Prestigious journalism and media awards are catalysts for opportunity and proxies for achievement and ability. Even a nomination or honorable mention elevates the work of creators who have not yet achieved the recognition they deserve. But the cost of submitting work to awards is often prohibitive for independent producers. Often, BIPOC, Queer and Trans and early-career aspirants are deterred from applying due to a past lack of representation among finalists and winners. That may also incorrectly and inadvertently signal that these folks aren’t making fantastic work—when some are actually making extraordinary work. Relatedly, we would like these same creators to continue to gain new skills and connections through further education.

Requests are evaluated on a rolling basis. As of August 2023, The Fund has received an increase of applications, and as a result, can expect to hear back about the status of your request within 4-6 weeks. Thank you for understanding and applying!

Each year, the Fund will accept up to $200 in reimbursement requests per individual for awards and up to $500 per individual for education/training courses. Therefore, these reimbursements can be spread out among several of your shows/courses. Alternatively, for awards applicants, your application can include the same show's submission to multiple awards, as long as the sum requests do not exceed $200 per year.

While you are welcome to share if you are awarded from the Fund, we will not post anything about you without your express written consent. All personal information you provide in your application is completely private and protected. We will add the award(s) and course(s) which you applied to on our page’s awards resource list, but it will be untraceable to you. Read our Privacy Policy, available at the bottom of this page.

LWC, AIR, Pacific Content, and Acast have partnered to launch this Fund. LWC Studios the Fund’s operator, is a Peabody-nominated digital production studio that creates podcasts for corporate and institutional clients, and produces original shows. AIR is a global community of independent audio producers. It acts as the Fund’s partner and fiscal sponsor. Pacific Content is a podcast services company, helping brands create and market compelling audio stories. Acast is a leading hosting platform where creators distribute, grow and monetize podcasts on their terms. Additionally, Our Body Politic, APM, Pandora and Spotify funded our launch. Our Body Politic, created and is hosted by journalist Farai Chideya, is a weekly podcast and NPR-syndicated show reporting on how women of color experience the major political events of today. APM is is a producer and distributor of award-winning public radio programming and podcasts. Pandora is a leading music and podcast discovery platform, providing a highly-personalized listening experience to approximately 70 million users each month. Spotify is a digital music and podcast streaming service that gives listeners access to millions of songs and other content from artists all over the world.