International Fund Announces New Call for Grant Proposals from Independent Media in Armenia

The call is open to independent media organizations that have not received IFPIM grant support to date. Entitled “Building Stability for Public Interest Journalism in Armenia” the open call for grant proposals will focus on supporting media outlets to continue vital work to deliver high-quality, fact-based news to broad audiences. This includes areas of the country where Armenian citizens have access to few sources of trustworthy information, and may be more exposed to external disinformation campaigns, that tend to escalate during pre-election periods. Armenia’s next parliamentary elections will take place in mid-2026.

Grant support is also aimed at helping media outlets maintain their watchdog role, by holding authorities accountable, and countering intensified external propaganda and disinformation campaigns aimed at shaping public debate and influencing the 2026 Parliamentary elections. Through these actions independent media play a key role to enable citizens to make well-informed choices.

Individual grants awarded to national, regional and local media organizations, will provide approximately $75,000 USD - $200,000 USD in funding over a period of 24 months, depending on organizational size, capacity and demonstrated need. The International Fund  expects to support at least 4-5 media organizations, with the final number of grantees dependent on the quality of the proposals and the size of budget requests.

As a factor for eligibility, the International Fund’s grant funding can represent no more than 30% of an organization’s average annual turnover. Media organizations are encouraged to develop proposals and a funding request which take this proportion into consideration, and which are consistent with the organization's financial trajectory and current size and capacity.

Selection Process‍

As an initial step, independent media interested in submitting a funding proposal are requested to confirm their organization’s eligibility by submitting the secure Eligibility Verification Form by the deadline of 18 January. The eligibility form can be accessed at this LINK.

Organizations that meet the eligibility criteria will be invited to proceed to the next step of the application process by submitting a full proposal.

The selection process will take approximately 12-14 weeks and will involve the following steps:

1. Eligibility Form: Applicants submit responses to an eligibility checklist.
2. Full Application Submission: Organizations that meet eligibility criteria will receive an email with a link to access and submit their full funding proposal.
3. International Fund Review: The Fund conducts an initial review of all proposals to confirm alignment with eligibility criteria, and to verify submission of all required documents.     .
4. Juror Review and Recommendation: An external panel of independent media experts assesses the eligible proposals and recommends a set of applicants for grant support. The independent panel’s review is guided by defined assessment criteria and supported by the information provided in each proposal.
5. International Fund Board Approval: The final list of recommended awardees is submitted to the International Fund’s Board for approval. Final Board approval is a standard process for all grants awarded by the International Fund.

Selection criteria

The selection criteria assessed by jurors will include the following areas:

• The media outlet adheres to the highest standards of journalism, plays a central role in the information ecosystem and can demonstrate strong audience engagement at a large scale, or reach in audience groups with limited alternatives to access information. In case of more limited reach, particular focus will be put on media working in areas most susceptible to disinformation and foreign influence.       
  
  The media outlet presents a solid and feasible plan for the use of funds, which will enable their operational stability, ability to continue reporting on issues of public interest, particularly around elections, and underpin long-term sustainability.
  
  The media outlet is facing significant funding constraints, and has limited access to commercial or donor funding. 
  
  The media outlet demonstrates an approach to equity and inclusion (not scored, but to be considered in the overall deliberation and funding decision).

Key dates and deadlines

January 12: announcement of the Open Call

January 18:   deadline for filling out the eligibility form

January 21: live Q&A session held with the Fund’s team, see details below

January 25:   deadline for submitting documents on organizational profile through the International Fund portal
‍
February 1:   deadline for submitting full applications through the International Fund portal
‍
May 1: date by which all evaluation steps will be completed and grant awards communicated to media organizations

‍
‍Q&A Session for applicants

The Fund will organize a Q&A session for prospective applicants to address any questions regarding the proposal, supporting documents, and other matters related to the participation in this Open Call. 

The session will be held on January 21^st at 15:00 Yerevan time (12:00 CET).
To participate, please register at the following LINK to receive login details for the session.

For those who are unable to join, the session will be recorded and the main outtakes will also be published on the International Fund's website, as an addendum to this announcement.

Contacts

In case of questions related to technical assistance for the portal, please contact the IFPIM team at: grants@ifpim.org
For any other questions related to the open call process please contact International Fund Program Associate Kateryna Chystoforova: kchystoforova@ifpim.org

The International Fund for Public Interest Media is pleased to launch this Open Call for funding and encourages all eligible media organizations to apply. We wish the submitting media organizations all the best throughout the application process.

‍