Grants

piggybank
Financing a student short or an independent feature film is not as hard as some filmmakers make it out to be. Resources do exist, for making short films as well as shooting features, for finishing funds or completion funds you can count on when you find out what post-production really, really costs. Stay positive and driven.

This page is here to help you learn what you need to know about film financing for independent filmmakers–creative ways you can raise financing for an independent feature film, apply for grant money from various grant sources and foundations specifically allocated for the arts, find private film financiers and venture capital to fund your movie, and basically, do whatever you need to do to get your movie made! Most grants will have sample applications on their website if you get overwhelmed. For example Austin Film Society’s Texas Filmmaker Production Fund has a great collection of sample budgets and proposals, click here. Below is a list of grants, funds, and scholarships.

Tips on writing a treatment

How to write a treatment

GRANT WRITING ADVICE

A good proposal is clear, brief, and free of too much hip jargon. It should explain:

(1) the needs, issues, and learning objectives involved
(2) how your approach will address them
(3) why the overall theme is important

Effective proposals have been those that contain clear and brief writing that expresses your ideas (often in less than 3 pages) and those that are formatted to highlight key objectives and goals.

However, the most important component of our chosen proposals is that they meet the mission and goals of the sought foundation.

Here are somethings to keep in mind:

Grantors want compelling films.
The first two paragraphs must be dynamite, knock me off my seat!
Be impeccable with the truth.
Do not commit to things you cannot do. Sponsors can tell when you are overstating.
Sponsors know if your budget is unreasonable.
A guaranteed audience, such as a commitment from PBS, puts you on top.
Demonstrate solid marketing, distribution plans, and outreach distribution.
Have you secured a distributor or another grant?
Bringing a scholar or expert on board as a mentor will shift the scales to your advantage.
Show how your film relates to the goals of your potential sponsor or distributor.
Is your project one of a kind? If so Explain and include information to back it up.
If there are projects in the market place with a similar message or subject matter to yours, make sure you demonstrate how yours is unique.
Give specific information about your audience and include the full demographic.
Please, don’t put hand-written information on the proposal or the cover pages.
Attach letters from donors to your application as a form of support
Music and picture rights must go int the budget; they are expensive and donors look for this.
Put your name and the name of your film on submitted tapes and on the outside of the DVD case. When donors are reviewing scores of tapes they often get interrupted and it’s easy to confuse DVDs.

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Financing Your Film

Grants and Foundations
These are forms of funding that filmmakers usually don’t have to pay back. That’s right, money to make your film that in most cases doesn’t have to be paid back. There is one undeniable truth that makes this not the best form of financing for certain filmmakers, and that is that these monies are usually not available to traditional narrative filmmakers. Those of you making documentaries, experimental films, regional films, or educational films have a better chance with this financing track. However don’t lose faith, if your film touches on subject that has a cause behind it, then you are not disqualified. Below is a list of grants, funds, and scholarships. This method of financing is highly recommended for students and independent filmmakers who have something to say about something worthy.

Self Financing
Seriously do your best and DO NOT SPEND YOUR OWN MONEY TO MAKE YOUR FILM. Is this film worth going bankrupt over? There are stories (Kevin Smith) where a filmmaker maxed out his credit, made a movie, had nothing, got into Sundance, got a studio picture deal, eventually paid off his credit cards and then some, and he lived happily ever after. COME ON. That doesn’t happen as much as we’d all like to think. Be smart with your money. Remember credit cards usually have high interest rates and whatever you borrow you have to pay back, so be careful if this is a method you choose. Even if you are sure that your film is the best and well be very marketable and make lots of money, consider what would happen if it isn’t and didn’t . You already have a personal and emotional investment in this film, don’t make it worse by adding an element of your own financial survival to it. You could be paying off this film for the rest of your life.

Investors
Brainstorm if you know anyone that is money-comfortable enough to “be a producer” of your film. Consider asking everyone in your family for $50 to invest in your future. Hell, if they have more, get $100 per person or $1000. Your dentist that you’ve had since you were 4 years old has money, see if he or she wants to become a producer. Make sure you are clear with people if their money is a donation (not to be paid back), a loan (to be paid back in full) or an investment (paid depending on how much the film makes). Mike Akel, director of local independent favorite Chalk, financed his feature by letting friends buy shares of the film at $1000 a share. It’s hard but asking for money is part of the business. Make sure you let everyone know that you will put their name in the credits for helping you.

Event Financing, Donations, and Alternative Fund Raising
Consider alternative forms of funding. Throw a party and charge at the door of per plate. If your friends don’t have money, figure out what they do have that they are willing to donate in kind. A nice house for location? Building supplies? Food? Make sure you hit up local businesses and see if they want to donate supplies and food too. People want to give you stuff! Movies are cool and people will do what they can to be involved just for the bragging rights and credit. Do you have anything that you don’t really need that you could sell? Kevin Smith sold his comic book collection to help finance indie classic Clerks. Maybe you and your friends can have a garage sale. Think outside the box.
http://nonprofitfundraising.com

Financial Loans
Though not recommended for student shorts or projects, lender financing is one way for a filmmaker to secure funding for a picture without going through the studio system. Though lender financing is time-consuming and complicated, it is a great resource for independent producers. Lender financing is the process of obtaining a loan from a lending agency to finance the development, production, and/or distribution of your film. When you are looking for a loan, you must first find out what your state usury laws are. Basically, usury is an excessive and ‘illegal’ rate of interest on your loan. Unfortunately, the usury laws do not apply to studio loans. In other words, you might have to repay your loan with excessive interest.

