Africa Regional Democracy Fund (ARDF) - Supporting Investigative Journalism in Rwanda

Journalists sometimes refrain from investigating and reporting on tangible local issues affecting citizens’ daily lives because they do not view it as financially sustainable. Funding sources are few and far between, and many journalists lack the financial skills to manage the limited funds available to them. Additionally, reporting on sensitive issues can leave some journalists vulnerable to retaliation. To address these systemic issues, the proposed activity would have the following objective:

Objective 1 – Strengthen the capacity of journalists to engage in safe and sustainable investigative journalism on local communities’ priorities

Potential activities may include (but are not limited to): providing training and mentorship to investigative journalists, particularly on good governance and promoting human rights. Funds may also be used to provide direct financial assistance to journalists, sub-grants to local media and investigative journalism organizations, and/or competitive small grants to individual or teams of journalists to engage in civic education and public accountability throughout Rwanda.

All programs should have the potential for sustainability beyond Department of State resources. Preference will be given to proposals with new and creative approaches.

The project proposed must be complete in a twelve-month timeframe. The applicant should budget for any anticipated costs associated with the proposed project for which the applicant seeks funding. Possible costs include equipment, materials, labor, fees, training costs, etc. Funding restrictions are listed below in section D.5.