Funding Line for Science and Data Journalism - Growth Grants
What we fund
Science journalism, which reports in an informative, accessible, and critical manner on the impact of research on society, politics, and the economy, plays a significant role. The same is true of data journalism, which, in an increasingly interconnected society, makes complex relationships understandable through the (participatory) collection, verification, and analysis of raw data, as well as through (interactive) visualizations.
In cooperation with the German Science Press Conference (WPK), Media Forward Fund is announcing its second funding line in the field of science and data journalism, offering two-year organizational grants or project funding typically in the amount of 200,000 or 400,000 euros.
With the “Growth Grants,” we support common-good-oriented media organizations that aim to expand their financial sustainability and thereby take their organization and their science and data journalism work to the next level of development.
The goal is to grow an existing science or data journalism offering, format, distribution channel, or revenue stream within the media organization. Eligible organizations make an important contribution to filling gaps in science or data journalism and, ideally, use approaches for their proposed growth project that differ from existing approaches in the DACH region and/or in their own market. Particular focus is placed on the participatory or interactive engagement and/or outreach to target groups that have been neglected by the media thus far.
We appreciate the effort organizations put into their application and we recognize that this can be a particular challenge for smaller and younger initiatives. We sincerely thank all applicants for their commitment.
Who we fund
Common-good-oriented media organizations that wish to strengthen their financial sustainability and thereby take their organization and their science and data journalism work to the next level.
A media organization or its proposed growth project is eligible provided that all of the following basic eligibility requirements (must-haves) are met:
- The registered headquarters of the overall organization must be in Germany, Austria or Switzerland.
- The organization must serve the common good. This means that the revenues produced by its work are predominantly generated with the intention of strengthening journalism in its social mission of promoting public education and strengthening democracy.
- The organization publishes its own journalistic content, and the work is based on recognized journalistic/editorial standards, which it documents publicly (or plans to do so). The organization is committed to the principles of the press code in its respective country.
- The organization has a distinct structural and personnel separation between editorial and business management. If the organization is younger than five years old and has fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), there must be a demonstrable intention to implement this separation in the future.
- The organization already has a working business model aimed at serving the common good. Consequently, it can demonstrate proof-of-concept for its science or data journalism through publications, as well as a product/market fit, confirmed by initial revenues generated from several sources primarily from the DACH region.
- At the core of the project is a clearly defined growth objective for an existing science or data journalism offering, format, distribution channel, or revenue stream within the media organization, rather than an application for core funding intended to cover ongoing operational costs.
Media Forward Fund currently cannot award grants to:
- Schools, universities or public research institutes, arts and education projects
- Publicly funded media outlets
- Interest groups, think tanks
- Sole proprietorship or individuals who are not part of an organization, as well as partnerships (For DE: GbR, OHG, KG, PartG; for AT: OG, KG, e.U., GesbR; for CH: e.G., KIG, KG)
- Service and technology providers
- Platforms that primarily curate third-party journalistic content
- PR or news agencies
- Production companies that cannot demonstrate an innovative approach and therefore are unable to contribute to the transformation of the media sector
- Organizations or projects that are still in the concept or startup phase
How we fund
Organizational funding for small, non-profit media organizations
For small, non-profit media organizations, the Fund generally provides organizational funding (incl. non-project-related costs) of up to 400,000 euros over a two-year period.
Small media outlets have up to 30 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) in the entire organization.
Project funding or project financing for small for-profit and large media organizations
For small for-profit media organizations focused on the common good, the Fund generally provides up to 400,000 euros over a two-year period. *
Large media organizations – whether non-profit or for-profit – are eligible if they co-finance projects on a 50:50 basis. As a rule, 200,000 euros are made available over a two-year period. *
Large media outlets have more than 30 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) in the entire organization.
* In the case of for-profit organizations, gross figures are considered.
In addition to our financial contribution, we also provide our grantees with additional forms of support through our upskilling program. These include thematic deep dives, learning visits, and coaching. Actual needs will be identified jointly through regular exchange.