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The Art of Film Funding: Foundations and Grants

by Carole Lee Dean

A foundation is a nonprofit organization that donates (or grants) money, equipment or other supplier to organizations and individuals. Foundations are also called charitable trusts, endowments and public charities.

Private foundations are usually funded from one source, typically an individual, a family, or a corporation. Public foundations are built from multiple sources, including grants from private foundations, government agencies and donations from private individuals. Foundations have a responsibility to uphold the principles of the foundation and make sure their funders’ donations are being used for the intended purpose.

If you’ve searched for funding in the past you already know that many foundations will not grant money to individuals. Will these foundations make an exception? Sometimes, but it’s rare. Donating funds to individuals is more complicated because the IRS requires nonprofits to obtain advanced approval before distributing funds to individuals.
So, what’s a starving artist to do? One option is to find fiscal sponsorship.

FISCAL SPONSORSHIP
Fiscal Sponsors receive and administer funds and provide various levels of organizational support to individuals.

Another important step in the Art of Film Funding is to investigate the possibility of using a fiscal agent for your project. Fiscal sponsorship can give you access to funding opportunities and other resources available to 501 (c ) (3) nonprofit organizations. Private individuals will also be more likely to donate their hard-earned money if you have fiscal sponsorship because they can use the donation as a tax write-off.

A fiscal sponsorship is a relationship and like all relationships it is important to find a good match. Each fiscal sponsor has different guidelines and goals. Some fiscal agents charge a fee or commission; others are simply altruistic spirits who are dedicated to your cause. Just make sure you and your fiscal sponsor have a clear agreement regarding the management and disbursement of funds, what fees, if any, the fiscal agent will charge and who will retain legal identity and control over your project.

Read their website and hen talk to them with any unanswered questions. Don’t be afraid to ask how long it takes from the time you give them a donation until you get your check back in the mail. Schools, arts organizations, or other legal community groups often sponsor individual filmmakers.

FINDING THE GRANTOR TO MATCH YOUR FILM
The money to make your film is out there. Foundations have money and resources already set aside to give away to the right individual or organization. Your job is to make sure your project matches their criteria and guidelines.

When you find a funder that looks promising, dig in, and explore their website from top to bottom. Learn everything you can about this funding source. When was the foundation established? Who established it and why? Find out who funds the foundation. As you research, jot down questions that come to mind.

If you’ve gotten this far and the foundation still feels like a good match, dig a little deeper. What causes have they funded in the past? You’re probably not going to want to pitch your documentary about endangered marmots of San Juan Wilderness to an organization that is an ardent supporter of the Independent Taxidermists of America. Knowing what type of organizations or individuals a particular funding source has embraced in the past will give you additional insights into the types of projects they fund.

IRS 501 (c ) (3) defines nonprofit, charitable, tax-exempt organizations. IRS form 990 is used by tax-exempt organizations, nonexempt charitable trusts, and political organizations to provide the IRS with information required by section 6033. Why should you care? Because you can find out a lot about an organization by accessing their tax forms.

I know, it sounds positively sneaky, doesn’t it? Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to put on a cat suit and slip into their business office at night with a flashlight. These records are available to the public. If you’re into snooping (and what great filmmaker isn’t?) then you’ll want to stay awake for this next part.

Form 990 discloses all kinds of juicy tidbits about an organization’s finances, board members, and you guessed it, their philanthropic activities. Accessing this one form will tell you what kind of programs the organization supports and the names of all grant recipients for that fiscal year. It will also give you the name, address, and phone number of the operations officer (the person in charge of the grant you are applying for), and whether or not they accept unsolicited proposals.

You can access information on over 100,000 US private and community foundations for free through the Foundation Center’s Foundation Finder, locate at www.fdncenter.org. If you don’t have the name of the foundation, GrantSmart (www.grantsmart.org) offers a database of US grant makers and foundations you can search using keywords.

For more information please refer to Art of Film Funding: Alternative Financing Concepts by Carole Lee Dean

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MORE GRANT LISTINGS AND ADVICE COMING SOON!!!

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Grant Listings

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Film Festival)

The Film Festival Grant program has awarded more than $3 million to film festivals since 1999. Grants totaling $450,000 were granted to 24 U.S. film festivals in 2009. Deadline Late June; early July.
http://www.oscars.org/education-outreach/grants/filmfestival/

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Film Scholars Program)

To stimulate and support new and significant works of film scholarship, the Academy Film Scholars program awards grants of $25,000 to two individuals each year.

http://www.oscars.org/education-outreach/grants/filmscholars/

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Grant Institutional Program)

The Institutional Grants Program assists in fostering educational activities between the public and the film industry while encouraging the appreciation of motion pictures as both an art form and a vocation. Deadline January.

http://www.oscars.org/education-outreach/grants/institutional/

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting)

The Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting is the world’s most esteemed screenwriting competition. Each year up to five $30,000 fellowships are awarded to authors who have previously earned less than $5,000 writing for film or television. Deadline late April; early May.

http://www.oscars.org/awards/nicholl/index.html

Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation (college television)

The Television Academy Foundation offers a variety of programs for college students and professors, as well as many informational opportunities for the general entertainment community. This Awards is directed towards College Television.

