Applications for the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund are now closed. For additional resources, please visit the Google News Initiative Training Center.
Journalism Emergency Relief Fund - How to apply
Introduction
Google has launched a global Journalism Emergency Relief Fund through the Google News Initiative to support small and medium-sized news organizations producing original news for local communities - please see eligibility requirements below. The Fund’s aim is to support the production of original journalism for local communities in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating globally, it will provide an easily-accessible route to financial assistance at this critical time.
Application Process
Applications may be submitted starting on Wednesday, April 15th, 2020. The application window will close on April 29th, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. PT, and may be extended or shortened at Google’s discretion. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible. We will process them on a rolling basis.
You will be asked via our online application form to provide basic information about your publication and overall organization (if applicable) and inform us of how the funds will be spent. By submitting an application, you accept and agree to the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund Terms and Conditions. Submissions will be reviewed and funded on a rolling basis. All applicants will be notified of the status of their application by email as soon as possible. Please note we expect a high volume of applications so we cannot guarantee a specific response time but will guide you as best we can along the way. It is our intention to provide funding as quickly as possible.
If you require assistance to complete the form please email jerfund@google.com
Application Eligibility Requirements
- Small and medium-sized news organizations producing original news for local communities during this time of crisis.
- Eligible applicants must have a digital presence and have been in operation for at least 12 months.
- The Fund is targeted at newsrooms employing between 2 - 100 full-time employee (FTE) journalists.
- Local publishers employing more than 100 FTE journalists can still apply and will be considered subject to Google’s discretion, based mainly on differing needs in different countries/regions.
- Organizations must be incorporated or registered in one of the eligible geographies. Unincorporated organizations must be based in one of the eligible geographies.
- Eligible applicants need to have a focus on core news provision, i.e. not lifestyle, sports, business-to-business.
- Eligible applicants can include for-profit or nonprofit traditional news organizations, digital natives, radio and/or TV broadcasters.
- Government-owned entities and individuals are not eligible to apply.
Eligible Regions
Organizations must be incorporated or registered in one of the eligible geographies (see below). Unincorporated organizations must be based in one of the eligible geographies. Please note that certain eligible geographies may have specific laws that apply to the receipt of funding from the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund and you are responsible for your compliance with any such laws, including, for example, by obtaining all necessary permissions from relevant authorities prior to receiving funding.
Eligible Geographies
Asia Pacific
Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Cook Islands, East Timor, Easter Island, Fiji, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macau SAR, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, VietnamEurope
Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United KingdomMiddle East and Africa
Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Israel, Ivory Coast, Jordan, KSA, Kenya, Kuwait, Lesotho, Libya, Lebanon, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Palestine, Oman, Qatar, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, UAE, Western Sahara, Zambia, ZimbabweNorth America
Canada, United States, United States Overseas TerritoriesLatin America
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay
Funding
Funds will be disbursed in one installment, in US dollars or Euros depending on region. Funding amounts will range from the low thousands for small hyper-local newsrooms to low tens of thousands for larger newsrooms, with variations per region.
Selection Process
Initial selection of proposals will be done by teams of Google staff who have knowledge and experience in digital publishing and journalism in the regions detailed above. Applicants will then be contacted by email and offered funding before being asked to sign a funding agreement with Google. Selected applicants will then be required to enroll as a Google partner (if they are not already) in order to receive the funding.
FAQs
The Journalism Emergency Relief Fund is open to small and medium-sized news organizations producing original news for local communities during this time of crisis. In this context, “local” means a primary focus on a specific geographical target community.
Eligible applicants should have a digital presence and have been in operation for at least 12 months. The Journalism Emergency Relief Fund is targeted at newsrooms with a minimum of two full-time employee (FTE) journalists up to a maximum of 100 FTE journalists. Local publishers employing more than 100 FTE journalists can still apply and will be considered subject to Google’s discretion, based mainly on differing needs in different countries/regions. Organizations must be registered and incorporated in one of the eligible geographies outlined in the section titled ‘Eligible Geographies’. Unincorporated organizations must be based in an eligible geography. Eligible applicants need to have a focus on core news provision, ie not lifestyle, sports, business-to-business. Eligible applicants could include for-profit or nonprofit traditional news organizations, digital natives, radio and/or TV broadcasters. Government owned entities and individuals are not eligible to apply.
Initial selection of projects will be done by teams of Google staff who have knowledge and experience in digital publishing and journalism in the regions detailed above. They will review all applications for eligibility and determine the level of funding to be offered. Applicants will then be contacted by email and offered funding before being asked to sign a contract with Google in order to receive the funds. Google may be back in touch to request further information and applicants will be informed about progress through the application process by email.
The application window is now open and you can apply via the online form [here]. The application window will close on April 29th, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. PT, and can be extended or shortened at Google’s discretion. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible. We will be processing the applications on a rolling basis.
You will be asked to provide basic information about your organization and the work you will be carrying out to assist communities in this time of crisis via our online application form. You will also need to accept the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund Application Terms and Conditions. See the application form here.
The online application form is the only document required for your application. In order to determine the eligibility, Google will need information via that form including but not limited to:
- Company/organization information, including date founded
- Location, URL, number of full-time employee (FTE) journalists
- A brief explanation of how funding will help you serve your local community during this time of crisis
See the application form here which can also be downloaded as a pdf to view ahead of applying.
You can find the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund Terms and Conditions here.
Yes, we will review all eligible applications received. We strongly recommend that you apply as soon as possible.
If you would like to contact the team please email jerfund@google.com.
During the review process, applicants may be asked to provide additional details to verify and/or clarify information provided.
Each publication/title may submit one application (i.e. one per newsroom). Multiple applications from different publications/titles within the same company/publishing group are eligible; note: Google reserves the right to cap any funding amounts at a company/publishing group level in the interest of assuring the emergency funding is disbursed as widely as possible.
Google will process any personal data you provide in connection with this application in accordance with our privacy policy. Please see the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund Terms and Conditions for further details. As set out in the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund Terms and Conditions, we require that applicants do not submit to us any business sensitive information.
Funding must be spent by the applicant organization to support original journalism for the provision of news.
Business sensitive information is confidential information which, if disclosed, would provide your competitors with a competitive advantage over you or would otherwise cause substantial harm to you.
Please see the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund Terms and Conditions for further information.
You are the best judge on what information is business sensitive. However, if you are in any doubt about this then we recommend that you seek independent legal advice.
We will endeavor to acknowledge receipt of your application and to inform you of our decision as soon as possible. Due to the expected volume of applications, we cannot guarantee a turnaround time but we will do our best to advise you of the status along the way.