The Media Forward Fund is unable to provide funding for:
- The founding of organizations
- Conferences and networking events
- Studies, accompanying research or individual research projects
- Scholarships
- (Piloting of) technical solutions or services for media professionals or media companies (infrastructure)
- Supplementary funding for an ongoing project
Overview eligible costs
| Organizational funding | Organizational funding | |
|---|---|---|
Personnel costs Wages that are neither paid out directly nor regularly, such as special payments, benefits in kind, bonuses, and other services as well as severance payments, are not eligible for funding. | Employees (full and part-time) | Employees (full and part-time) |
| Office and administrative costs |
| / |
Travel and accommodation costs Travel expenses are based on the Federal Travel Expenses Act and the overview of accommodation allowances 2024/2025 abroad of the Federal Ministry of Finance |
| max. 10% of the requested funding amount
|
Costs for services Fees for freelancers, consulting, contractual work Contributions to the Artists' Social Security Fund (Künstlersozialkasse) are not eligible for funding. |
|
|
| Costs related to own events or meetings (with the exception of service providers, see above) |
|
|
| Training and further education |
|
|
| Costs for the purchase of technical equipment and machinery, particularly capitalizable investments in tangible fixed assets |
| / |
| Contingency category “unforeseen costs” | max. 2 % of the requested funding amount | / |
A balanced ratio between editorial and commercial costs should be ensured.
Please also note that we are unable to finance costs at non-profit media organizations that are attributable to commercial business operations. Such costs include, for example, expenses for the operation or development of an online shop for the marketing of products or the sale of food or drinks as part of the organization’s own events.
In cooperations with for-profit media organizations, we are unable to provide support for activities that boost the commercial sales activities of that for-profit company (e.g. a newsletter that is only sent to paying customers or published content that is behind a paywall). In addition, no assets can be financed by Media Forward Fund that become the property of the for-profit organization free of charge (e.g. the programming of an app that boosts the sales value of the app and thus of the company, or the development of an online platform).
Funding Line for Data and Science Journalism timeline 2026
| Selection process | Provisional timeframe (changes possible) |
|---|---|
| Info event (online) | September 7, 2026: 12:30–2:00 p.m. (German) |
| Brief introduction | September 7 - 18, 2026 |
| Assessment of eligibility and decision on invitation to initial interview | |
| Initial interview | Ongoing until October 9, 2026 |
| Assessment of eligibility and decision on admission for application drafting | |
| Consultations on application design | October 12 until October 16, 2026 |
| Application drafting (within max. 3 weeks) | October 19 until November 6, 2026 |
| Due diligence & pitch deck design | November 30 until December 18, 2026 |
| Jury pitch | January 20, 2027 |
| Funding decisions announced | Calendar week 4/2027 |
| Project start | No later than two months after notification of the approval for funding / financing |
Frequently asked questions
You can find questions and answers on our FAQ page about this funding line
How we choose
The selection process focuses on three areas: your journalistic work, your organization and the proposed growth project. The assessment is based on the following five overarching selection criteria:
Transformation
We fund media organizations and projects that serve the common good and can both sustainably strengthen media’s role in society and create transformative benefits for the media sector. In doing so, they rely on approaches that differ from existing methods in the DACH region and/or in their own market.
We believe that the sustainability of journalism is also dependent on more efficient newsroom workflows, interaction with users, the integration of new approaches and the courage to adopt new business models. It has become clear that clinging to traditional models now carries greater risk than testing new approaches.
This is why one of the criteria we examine is the potential of the grant to have a transformative effect internally on the relevant organization through the realization of the next step in its development, and externally through the application of new approaches. In this context, we are interested in whether there is the prospect of a viable and sustainable business model for the science and data journalism work, whether there is potential for scaling, whether the ratio of costs to expected impact in the funding application is plausible and whether the growth project is part of a long-term strategy.
User focus
We fund growth projects in science and data journalism by media organizations that inform, contextualize, and critically examine the implications of scientific findings and developments for (local) communities, or that foster trust in an interconnected society through compelling data analysis and visualization, enable participation in (political) decision-making, and stand for a pluralistic society as well as liberal democracy.
Media that aim to meet the information needs of the general public or specific audiences must be trustworthy.
This is why we take a close look at the degree to which an organization focuses on its users and whether it has assessed the needs of its target audience.
Diversity
- We are particularly interested in funding media organizations and projects that report for underserved communities to ensure that journalism better serves all groups of society in the future – especially those communities that have thus far been underserved.
We therefore assess, among other things, the extent to which the project addresses a gap in science or data journalism, the participatory and inclusive nature of the reporting, particularly for underserved communities, and the representation of these communities within the applicant organizations.
