CatchLight Global Fellowship 2026 ($30,000 Award)

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Applications are open for CatchLight Global Fellowship 2026. At CatchLight, they are harnessing the power of visual storytelling to inform, connect and transform communities. Through the CatchLight Global Fellowship, CatchLight supports individuals who want to cultivate significant audience engagement through inventive distribution methods that will increase the impact of their work.

Since 2017, the CatchLight has awarded $30,000 to 26 innovative visual storytellers covering a multitude of topics and come from all over the world. Meet the fellows.

Central to the Global Fellowship goals and deliverables are sharing learnings and processes with the CatchLight community and wider field. Fellows are responsible for sharing outcomes and insights through three primary reporting mechanisms during the Fellowship year.

CatchLight seeks visionary candidates eager to lead creatively, leveraging visual communication’s power for social impact. The Fellowship’s focus on building innovative ways to engage audiences is a key pillar to defining the future of the field and counter the rapid general decline of media across the world. In addition to the Global Fellowship program, the CatchLight Local program connects emerging visual journalists with local newsrooms. Together, these two programs are aimed to define the future and sustainability of visual storytelling.

CatchLight Global Fellowship Benefits

$30,000 award
Access to additional future funding
Paid travel and accommodations for the CatchLight Visual Storytelling Summit in San Francisco.
Personal development opportunities, including executive coaching
Impact strategy and networking support from CatchLight staff and our extended network.
A community of like-minded Fellows and industry professionals with opportunities for mentorship, education and speaking engagements.

Eligibility Criteria

You maybe the ideal candidate for a CatchLight Global Fellowship if you are a(n):

Long-form storyteller with a specific impact project
Leader with a plan to advance/or grow the field
Educator with innovative approaches to supporting upcoming storytellers

Proposals will be assessed on how they employ and strengthen new methods and potential solutions with an eye towards one or more of the following target outcomes:

Innovative Distribution: Testing a new distribution method of an existing project to effectively engage a specific audience through visuals.
Community Activations: Testing how visual storytelling can be leveraged to engage specific audiences and/or address specific community information needs
Field sustainability: building systems and models that push the field of visual storytelling or media ecosystem forward.

How To Apply for CatchLight Global Fellowship

Requirements include but are not limited to:

A fellowship statement on how visuals in general and your work specifically ignite social change, who your work aims to inform and what human connections your work creates. 100 words
A thesis statement summarizing what you would like to do and why. 100 words
A description of the proposed work. 250 words.
A description of your distribution, engagement and/or impact plan that identifies your target audience for this work. 250 words.
A plan to gather impact feedback. 100 words
A timeline for the work which can extend beyond the grant period.
A budget estimate for the proposed work. This budget can exceed the award amount but please note where CatchLight funds would be used
Three topic ideas for sharing learning with the CatchLight community
10-20 images which, if awarded
5 -10 images (these can be the same as the work submission) — CatchLight has the rights to use in promotional materials.
Three professional references. Contact information must include email and phone number.
A short bio
A copy of your curriculum vitae.

Please note: All applications must be in English. We accept translated applications however, if you are selected for an interview, those video interviews will be in English.

Click Here to Apply

Application Deadline: December 15, 2025