Organizational Support

We provide funding to support those who are critical to the infrastructure of the documentary film impact ecosystem. We seek to build a robust network of organizations, initiatives and thought leaders in the documentary impact space who make the work more equitable, effective and sustainable.

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We prioritize the following dimensions when assessing projects for Organizational Support:

  • Increasing access and capacity across the entire documentary storytelling pipeline, from content creation to distribution and long-term community engagement, prioritizing historically excluded creators, strategists and audiences

  • Removing barriers to long-term sustainability for organizations, creators and strategists

  • Fostering models that promote a field-wide increase in collaboration and redistribution of power including funds, attention and the space to problem solve creatively

  • Strengthening community-informed organizing, programming and initiatives for their ability to contribute to cultural shifts by fostering the conditions necessary for social change.

  • Contributing to the systemic shifts necessary for the field to amplify spaces and resources for experimentation in impact-oriented tools, tactics and philosophies

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We offer two primary areas of funding:

  • GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT

    Unrestricted support towards the ongoing work and mission of strategic organizations who are focused on amplifying impact-focused films and the documentary impact field.

  • PROJECT SUPPORT

    To catalyze specific programs or initiatives that are focused on amplifying impact-focused films and the documentary impact field.

Our Organizational Grantees

BlackStar is part of a larger movement of individuals and organizations that value arts and culture as a vital component in rectifying historical imbalances and creating a more equitable world.
The Undocumented Filmmakers Collective centers the film expertise of undocumented people not only as sources of stories but also as creators, artists, and primary audiences.
Firelight is a premier destination for non-fiction cinema by and about communities of color. Firelight produces documentary films, supports emerging filmmakers of color, and cultivates audiences for their work.
The Color Congress is a national collective of majority people of color (POC) and POC-led organizations aimed at centering and strengthening nonfiction storytelling by, for and about people of color across the United States and territories.
Detroit Narrative Agency supports and develops media-based storytelling centering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) to foster collective healing, power, and liberation.
AFLAMUNA is a cultural nonprofit based in Beirut working to harness the power of independent Arab cinema to elevate the most pressing social, political, and cultural movements of our time. Established as a cooperative under the name of Beirut DC in 1
DocA is a unique Pan-African initiative that aims to cultivate and nourish a self-sustaining documentary film ecosystem in Africa. We aim at supporting the African documentary film industry through interconnected initiatives in storytelling developme
New Orleans Film Society cultivates the voices of Southern filmmakers through Emerging Voices, a nationally recognized mentorship program for filmmakers of color, and other initiatives such as Southern Producers Lab, and the annual South Pitch compet
A-Doc is a national network that works to increase the visibility and support of Asian Americans in the documentary field.
Brown Girls Doc Mafia is an initiative advocating for over 4,500 women and non-binary people of color working in the documentary film industry around the world.
Distribution Advocates works to collectively reclaim power for independent storytellers in the current systems of distribution and exhibition.
Justice for My Sister Collective (JFMS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2011 with the mission to train women of color, nonbinary artists, and foster youth to make films with a gender equity and racial justice lens, as a means to heal from trau
Peace is Loud believes that stories have the power to change hearts, minds, and structures when strategically integrated within social justice movements.
Recognizing the power of film to inspire, Working Films uses documentaries to increase civic engagement and shift culture at the local, state, and national level.
Sisters in Cinema was founded in 1997 as an online resource for and about African American women media makers. Today they are a Chicago-based 501(c)3 non-profit with an inclusive mission to center and celebrate Black girls, women, and gender-nonconfo
The Documentary Accountability Working Group considers guiding values that can inform the practices of nonfiction filmmakers.
The 4th World Indigenous Media Lab is a year-long fellowship for emerging and mid-career Indigenous filmmakers, providing opportunities to develop filmmaking skills and networks through festival participation, hands-on training, masterclasses, worksh
A national nonprofit media arts organization, American Documentary (AmDoc) strives to make essential documentaries accessible as a catalyst for public discourse.
The Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI) at American University’s School of Communication in Washington, D.C., is an innovation lab and research center that creates, studies and showcases media for social impact.
Represent Justice turns stories into action to change the justice system, while building the capacity of system-impacted communities.
Youth FX is designed to empower young people ages 10-24 by teaching them the technical and creative aspects of digital film making and media production.
Story Money Impact is a registered Canadian Charity creating positive change at a time where the world seeks more clarity, purpose and good.
Multitude Films is a Peabody-nominated independent production company dedicated to nonfiction storytelling.
The Southern Documentary Fund (SDF) is a nonprofit arts organization that cultivates documentary projects made in or about the American South.
Exposure Labs believes that stories are the most powerful catalyst to build empathy, shape culture, foster social justice movements, and shift systems.
Doc Society (formerly known as BritDoc) is a non-profit founded in 2005 committed to enabling great documentary films and connecting them to audiences globally.
If Not Us Then Who is a US registered charity, 501(c)(3) that supports a global awareness campaign highlighting the role indigenous and local peoples play in protecting our planet.
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email icon Ambulante is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and disseminating documentary film as a means of cultural and social transformation in Mexico and Central America. Founded in 2005 by Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, and Elena
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REIMAGINE was originally a project of the Detroit Narrative Agency (DNA). DNA supports and develops media-based storytelling centering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to foster collective healing, power, and liberation. DNA was founded in 2015
The Global Impact Producer Assembly (GIPA) is an online space for Film Impact Professionals to collaborate, debate and share resources.
The Points North Institute is a launching pad for the next generation of nonfiction storytellers. We build a unique, interdisciplinary community of filmmakers, artists, journalists, industry leaders and local audiences, forming a creative hub where s
Taturana Mobilização Social is a Brazilian non-profit social organization whose mission is democratizing the access to cinema and enhancing it as a tool for social impact.
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HISTORIAS EN KILÓMETROS IS A COMMUNITY FILM LAB WITH SOCIAL IMPACT. THEIR MISSION IS THE TRAINING, PRODUCTION, PROMOTION, AND CIRCULATION OF COMMUNITY CINEMA, THROUGH WORK WITH DIVERSE COMMUNITIES NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY. ITS GOAL IS TO INTE
Dhaka DocLab is the pioneer platform for pitching and mentoring of documentary filmmakers. Dhaka DocLab organizes an annual event of pitching for Asian documentary filmmakers.
Crooked Ideas is a nonprofit working in partnership with your anxious-but-hopeful, news-obsessed pals at Crooked Media. Our mission is to engage our audience in the biggest policy debates shaping our world. But shaping it into what? Well, that’s the
To invest in disabled writers and filmmakers so they can achieve artistic and financial freedom and use film and television to destigmatize disability and mental health globally.
We envision a transformed landscape for U.S. independent filmmaking where audience demand, innovative policy and regulation, and revitalized entrepreneurial activity supports a diverse array of artists and film professionals.
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