francisco-based photojournalist and teacher John Gutmann leave a lasting legacy of images documenting American life from the Depression era well into the 1990s, he also created a foundation that continues to encourage emerging photographers through the John Gutmann Photography Fellowship. The Foundation offers annual awards of between $5,000 to $10,000 to “an emerging artist who exhibits professional accomplishment, serious artistic commitment, and need in the field of creative photography.” Details for fellowship eligibility are outlined on the site, as well as galleries full of Gutmann’s luminous work. 

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Since 1925, the venerable John Simon Guggenheim Foundation has awarded annual Fellowships to many disciplines, including photography. Supporting individuals only, the Foundation attributes substantial grants to “assist research and artistic creation.” Past Fellows include mature photographers such as Gilles Peress, Eugene Smith and Diane Arbus. Extensive information on the Fellowships, which are only offered to applicants from the Americas, is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese. 

Lindbergh Foundation Founded to honor the pioneering Lindberghs, this foundation seeks to reward balance, specifically, the balance between the sort of adventurous exploration that Charles Lindberg was famous for and a need for preservation of the human and natural environments. The Foundation gives a number of grants and awards, all seek to strengthen the balance between technology and nature. The Lindbergh Award is given annually to individuals whose careers have made significant contributions toward creating this equilibrium. Corporate Award for Balance recognizes this same spirit in corporations. The honorary Spirit Award and the Anne Morrow Lindbergh Award are destined to individuals whose lives are models of the sort of “spirit” that fueled that legendary first trans-Atlantic flight. 

NANPA Foundation Grants & Awards The North American Nature Photographers Association Foundation offers three grants to help promote and support the increasingly important role nature photographers are playing in documenting and communicating the state of our rapidly changing natural environment. As one of the Association’s central goals is education, the Janie Moore Green grant is $1,000 prize awarded annually to a student currently enrolled in or having applied to an institution of higher education specializing in the study of photography, while the Russ Kinne Recognition Grant is meant to recognize the work of NANPA members who share professional expertise for the education and betterment of all members. Finally, the $5,000 Philip Hyde grant is meant to further the work of a NANPA member who is actively pursuing completion of a peer-reviewed environmental project that reflects NANPA’s mission.  

Open Society Institute Financier–philanthropist George Soros envisions a world where respect rules: respect of the individual and respect of the institutions of democracy. The Open Society Institute is Soros’s contribution towards shaping this world. The Institute is a grant-making foundation that “aims to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform.” It does this through financial support of local and international projects (including photographic projects), but also by implementing a range of initiatives that deal with issues which are truly impressive in scope: freedom and democracy, human rights, education, public health and access to care as well as transparency and access to information. If these goals seem improbably ambitious, check the web site for a list of the accomplishments and works in progress, and be impressed.  

Women Arts Women artists may have been a bit overlooked throughout history, but The Fund for Women Artists is helping to change that by creating professional opportunities for women in the arts. Women artists can post their profile on the Web site to reach arts organizations, academic institutions, and others who might be interested in their work. Meanwhile, visitors can do a search to find female artists - whether for one event or as part of an ongoing production team. Artists are searchable by art form, location, and union affiliation. The organization also helps connect artists with funders, scholarships, and other resources. Its Push the Envelope program aspires to give $1 million per year to deserving women in film and theater. The group also helps match female artists with other funding resources and advocates for better working environments for all women artists.