FAQ’S

  • A. Please submit grant applications online by visiting our Grant Application page.

  • A. Grant applications are accepted on a rolling basis, unless otherwise indicated on WIJF’s website.

  • A. Proposed grant applications should clearly reflect WIJF’s mission statement. Project proposals should be detailed, project budgets clearly outlined and in line with your organization’s capacity, and clear evaluation methods and impact assessment strategies should be included.

  • A. While there is currently no cap to grant fund requests, please keep in mind your organization’s capacity to carry through projects for which grant funds are requested. Consider current staffing levels and workloads and their ability to sustain the project beyond the end of the Grant Term.

  • A. Grant projects should serve a documented community or internal need. WIJF offers grants to community-based news sources in western Iowa to support local news coverage and digital access.

  • A. At minimum, grantees are required to file narrative and financial reports within six months, as well as a final narrative and financial report within twelve months. Blank versions of these documents are attached at the end of this handbook.

  • A. Becky Vonnahme at director@westerniowajournalismfoundation.com

  • A. In addition to the grant application, WIJF may request all grant-seeking organizations’ articles of incorporation, bylaws, and most current biennial report. WIJF may investigate applicants’ financials, including recent tax returns, business and bank statements, and current and projected budgets. For a full breakdown of required documents according to applicant type, please see Grant Application and Evaluation in section III of this handbook. In addition, WIJF will conduct a website and social media review of all applicants.

  • A. If you would like to submit a letter of inquiry prior to submitting a grant application to assess whether your organization's project aligns with WIJF funding priorities, please email Becky Vonnahme (director@westerniowajournalismfoundation.com).

  • A. Grant recipients are chosen based on how well the intended project fits within WIJF’s mission statement, the recipient organization’s capacity to carry through the project, the project’s soundness and proposed budget, and the project’s potential impact to meet a community or internal need. The grant prospect decision matrix used to score these categories is attached at the end of this handbook.