http://www.emmys.org/foundation/education.php

Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation

Provides funding for visual artists who incorporate video and film into their work. The Foundation wishes to encourage artists who have dedicated their lives to developing their art, regardless of their level of commercial success.
Deadline in Early – mid Dec
http://www.gottliebfoundation.org/

Center for Asian American Media

CAAM awards production and completion funds for projects intended for public television broadcast. Since 1990, more than $3 million has been granted to over 150 projects. Funding is made possible with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Open Door Completion Funds are available up to $20,000 and Production Funds, $20,000 to $50,000 on average. Deadline in Early April
http://asianamericanmedia.org/rf_cms/index.php

Change, Inc. Emergency Fund

Emergency grants for artists in all disciplines needing help with rent, medical expenses, utility bills, fire damage, etc. Grants up to $1,000.
http://www.artisttrust.org/node/346

Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation Scholarships

The Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation was established in 1988 to support individuals, institutions and organizations committed to educational excellence and professional development. To that end, in addition to the Broadcast Education Association, the Foundation has established several other ongoing grant and scholarship programs.
The King Family Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship Program, which awards up to $7,000 to junior- and senior-level students majoring in television, film and related fields and who demonstrate academic ability, financial need and professional potential.
The Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship in Screenwriting in association with the Writers Guild of America East. In addition to our educational scholarship and grant programs, the Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation provides substantial support to a variety of public and private charities and is active in support of several media-related educational programs including the NYU First Run Film Festival, the United States Telecommunications Training Institute and the Talking Pictures lecture series at Rowan University.
http://www.kingfoundation.org/

Colombe Foundation Grant for Social Change

Colombe Foundation seeks to create a peaceful world through changes in American policy. We work for the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, a shift from war and aggression to conflict prevention and conflict resolution, and a shift from wasteful military spending to investments in programs addressing poverty, environmental degradation and other root causes of violence. We believe that American citizens, working through non-governmental organizations, can bring about these changes by using the tools of our democracy. Deadline in March
http://www.proteusfund.org/grantmaking/colombe/

Creative Capital Foundation (Multi-Arts Production Fund)

Grants Focuses on Emerging Fields, Innovative Literature and Performing Arts. Emerging Fields may include all forms of digital arts, audio work, multidisciplinary projects and new genres. Innovative Literature may include poetry, fiction, nonfiction, as well as genre-defying work by writers who demonstrate exceptional stylistic, linguistic, and formal originality. Performing Arts may include dance, music, theater, experimental music performance, experimental opera, spoken word, theater/performance art and interdisciplinary projects. Deadline January

http://www.creative-capital.org/ and http://www.mapfund.org/

Creative Capital Foundation (Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant Program)

Designed to encourage and reward writing about contemporary art that is rigorous, passionate, eloquent and precise, as well as to create a broader audience for arts writing, the program aims to strengthen the field as a whole and to ensure that critical writing remains a valued mode of engaging the visual arts. Application Deadline open April through June.
http://www.creative-capital.org/ and http://www.artswriters.org/home.php

Databazaar Scholarship Fund

A one-time grant of USD 2500, as travel funds, for an American student already enrolled in a four-year degree program in Photography, Photojournalism, Broadcast Journalism or Film-making in the United States, who wishes to travel to South Asia on a visual project. One grant will be awarded every year to a different recipient. These students should have a current cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher and must submit a portfolio of their visual work and a letter stating their need. This funding is intended as a one-time grant to enable students to travel to South Asia and produce visual work there. Spring Deadline in Early March
http://www.databazaar.com/Inkjet_Cartridge/UserTemplate/Scholarship_Fund_645.html

Duke University Center for Documentary Studies

Various Documentary Awards: Honickman First Book Prize in Photography ($3000), Dorothea Lange–Paul Taylor Prize ($20,000), John Hope Franklin Student Documentary Awards ($2,000), CDS Filmmaker Award ($7,500)
http://cds.aas.duke.edu/grants/index.html

Echo Lake Productions: Production Company and Film Fund for Independents

Echo Lake Productions, LLC, is an independent film production company with exclusive access to a private investment fund. Echo Lake’s mission is to finance and produce projects with strong thematic content and to work with directors who have demonstrated exceptional talent. The company develops numerous projects in-house, and has a particular interest in working with international directors. Echo Lake generally seeks projects that have significant breakout potential. In addition, Echo Lake provides bridge loans, sales agency advances, gap loans and finishing funds on a selective basis.
http://www.echolakeproductions.com/

FastWeb!

If you have access to the world wide web and are willing to fill in the online forms, this service promises a free customized list of financial aid sources. FastWeb is actually a searchable database of more than 400,000 private sector scholarships, fellowships, grants, and loans from more than 3,000 sources for all levels of higher education. First-time visitors have to register (first and last name and a user ID), then complete a profile, including background and fields of study. Registrants then receive a list of all currently relevant funding sources. The registration information is stored and can be used on subsequent visits. The entire sign-up process, and delivery of available funding sources, can be a bit tedious: about five to twenty minutes, depending on the connection speed. Approximately 500 new scholarships are added to the database daily, so registrants can stay current. Provided courtesy of Financial Aid Information Page and Student Services, Inc. created by Mark Kantrowitz and sponsored by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
http://www.fastweb.com/

Film Arts Foundation

Film/Video Arts is the largest nonprofit media arts center in the New York region. Film/Video Arts provides a fertile environment where emerging and established film, video and digital media producers of diverse backgrounds can take courses, receive fiscal sponsorship for their projects and edit their projects affordably. Film/Video Arts’ programs encourage interaction between these producers — whether working on narrative features, documentaries, nontraditional work, shorts, industrials, cable programs, music videos or student projects – by offering them affordable services essential to the creation of their work and the development of their careers.
http://www.fva.com

