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This article is from February 1, 2010, and is no longer current.

Want $5K for a Documentary Photo Project?

Press release
The 2010 Photocrati Fund competition is now open. Deadline for application submissions is March 15, 2010 (by 11pm GMT).
The Photocrati Fund offers $5000 grants to non-professional photographers to undertake important humanitarian and environmental photography projects. Our goal is to identify outstanding, up-and-coming photographers and give them the resources necessary to pursue projects that will have a tangible and positive effect on the world.
We will offer one grant in 2010. The application deadline is March 15, 2010, and the award will be announced in June 2010. Awardees become Photocrati Fellows for the calendar year from the announcement of their award until the announcement of the following year’s award.
Award decisions will be made by the Photocrati Fund Board, a prestigious panel that includes some of the world’s best-known environmental and cultural photographers.
Eligibility
Applicants must be non-professional photographers who derive less than 50% of their income from photography or photography-related activities. The grant is open to photographers over 21 years of age from any country worldwide, but applicants should have a proven ability to produce outstanding imagery, as well as the background necessary to carry out their proposed project.
Application Submission Guidelines
Application Deadline: Monday, March 15, 2010 at 11pm (GMT).
There are no application fees for this grant.
Each submission may contain only one project proposal. Each applicant may apply only once per submission cycle. Applications are not carried over to the following year. All applications must be submitted in English, online to the following email address: [email protected]. Please proofread to avoid typos and grammatical errors.
Only applications that meet ALL SUBMISSION CRITERIA will be judged. Once the application and proposal has been submitted, content changes are not allowed. Please double check all of your materials before submitting your application. The Photocrati Fund is not responsible for misdirected submissions. Applicants should keep copies of their application for their own records.
Only applications submitted according to grant application specifications will be considered. Applicants should not send any hard copies or printed materials (no prints, books, CDs/DVDs or transparencies). The Photocrati Fund Panel will not review any of these materials, and they cannot be returned to applicants.
The application consists of just two items: a one-page project statement and bio, and a link to your online portfolio submitted via email to: [email protected].
Project Statement and Bio
The project statement should be a maximum of 1-page in Microsoft Word (or compatible) format. Please include the following information, in this order, in the heading:
• Applicant’s Full Name
• Project Title
• Project Location
• Applicant’s Email
• Applicant’s Phone (including country code)
• Applicant’s Home Country
• Web Address of Online Portfolio
•
The personal statement should describe the proposed project in detail, including:
• Who or what will be photographed?
• Why is this project important? Include historical, environmental, or cultural background to the project as appropriate. You should display good substantive knowledge of your subject matter.
• What positive consequences might result from this project? We are interested in projects that will have a tangible impact or contribution.
• What background and preparation do you have that will enable you to carry out the project? This should include a description of your photographic training or background as well as your knowledge or training related to the subject matte of your project (i.e., language or cultural study, previous experience in the specified country or location, environmental or biological background, and contacts with a specific local organization or experts with whom you wish to work, etc).
• If the proposed project will take place in a country other than your own, please describe your preparations for working in the proposed project location (i.e. visa preparations, local contacts, health vaccinations, language training, etc.).
Note: In our experience, many applicants underestimate the amount of time and preparation that is required to prepare a good one-page project statement. The fact that this statement is only one page means you must work even harder to make sure that all the relevant information is included in a concise and still-readable way.
The most successful statements are those that have received a great deal of attention. Applicants think carefully about what to include, revise their statements through multiple drafts, perhaps have friends or colleagues provide feedback, and they take special care to ensure that there are absolutely no typos or grammatical errors.
This single page is all we have to evaluate you, your preparation, and your project, so please give it special care and attention.
Link to Online Portfolio
Each applicant should include on their Project Statement and Bio a URL (web address) to an online gallery of a coherent set of 20-30 images based around a theme or project (preferably related to the project or theme/concept proposed in your application). Carrying out an effective photography project requires not just creative and technical mastery of photography, but also the ability to focus on a single project over time. You need to take time to develop knowledge about your subject matter, build any necessary relationships, and to invest the time to be present when the best photo opportunities present themselves. Your portfolio should display these qualities. We are not looking for a hodge-podge of individual photographs of sunsets, flowers, or travel scenes.
Images displayed in the online portfolio or website MUST BE TAKEN BY THE APPLICANT. Any applicant receiving a grant on the basis of images taken by someone else will be liable to repay the grant’s full amount to the Photocrati Fund.
As with the personal statement, please recognize that the images on this site are the sole basis on which we will evaluate your photographic talent. You should display your best work, and avoid displaying work that is not your best.
Selection Criteria
Following the application deadline (Friday March 15, 2010 at Midnight GMT), Photocrati Fund staff will compile all completed applications that adhere to all submission guidelines.
Photocrati Fund staff will screen applications and remove any that do not meet the application criteria or which are unlikely to be competitive. The remaining applications will be submitted to the Photocrati Fund Board for consideration.
• Selection of the grantee will be based on the Board’s determination, in its sole discretion, of the following:
• Photographic skill and promise of the applicant (in terms of photographic vision and technique) based on the applicant’s images in his/her web portfolio.
• The degree to which the applicant’s non-photographic background and training has prepared him/her to undertake the project.
• The environmental, cultural or humanitarian significance of the project and its potential contributions.
• The feasibility and viability of the completion of the proposed project within the projected timeframe and with the grant funding.
• The quality of the overall application packet.
Notification of Award
Winners of the grant will be notified after the judging, which should be completed by mid-May. Grant winners may share the news of their winning proposal with others involved with the project, but are asked to keep news of their award confidential until the public announcement at the Look3 Festival (and on the Photocrati website) in June.
Disbursement of Funds, Project Report, Photo Essay and Deadline for Completion of Project
Photocrati Fund Grants are in the amount of $5,000. The funds are intended to cover the costs of travel, lodging, and expenses for up to one-month of full time photography, though they may be used in other ways by Photocrati Fellows who pursue projects in their home region.
The funds will be disbursed in two portions.
Photocrati Fellows will receive $4000 up-front prior to the project. The remaining $1000 will be disbursed to the Grantee upon completion of the project and upon receipt of a Project Report and an image portfolio from the project.
The Grantee is expected to provide a brief follow-up report upon completion of the project that describes how the project progressed, and which provides a detailed explanation of how funds were used. Receipts should be provided for all expenditures over $50. Grant recipients are advised to keep conscientious records of expenses.
Along with the Project Report, the Fellow should submit an Image Portfolio of 20-30 images. These can be presented in an online gallery or sent to Photocrati Fund staff via email or FTP. These images should be 800 pixels in the longest dimension and they should be accompanied by detailed captions. The resulting Photo Essay will be displayed on Photocrati.com for at least one year following the project.
The Grantee will have 12 months from the announcement of the award to complete his or her project and to provide Photocrati Fund staff with a Project Report and captioned Photo Essay of 20-30 images from the Photocrati Fund project.
Copyright and Use of Images
The Grantee retains all copyright and ownership of images resulting from the project, including the right to sell, print, or distribute images as he or she sees fit. By accepting the grant, the Grantee also agrees to give Photocrati a worldwide, non-exclusive right to display images included in the Grantee’s Photo Essay on the Photocrati.com website. The Grantee also grants Photocrati the right to use the resulting imagery on its website, in printed materials, or in galleries for the purpose of promoting the Photocrati Fund.
The imagery produced by the grantee may be licensed (and sold) to others by Grantee, with the understanding and explicit agreement that the images may also be used by Photocrati in the manner mentioned above.

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