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JustFilms General Operating & Core Support Letter of Inquiry

 

LOI Application Open: August 11, 2025
LOI Deadline: September 8, 2025 at 5:00 PM ET
Notification of Finalists: October 2025
Grant Start Date: Not before January 1, 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

This letter of inquiry process stems from an evaluation of Ford Foundation’s JustFilms initiative, informed by a broader strategy to refresh our portfolio and address structural field-wide issues through multi-year general operating & core support. The updated strategy is driven by a vision of inclusive democracy that elevates independent filmmakers and media creators to document realities, reframe narratives, and inspire a more just and equitable future. The power of storytelling to catalyze social change—especially in advancing racial, gender, and disability justice—requires supporting storytellers with lived experience, strengthening field infrastructure for their voices, and fostering sustainable economic models for independent filmmaking.


Our Priority: Advancing Sustainability Through New Economic Models
We will support research, advocacy, and experimentation to build more sustainable financial models for non-fiction storytelling. Efforts will include increasing equity in compensation, reducing economic barriers, and improving working conditions for filmmakers and media professionals.


OVERVIEW
This letter of inquiry process is for the New Organizations Grantee Cohort and seeks to identify and support organizations pioneering innovative economic models. The initiative is a response to challenges in the new media ecosystem, including a "broken" distribution system where corporate consolidation has extracted talent, resources, and audiences. While the current system presents issues of discoverability, curation, and opaque economic models for independent filmmakers, there are innovators working to solve these problems at both the grassroots and digital levels.


The goal is to support organizations that are developing, testing, or scaling innovative and equitable economic models and contributing to economic justice and sustainability.


Eligibility and Selection:
This is an invite-only process. Program Officers and external advisors will identify potential invitees, with a goal of inviting about four times the number of available grant slots. Organizations can also nominate themselves.


Eligibility:

  • 501(c)(3) non-profits (and their foreign equivalents) and fiscally sponsored projects are eligible, although 501(c)(3) non-profits and their foreign equivalents will be prioritized. For-profit organizations will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

  • Organizational budgets up to $1 million are prioritized, though organizations with budgets up to $5 million may be considered.

Selection Criteria:

  • Thematic Alignment: A demonstrated focus on developing, testing, or scaling innovative and equitable economic models.

  • Organizational Readiness & Impact: A clear mission, strong leadership, a track record in the focus area, and accountability to the communities served.

  • Cohort Contribution: The ability to both contribute to and benefit from a peer learning cohort, representing diversity in approach, geography, and scale.

Additional Selection Priorities Include:

  • Intersectional approaches that address two or more of Ford's Creativty and Free Expression program's focus areas: racial, gender, and disability justice.

  • Regional resonance for US grantees, especially in the American South, Indian Country, and rural areas, alongside national impact. Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Africa. For US grantees, we prioritize regional resonance, particularly in the American South, Indian Country, and rural areas, in addition to national impact. We also focus on Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Africa.

  • A clear artistic vision and demonstrated leadership.

  • Programming that centers or includes disability inclusion.

  • Diversity of organizational types, including media production companies, storytelling organizations, and affinity networks.

We are not accepting LOIs for advocacy, art therapy, educational initiatives, student projects, capital projects, endowments, or individual artists.


Funding Details:
Selected organizations will be part of a learning cohort and will receive three-year general operating & core support grants. Grants will begin on or after January 1, 2026.

Grant amounts will be determined by organizational budget:

  • Organizations with budgets up to $1 million will be prioritized and can receive 12.5% of their budget for three years.

  • Organizations with budgets over $1 million will have their annual grant amount capped at $150,000.

  • The total budget for this initiative is $2 million, which is intended to support approximately 6–9 grants.

  • Fiscally sponsored organizations and projects are also eligible, and the fiscal sponsor fee will be covered.

Submission Process:
We are using the OpenWater portal for submissions. Invited organizations will submit a full LOI, including supplementary materials. The deadline to submit is September 8, 2025 at 5:00 PM ET.


A panel of filmmakers and media professionals will review LOI submissions, recommending finalists to Ford staff for consideration. Finalists will be notified in October 2025 and invited to submit additional materials, including organizational and financial details, through Ford’s grantmaking system. Ford Program Officers and staff will take these recommendations into consideration as well as other factors such as portfolio balance and alignment with broader Ford initiatives and priorities.

 
If you have questions, please visit our FAQ page or email justfilmsnotifications@fordfoundation.org. Please do not contact the Director of Creativity and Free Expression with LOI inquiries.


Accessibility:
We are committed to accessibility and the inclusion of disabled filmmakers and organizations in our programs. A full PDF version of the LOI is available for blind and low-vision applicants and those with slow internet access. For assistance, email justfilmsnotifications@fordfoundation.org.
 

Timeline:

  • LOI Application Open: August 11, 2025

  • LOI Deadline: September 8, 2025 at 5:00 PM ET

  • Notification of Finalists: October 2025

  • Grant Start Date: Not before January 1, 2026

Visit FordFoundation.org to learn more about JustFilms. Thank you for advancing social justice through storytelling.