Film Arts Foundation Grants

The goal of the Film Arts Foundation Grants Program is to encourage new and diverse works by film and video artists who have little likelihood of being supported through traditional funding sources. In 2000, Film Arts Foundation will give 16 cash awards valued at $68,500 and 12 awards in materials and access valued at over $52,000. These awards are targeted for film and videomakers in categories that are among the most difficult areas in which to raise money for media projects.
http://www.filmarts.org/

Financial Aid, Scholarships, Fellowships and Postdoctoral Awards in Media Communications

Covers Advertising, Communications, Filmmaking, Journalism, Marketing, Motion Pictures, Print, Radio, Television, Writing. A compilation of resources by Francisco Alberto Tomei Torres, Ph.D. Covers Advertising, Communications, Filmmaking, Journalism, Marketing, Motion Pictures, Print, Radio, Television, Writing.
http://scholarships.fatomei.com/communications.html

Finishing Fund Grant ($5,000)

WOMEN IN FILM DALLAS GRANT — Need some money for your film project or to boost your knowledge? WIF.D is now accepting applications for Scholarships/Grants! Please read these quidelines and fill out the application. Deadline is in September.
The applicant must:
1. be female
2. a current WIF.D member
Required Documents:
• Completed application form and your WIF.D member #
• Sample footage of the work in progress, no longer than ten (10) minutes, with a one (1) page description of the sample footage. VHS or DVD is preferable for sample footage
• Project Documentation: written proposal consisting of treatment, character descriptions, shooting schedule, budget and any other information the applicant deems appropriate.
• Self-addressed, stamped postcard. This will be returned to you, confirming receipt of your materials
• Self-addressed, stamped padded envelop for return of work samples
Previous award winners of the Project Grant are not eligible to win again.

http://www.wifdallas.org/

Foundation Center Reference Guide for Film and Videomakers

If you are an individual looking for financial support to make a film or to work on a video project, this user aid will help you in your search. We have selected a few of the most important print and electronic resources for you to begin your search.
http://fdncenter.org/getstarted/guides/film.html

Founders of the Arts

It is time to change the perception of the arts in Texas. Our goal is to raise art education to a level equal to math and science. Studies undertaken in the past two decades show students who are exposed to the arts at an early age through the primary school years, field better scores on standardized tests, and there is a noticeable difference in dropout rates among teens who are involved in the arts during middle and high school years. In addition, statistics show art is an economic generator for the State of Texas with an overall impact in 2000 of $190.2 billion in total expenditures (2000 Perryman Report).

Create Texas – Put your ART into it. This is our strategic marketing and public relations campaign that we are undertaking to promote the arts statewide. We need a core group of supporters who are willing to make a sustained financial commitment to get the message out.

Founders for the Arts is an annual giving program asking members to contribute $1000 a year for three years, or a one time gift of $3000.
http://www.txculturaltrust.org/programs_a.html

Frameline Film & Video Completion Fund Filmmaker Support

Since 1990, nearly 100 films and videos have been completed with assistance from the Frameline Film & Video Completion Fund. Awards are made annually and provide much needed support to filmmakers. Over $220,000 in grants have been awarded to LGBT filmmakers. Deadline October
http://www.frameline.org/filmmaker-support/

Fund for Women Artists: Independent Television Service (ITVS)

TVS seeks proposals for public TV programs that take creative risks, serve underrepresented audiences and express points of view seldom seen on commercial or public TV. LINCS providess matching Funds (up to $100,000) to partnerships between public television stations and independent producers.
http://www.womenarts.org/fund/GeneralFilmVideo.htm and www.itvs.org/producers/

Fund for Women Artists:The Anthony Radziwill Documentary Fund

Grants to emerging and established documentary filmmakers in the form of development funds (seed money) for specific new projects. the Fund seeks to provide an additional much-needed source of funding for independent non-fiction filmmakers at the earliest stage of new work, traditionally a difficult point at which to secure funding. NOTE: The Fund is not giving grants as of January 2009; unclear whether it will resume in the future.
http://www.womenarts.org/fund/GeneralFilmVideo.htm

GrantSelect

GrantSelect is the online version of the GRANTS Database containing over 10,000 funding opportunities provided by over 3,400 sponsoring organizations. Access restricted to Michigan State university faculty, staff, students, and subscribers.
http://72.3.247.11/gs/cgi-bin/welcome.pl

IFP – Independent Feature Project

Aids in the professional development of its members, directly supports individual projects, cultivates and expands the audience for independent film, and advocates for policies that protect and solidify the position of independents within the larger business and artistic landscape. With chapters in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Phoenix and Seattle.
www.ifp.org

Independent Television Service (ITVS)

Each year ITVS funds, distributes and promotes new programs produced by independent producers primarily for public television and beyond. ITVS is looking for proposals which increase diversity on public television and present a range of subjects, viewpoints and forms that complement and challenge existing public television offerings. All production funding requests must be submitted in accordance with ITVS guidelines.
http://www.itvs.org/

Kodak Film Stock Grant

Each year, Film Independent awards a limited number of grants of Kodak film stock to qualified filmmakers who are in production on their feature films. To be eligible for these grants, one must be an alumnus of one or more of our Talent Development programs — the Filmmaker Labs, Project: Involve, Fast Track, and the cash grants given out at the Spirit Awards and the festival.
http://www.filmindependent.org/fellowships/filmmaker_grants/kodak_filmstock_grants

MOUNTAINFILM COMMITMENT GRANT

With this new granting program, Mountainfilm is committing to help individuals use a variety of media sources to tell stories one would find at the festival. The Mountainfilm Commitment Grant will go to filmmakers, photographers, artists, adventurers and explorers whose projects are intended to move audiences to action on issues that matter.

