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The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) is proud to announce the opening of the Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists. Applications for this inaugural funding round are being accepted March 2 - 23, 2015. An annual total of $230,000 will be awarded to applicants who demonstrate how their proposal will lead to the exposure of under-reported stories, strengthen story-telling skills, develop their expertise or support entrepreneurial media projects.

“Promoting the work and advancing the role of women in the media is critical to transparency and the diversity of voices in the world,” said IWMF Executive Director Elisa Lees Muñoz. "The launch of this Fund marks an unprecedented opportunity to provide significant support to hundreds of journalists on the path to future leadership roles in the news industry.”

The Fund was established by the IWMF in 2014 with a $4 million gift from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation to empower women in the media working around the world.

“This Fund will give outstanding women journalists the ability to turn their reporting ambitions into reality,” said Howard G. Buffett.

At least $2.3 million will be awarded to grantees across all media platforms over the next 10 years. The only prerequisite is that grantees are female journalists working full-time either for a specific media outlet or as a freelancer. The IWMF has left individual grant amounts to be awarded as well as the type of projects intentionally undefined. The submitted proposals will shed a light on the needs of women journalists around the world.

The fund was designed to help women journalists by providing grantees support to:

• Expose under-reported but critical global issues
• Undertake ambitious projects that challenge traditional media narratives
• Develop field-based expertise and strengthen careers
• Pursue training and leadership opportunities
• Launch entrepreneurial news projects or acquire the skill to do so
• The schedule for future 2015 funding rounds will be released on the IWMF website in the coming weeks. Learn more about the Fund and submit proposals at iwmf.org/fund

About the IWMF
For 25 years, the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) has been dedicated to strengthening the role of women journalists worldwide. The media is not truly free and representative without the equal voice of women. Our work celebrates the courage of women journalists who overcome threats and oppression to report and bear witness to global issues. Through our programs and grants we empower women journalists with the training, support, and network to become leaders in the news industry. IWMF.org

About the Howard G. Buffett Foundation
Established in 1999, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation (HGBF) is a private family foundation working to improve the standard of living and quality of life for the world’s most impoverished and marginalized populations. We look for opportunities where our funding is the catalytic capital that seeds sustainable, transformational change. thehowardgbuffettfoundation.org

Issued by IWMF