Facebook invests $2 Million to Support Latin America News During COVID-19

Update: May 27, 2020
Applications for the The Facebook Journalism Project / ICFJ COVID-19 Latin America News Relief Fund Grant Program are now closed. Visit this page for regular updates and sign up to our mailing list.

The Facebook Journalism Project (FJP) is announcing a partnership with International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), a nonprofit organization focused on promoting quality journalism around the world, to launch a $2 million fund that will help news organizations in Latin America during the COVID-19 crisis.

Designed to support publishers across the region, the new program will offer grants, mentoring and training to help news organizations accelerate their digital transformations. The fund will address publishers' immediate and critical business needs, as well as assist in their work to engage and connect their local communities online while publishing trusted information about COVID-19.

Grants can be used for initiatives such as helping launch newsletters, lift paywalls, hire freelance journalists, strengthen data reporting, create online events, fund IT needs, launch software services and infrastructure, support digital distribution methods and buy personal protection equipment to keep journalists safe, as well as ensure basic continuation of work.

Providing reliable information so people can stay safe is especially critical at this moment, and we know the news industry is facing unprecedented challenges and working under extraordinary conditions. That is why we are partnering with ICFJ to support quality journalism across the region, and help publishers on their digital transformation.

Mentoring and training in the program will be led by Tim Griggs, former New York Times executive, along with his team of experts. This partnership expands FJP’s collaboration with ICFJ, which developed in 2019 four Accelerator programs for news organizations across Latin America.

“This is a crucial time to help Latin American newsrooms weather this health crisis,” said Johanna Carrillo, ICFJ's vice president of programs. “We have worked with the Facebook Journalism Project to strengthen both video production and the bottom line in newsrooms – and now we can deepen that assistance.”

We are accepting applications for the Facebook Journalism Project / ICFJ COVID-19 Latin America News Relief Fund Grant Program here. Applications will be accepted until May 26, 2020. To receive details about how to apply and hear more about the initiative as it evolves, please sign up for the Facebook Journalism Project newsletter.

View the most frequently asked questions on the grant program here.

See terms for full eligibility criteria, grant evaluation process and grant restrictions.

Accelerator program open to select grant recipients. Subject to terms. See terms for program benefits, selection criteria and full details.

Our $2 million commitment to newsrooms in Latin America builds on Facebook’s $100 million investment announced earlier on to support the news industry during the coronavirus crisis. We also committed $1 million to support fact-checking organizations and made a $1 million donation to the International Fact-Checking Network.