Mountainfilm’s financial commitment will be five individual cash grants of up to $5,000 each. Aside from the cash, we’ll also work with grantees to ensure that their stories are heard as widely as possible. Deadline between June and August.

http://www.mountainfilm.org/about/mfcommitment.asp

Moxie Film Grants

Moxie Films was founded in 1992 to support the careers of emerging filmmakers as well as the spirit of the independent film, documentary and short. Explore this web page to learn more about the MoxieDocs Co-production Award and a new Century Writer Award.
http://www.moxie-films.com/

National Endowment for the Arts: Coming Up Taller (Community Grant)

Nominate outstanding community arts and humanities programs that celebrate the creativity of America’s young people. Deadline in January
http://arts.endow.gov/grants/apply/Media.html

National Endowment for the Arts: Grants for Arts Projects, Access to Artistic Excellence

To encourage and support artistic excellence, preserve our cultural heritage, and provide access to the arts for all Americans. An organization may request a grant amount from $5,000 to $150,000. Application Deadline open from March through August
http://arts.endow.gov/grants/apply/Media.html

National Endowment for the Arts: Grants for Arts Projects, Challenge America: Reaching Every Community Fast-Track Review Grants

To support projects that extend the reach of the arts to under-served populations. Grants are for $10,000. deadline in May
http://arts.endow.gov/grants/apply/Media.html

National Endowment for the Arts: Grants for Arts Projects, Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth

To advance arts education for children and youth in school-based or community-based settings. An organization may request a grant amount from $5,000 to $150,000. Deadline in June
http://arts.endow.gov/grants/apply/Media.html

National Endowment for the Arts: Save America’s Treasures

Grants for preservation and/or conservation work on nationally significant intellectual and cultural artifacts and nationally significant historic structures and sites. Deadline in May
http://arts.endow.gov/grants/apply/Media.html

National Endowment for the Arts: The Arts on Radio and Television

Supports projects for radio and television arts programs that are intended for national broadcast. Grants generally range from $20,000 to $200,000. Deadline in September
http://arts.endow.gov/grants/apply/Media.html

National Endowment for the Humanities: America’s Media Makers: Development Grants

Grants for America’s Media Makers support media projects that explore significant events, figures, or developments in the humanities in creative and new ways. Development grants enable media producers to collaborate with scholars to develop humanities content and format and to prepare programs for production. Deadline in January and August
http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/AmMediaMakers_development.html

National Endowment for the Humanities: America’s Media Makers: Production Grants

Grants for America’s Media Makers support media projects that explore significant events, figures, or developments in the humanities in creative and new ways. Production grants support the preparation of a program for distribution. Deadline in January and August
http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/AmMediaMakers_production.html

National Film Preservation Foundation

The National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) was created by the U.S. Congress to save America’s film heritage. Working with archives and others who appreciate film, the NFPF supports preservation activities nationwide that ensure the physical survival of film and improve access to film for study, education and exhibition. The foundation provides Basic Preservation grants of $1,000 to $15,000 to nonprofit and public archives for laboratory work to preserve culturally and historically significant film material. Matching grants up to $50,000 are also available for larger projects. Nonprofit funding only. Other programs include : Partnership Grants and Avant-Garde Masters Grants.
http://www.filmpreservation.org/sm_index.html

National Foundation for Jewish Culture Lynn and Jules Kroll Fund for Jewish Documentary Film

Supports the completion of original documentaries that explore the Jewish experience in all its complexity. The fund was created with a lead grant from Steven Spielberg’s Righteous Persons Foundation and is sustained with major support from the Charles H. Revson Foundation. The priority of the fund is to support projects that address significant subjects; offer fresh, challenging perspectives; engage audiences across cultural lines; and expand the understanding of Jewish experiences. Grants from the fund, which generally range in size from $15,000 to $35,000, are awarded to up to six filmmakers annually for post-production support.
http://www.jewishculture.org/

National Geographic Society Foundation All Roads Seed Grant Program

The All Roads Seed Grant Program funds film projects by and about indigenous and underrepresented minority-culture filmmakers year-round and from all reaches of the globe. The program seeks filmmakers who bring their lives and communities to light through first-person storytelling. Submission deadlines are quarterly on the 15th of each March, June, September, and December. Award notifications are made approximately six weeks after each of these dates.
http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/allroads/seed-grants.html

Oppenheimer New Filmmaker Equipment Grant Program

Supports new filmmakers in producing their first serious film project. The grant awards the use of their Grant Program Arriflex 16SR camera package to senior and graduate thesis students and to independent filmmakers for a scheduled period of time. Proposed projects may be of any non-commercial nature: dramatic, narrative, documentary, experimental, etc.
http://oppenheimercamera.com/grant.html