Independence
- We fund media organizations and projects to ensure that they are able to report critically and independently even in times of crises – and also independently of our funding. We never interfere in the reporting of the media organizations and projects we fund. Freedom of the press, as one of the cornerstones of liberal democracy, is crucial for our work.
This is why we examine the (demonstrably intended) structural and personnel separation between the editorial and commercial departments, the independence of editorial work in the context of media collaborations with scientific institutions, the clear division between editorial and ad sales, as well as the organizations’ crisis resilience through strategic development and long-term, sustainable financial planning based on multiple revenue streams.
Quality
- We fund science and data journalism projects from media organizations that embody democratic values and align their work with recognized journalistic and editorial standards. At the heart of quality journalism are independence, diligence, traceability, truthfulness, objectivity, and transparency.
This is why we look at the organization’s commitment to the principles of the press codex in its country of registration, established editorial standards consistent with democratic values and institutionalized mechanisms to monitor them, the transparent labeling of foreign, commercial, and sponsored opinion contributions, the presence of professional expertise in science and data journalism, and the disclosure of financial sources.
Additional note:
Funding eligibility is also subject to the following additional criteria:
- The average share of original content (i.e., not agency reports, aggregated/curated third-party content, or predominantly AI-generated material) among all published works of the organization is above 70% over the course of the year.
- Share of total digital revenue of the overall organization made up by regularly recurring payments from users (excluding e-paper in case of print publishers) must be over 30 percent. (Applies only to large media organizations.)
Selection process
1. Brief introduction
By completing the brief introduction, you start the application process. You confirm that you meet our basic eligibility criteria, briefly introduce yourselves – and most importantly: present your project clearly and convincingly.
Please note that, for technical reasons, the link to the brief introduction can only be used once and your answers to the questions cannot be cached. No automated proof of receipt will be sent.
2. Initial interview
Should you be eligible for funding and should your project, based on the brief introduction, align with our funding objectives, we would like to get to know you better by way of a telephone/video call of approx. 30 minutes. No additional preparation is required for the interview.
Preview of key questions for the initial interview
3. Funding application (following voluntary consultations on application design)
Once you have successfully demonstrated in the initial interview that you meet our five overarching selection criteria, you will be invited to draft your funding application. Before you begin drafting your application, however, you may wish to take advantage of a voluntary consultation session. The aim of such a consultation is the clarification of content-related questions and formal questions. It also serves to exchange ideas for the design of a suitable project and for the development of a convincing narrative for your application.
You have a total of three weeks to complete your funding application and the relevant supplements.
The following documents must be attached along with your application:
- Project timeline based on milestones
- Financing overview and planning (incl. current year operating budget)
- Traffic and audience marketing plan for the current year, including information about your science and data journalism work
- Annual financial statement or preliminary financial statement of preceding fiscal year
- Extract from the association or commercial register (incl. shareholder list)
- Only for non-profit organizations based in Austria or Switzerland: Completed and signed form confirming non-profit status, including the required supporting documents
- Only for charitable organizations based in Germany: Proof of charitable status - depending on legal form and date of establishment, this may be either the annex to the corporate tax notice, the exemption notice, or the notice confirming compliance with the statutory requirements pursuant to § 60a (1) (if the organization has not yet received an exemption notice or annex to the tax notice).
- Latest annual report relevant to the grant project (optional)
- Editorial code of conduct (optional)
- Strategic or business plan (optional)
- Evaluation report(s) (optional)
Financing overview & planning preview
Traffic & audience marketing preview
4. Due diligence & pitch deck
After a comprehensive review of all applications, we will continue the due diligence process with the most promising candidates. We also provide support in the form of feedback on pitch deck design and on possible improvements that could be made to your application, while we deepen the due diligence process for your organization.
5. Pitch to the jury
The last step will be the presentation of your project, on the basis of the pitch deck, to our jury in the form of an in-person pitch lasting 30 to 40 minutes. We will cover the travel costs for up to two people from each organization.
Afterwards, you will be notified of the jury's decision.
Should you not be chosen for funding, you will have the opportunity to receive detailed feedback.
Application guidelines
In our application guidelines, you will find a checklist of eligibility requirements as well as the most important information pertaining to the brief introduction, the application, the due diligence check and the pitch to the jury.
Contact and feedback
We are a relatively new organization and are eager to learn from our applicants and grantees. Should you have any feedback pertaining to our website, our application and selection process or the collaboration process, you are welcome to leave an anonymous message here or write to us at funding@mediaforwardfund.org.