Panavision’s New Filmmaker Program

Panavision’s New Filmmaker Program is an ongoing grant program. Through this program, Panavision donates the use of 16mm or 35mm motion picture camera equipment to filmmakers who are making Public Service Announcements, Showcase Reels, “Low-Budget” Independent Features or any other type of Short, Non-Profit film. The New Filmmaker Program has four 16mm and two 35mm cameras which have been set aside from the rental pool and are permanently attached to the program. These cameras are rotated from production to production, with time allotted for camera service and maintenance between shows.
http://www.panavision.com/students.php

Paul Robeson Fund for Indepedent Media Funding Exchange

Named to honor singer, actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson, the Fund supports media activism and grassroots organizing by funding the pre-production and distribution of social issue film and video projects and the production and distribution of radio projects, made by local, state, national or international organizations and individual media producers. The Fund solicits projects of all genres that address critical social and political issues, combine intellectual clarity with creative use of the medium and demonstrate understanding of how the production will be used for progressive social justice organizing. The maximum grant award is $20,000; most grants range between $5,000 and $15,000. The Fund has one grant cycle a year, and the postmark deadline is May 15.
http://www.fex.org/content/index.php?pid=29

Playboy Foundation

The Playboy Foundation is the charitable giving program of Playboy Enterprises that provides funding for documentary film and video projects in the postproduction stage. “The Playboy Foundation is interested in social-change documentary film and video projects that have nationwide impact and scope. Our grants are quite modest–$1000-$5000. For that reason, our film and video grants are limited to projects in post-production.”
http://www.playboyenterprises.com/

Princess Grace Awards for Aspiring Young Theater, Dance, and Film Artists in America

National in scope, the Princess Grace Foundation-USA is dedicated to identifying and assisting emerging talent in theater, dance, and film by awarding grants in the form of scholarships, apprenticeships, and fellowships and gives emerging artists the financial assistance and moral encouragement to focus on artistic excellence; monetary support for the nominating organizations eases fund raising challenges, directing resources toward the creative process. All applicants must be US Citizens or have obtained permanent resident status, and each grant must be completed in the United States. All nominating organizations must have 501(c)(3) status. Each category has unique guidelines specific to the discipline.
http://www.pgfusa.com/

Roy W. Dean Editing Grant

This grant is available to low, low budget ($500,000.00 and under) Indie films, documentaries and shorts that are unique and make a contribution to society. To enter this grant complete the on-line application, send us your proposal or outline for the film and some of your completed film on DVD or VHS. Please read the guidelines and submit by deadline. (application Fee) deadline in July
http://www.fromtheheartproductions.com/index.shtml

Roy W. Dean Film and Writing Grants

Our budget ceiling is $500,000. We fund shorts, docs and independent features under this amount. We want films that are unique and make a contribution to society. We fund compelling stories about little knownn subjects, historical films and films that touch hearts. We like films that expose and bring important information to light, we like films on little know people when there is a good story. We are story-tellers and that is the main criteria for entering and winning our grants, stories that can change and stories that can heal and enrich our lives. (application Fee) Deadlines vary.
http://www.fromtheheartproductions.com/#

Roy W. Dean Los Angeles Film Grant

Yes, you can enter the grant and live anywhere. We have had people in LA win the NYC grant and people in other states win the LA grant. Just know you have to be in that city to collect all the goods and services you win. (application Fee) Deadline in June
http://www.fromtheheartproductions.com/index.shtml

Roy W. Dean Los Angeles Video Grant

You can enter the grant and live anywhere. We have had people in LA win the NYC grant and people in other states win the LA grant. Just know you have to be in that city to collect all the goods and services you win. (application Fee) Deadline in June

http://www.fromtheheartproductions.com/index.shtml

Roy W. Dean Writing/Research Grant

http://www.fromtheheartproductions.com/index.shtml

SLOAN PRODUCERS GRANT

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation will award one participant of Film Independent’s Producers Lab the second annual Sloan Producers Grant. The recipient will receive a $25,000 development grant, admission to Film Independent’s 2009 Producers Lab, and year-round support from Film Independent. The grant is funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which seeks to create and develop new scripts and films about science and technology and to see them into commercial production with national and international distribution. It has screenplay development programs with the Tribeca, Sundance, and Hamptons Film Festivals, as well as other select independent partners and film schools. To be eligible for the Sloan grant the applicant must be attached as producer and possess the rights to the script with which they are applying and the screenplay should have a scientific, mathematical, and/or technological theme and storyline or have a leading character who is a scientist, engineer, or mathematician. A complete list of Student Film Awards is located at the Museum of Moving Image.
http://www.sloan.org/

Spirit Awards Grants

Every year at the Spirit Awards, Film Independent gives out 3 Filmmaker Grants. The recipients of these awards become Film Independent Fellows and receive unrestricted cash grants of $25,000. The awards are by nomination only.
http://www.filmindependent.org/fellowships/filmmaker_grants/spirit_awards_grants

Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA)

The Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) is the state agency charged with the development of a receptive climate for the arts in Texas . The Texas Commission on the Arts serves constituents in each of the six artistic disciplines (visual arts, theatre, dance, music, media and literature) as well as local arts agencies. For more than 30 years, the Texas Commission on the Arts has accomplished its mission by providing grants, information, and technical assistance to artists, arts organizations, and the general public.
Mission

The Texas Commission on the Arts is a state agency that was established in 1965 by the Texas Legislature. Our mission is:
* To preserve and develop the arts and cultural industries of Texas,
* To expand the artistic, educational, and cultural opportunities for all Texans,
* To conserve Texas’ rich and diverse artistic and cultural heritage,
* To encourage the utilization of the arts toward the discovery of creative solutions to address the challenges facing Texas , and
* To ensure that the arts continue and grow as a major contributor to the cultural and economic well-being of each and every Texan.

Goals: A three main goals of the Texas Commission on the Arts are:
* To secure from the public and private sectors the appropriate and necessary resources for the purpose of creating a stable base of support for the arts and cultural industry in Texas .
* To ensure that arts education is recognized and used as a major contributor to literacy and to strengthen basic learning skills in Texas schools and communities.
* To ensure that Texas citizens and visitors are aware of the value of the arts, and have equitable access to quality arts programs and services.

The Texas Commission on the Arts is committed to keeping itself accessible, accountable for public investment, efficient in the delivery of services, reflective of the diverse population and geography of Texas, and responsive to the needs of state government and the people of Texas. The Commission approaches its activities with a deep sense of purpose and responsibility. The arts and cultural heritage of Texas are a public trust that must be preserved.

http://www.arts.state.tx.us/

Texas Cultural Trust

Young Masters, Founders for the Arts, Texas Women for the Arts, TCA, All Americans: Images of Heritage and Citizenship, Adventures in the Arts

http://www.txculturaltrust.org/programs.html

Texas Filmmakers Travel Grant

The program is intended to help offset travel costs for Texans whose work is invited to prestigious film festivals and events around the world. Eligibility is based on the festival or event that the film has been invited to, not on the film itself. Grants will be given out as follows: $500 for a domestic festival (within the U.S.) $1000 for an international festival (outside the U.S.) Deadline in Early June
http://www.austinfilm.org/

Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund

The Austin Film Society awards grants once a year to emerging film and video artists in the state of Texas through our Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund. Since 1996 the Austin Film Society has awarded 290 grants, totaling $940,000 in cash and $92,000 in goods and services to 272 film and video projects. Additionally, AFS has disbursed $14,500 in small stipends to Texas filmmakers traveling to prestigious film festivals through its Texas Filmmakers’ Travel Grant program. Awards are provided to artists whose work shows promise, skill, and creativity. Every August, an independent panel of highly esteemed professionals from the national film community convene in Austin to review applications and administer awards. Award announcements are posted on our website at the conclusion of the panel session and grant disbursements are made in early September.
http://www.austinfilm.org

Texas Scholarships

TexasScholarships.org was created in 2005-2006 under the direction of the Office of Student Financial Services. The goal of TexasScholarships.org is to bring together in one convenient place all of the scholarship resources at The University of Texas, including information from the various colleges, departments, alumni, and administrative units. The site is geared towards current and prospective students, parents, and student affairs staff.
http://www.texasscholarships.org/

Texas Women for the Arts

Vision: Awaken and Nurture the Artist in Every Texas child.
Texas Women for the Arts is a giving program uniting the financial force of Texas women in funding initiatives for the arts and arts education throughout the state. Texas Women have the capability of making a tremendous impact on the arts in Texas for our youth and our heritage. The intent of this essential giving circle is to create a restricted fund to be used for arts and arts education programs administered by the Texas Commission on the Arts, the Texas Cultural Trust and other qualifying agencies. Each year, the Texas Women for the Arts will have the opportunity to choose which programs their dollars will support.
Texas Women for the Arts benefits:
* Texas Women for the Arts will be invited to a special event annually in May, during which potential funding opportunities will be presented and voted upon. One Member, One Vote
* Name Recognition as a member of Texas Women for the Arts in the Texas Medal of Arts Awards Ceremony Program. The Texas Medal of Arts Awards is held biennially.
* Name Recognition as a Texas Women for the Arts member on the Cultural Trust website
* Name Recognition at all Cultural Trust events and materials
Texas Women for the Arts commitment:
* $1,000 per year for a period of three years
http://www.txculturaltrust.org/programs_d.html

The Ford Foundation

A fundamental challenge facing every society is to create political, economic and social systems that promote peace, human welfare and the sustainability of the environment on which life depends. We believe that the best way to meet this challenge is to encourage initiatives by those living and working closest to where problems are located; to promote collaboration among the nonprofit, government and business sectors; and to ensure participation by men and women from diverse communities and at all levels of society. In our experience, such activities help build common understanding, enhance excellence, enable people to improve their lives and reinforce their commitment to society.
http://www.fordfound.org/

The Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation, in association with Ernst & Young LLP, is offering three (3) scholarships in honor of Fred Rogers, the creator and long-time host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

The scholarships are intended to support and encourage aspiring undergraduate and graduate students to pursue careers in children’s media and further the values and principles of Fred Rogers’ work.
Three (3) scholarships, in the amount of $10,000 each, will be awarded to qualified applicants. In addition to the monetary award, successful applicants are mentored by children’s programming professionals during the academic year.
Deadline in Janurary!
http://www.emmys.tv/foundation/rogersscholar.php?zbrandid=3033&zidType=CH&zid=2405074&zsubscriberId=755186159

The Paul Robeson Media Fund

Thousand Words Finishing Fund

The Thousand Words Finishing Fund is designed to work together with emerging filmmakers to create intelligent, innovative, and challenging film. The fund is available for a variety of resources such as editing, sound mixing, music rights, etc.
http://www.thousand-words.com/

University Film and Video Association (UFVA)

Offers a variety of grant programs, including Carole Fielding Student Grants. The UFVA is an international organization where media production and writing meets the history, theory and criticism of the media. The UFVA members are image-makers and artists, teachers and students, archivists and distributors, college departments, libraries, and manufacturers. Your membership to the UFVA will provide you opportunities to meet and share ideas with colleagues, receive evaluation of creative work, and monitor the developments in film/video technology, education, scholarship and artistic pursuits.
http://www.ufva.org/

UT College of Communication and Radio-Television-Film Scholarships and Grants

The Department of Radio-Television-Film awards several scholarships each year to deserving graduate students. Departmental scholarships and University-wide scholarships often require separate scholarship applications, so read carefully the application instructions for any scholarship for which you are applying.

RTF & College of Communication Scholarships
The Department of Radio-Television-Film awards several scholarships made possible by endowments created by alumni and friends of the department. The link to the scholarship application is made available on this page every year. The College of Communication application deadline for the next academic year is always March 31.

http://rtf.utexas.edu/undergraduate/scholarships/index.html
http://communication.utexas.edu/students/scholarships/index.html

WIF.D Scholarship: College/University Student Tuition Scholarship Application

$2,500 College/University Student Tuition Scholarship Application
The applicant must:
1. Applicant must be female.
2. Applicant must be a student majoring in, or whose primary field of study is film or video at an accredited North Texas junior college or university.
3. Applicant must be a student who has consistently maintained a 3.0 average on a 4.0 scale.
Required Documents:
• Completed application form
• A brief essay, not more than three (3) double-spaced typewritten pages, on what inspired you to study film or video
• A short sample of your work on VHS or DVD. Please include a clear description of the projects shown and your role in them
• Letters of recommendation from two (2) individuals. These letters of recommendation must be submitted directly to the WIF.D Scholarship Office. Recommendations should be from a teacher or individual that has some knowledge of your abilities and is qualified by his or her background or experience to judge your abilities in film or video work and if you are unable to find two experienced individuals to do this, you may submit one professional recommendation and a second from an individual who has had a long acquaintance with you personally.
• A letter from the College/University submitted directly to the WIF.D Scholarship Office stating your name and status as a student
• Self-addressed, stamped postcard. This will be returned to you, confirming receipt of your materials
• Self-addressed, stamped padded envelop for return of work samples

Please note, if you have previously won this award, you are not eligible to win to apply a second time; however, you may apply for the Finishing Fund Grant.
http://www.wifdallas.org/

Women in Film Foundation

WIF’s purpose is to empower, promote, nurture, and mentor women in the industry through a network of valuable contacts, events, and programs including the Women In Film Mentor Program, the award-winning Public Service Announcement Production Program, and the Internship Program in association with the Fulfillment Fund. Additionally, we provide film finishing funds, scholarships, grants, advocacy, community outreach programs, monthly networking breakfasts, seminars, workshops, and a screening series with filmmakers.
http://www.wif.org

Women Make Movies Production Assistance

Major distributor of film and videos by women. Also offers a fiscal sponsorship program with accompanying services, such as lists of funding sources, one individualized fundraising consultation, fundraising or proposal writing workshops, networking opportunities with other women media makers, and discounts at labs and equipment facilities.
http://www.wmm.com/

Worldstudio Foundation Scholarships

Worldstudio Foundation scholarships allow young people from minority and economically disadvantaged backgrounds not only to realize their artistic dreams, but also to give back to their communities. Areas of study include: architecture, cartooning, crafts, environmental graphics, fashion design, film/theater design (costume, set, lighting), film/video, fine arts, furniture design, graphic design, illustration, industrial/product design, interior design, landscape architecture, new media, photography, surface/Textile design, and urban planning.
Also listed under Grants for Individuals — Arts, Film, Landscape Architecture, Photography, Minorities.
http://scholarships.worldstudioinc.com/

Writer’s Film Project

The Writer’s Film Project (WFP) offers fiction, theater, and film writers the opportunity to begin a career in screenwriting. This year, up to five writers will be chosen to participate, and each will receive a $20,000 stipend to cover his or her living expenses. The WFP writers are chosen by competition, and evaluated on the basis of prose and dramatic writing samples. Selected writers form a screenwriting workshop in Los Angeles, using their storytelling skills to begin a career in film. Each year, a mix of writers–fiction, theater, and film–has been chosen to participate. Each year, some of these writers have been affiliated with university writing programs, and others have been unaffiliated. During the Fellowship year, each writer creates two original, feature-length screenplays. Throughout the program, selected film professionals and Paramount Pictures executives serve as mentors, sharing their opinions and experience with the Fellows. Deadline in the spring.
http://www.chesterfield-co.com/html/wfp.html

Young Masters Program

The Young Masters Program was designed to provide exemplary students who are engaged in arts studies with the financial help they need to pursue advanced study in the areas of visual arts, literature, music, theatre and dance. To date, 52 students have been awarded scholarships of up to $2,500 a year for the next three years. The Texas Cultural Trust Council gives special thanks to the AT&T Foundation, which launched the Young Masters program with their $1 million five-year grant. Ed Whitacre, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AT&T, believes the investment is extremely worthwhile. “We’re pleased with the goodwill our company receives as a result of this partnership and with the long-term impact of the program.” Thanks also go to Debbie and John Montford of the Plum Foundation, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, Burlington Northern Santa Fe , Anheuser-Busch Foundation, Applied Materials, Raytheon, Ray C. Fish Foundation, Mrs. W.D. Noel, and Mr. George Mitchell for their generous contributions in making the Young Masters program possible.
http://www.txculturaltrust.org/programs_b.html

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