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February 27, 2025
Important Updates on 2025 IDA Grants Cycle

Since late 2024, IDA has been redesigning our programs and restructuring our organization so that we can better support and advocate for the needs of documentary makers everywhere. This includes our grant programs, which have provided funds for many filmmakers for several years.

Following extensive consultation with stakeholders and funding partners, we decided to temporarily pause new applications for some of our grants (see details below) while we make changes. This will allow us to ensure the best possible impact and long-term sustainability in our support programs.

We know documentary filmmakers rely on independent funding sources such as IDA to make bold and impactful work. We are committed to continuing to fund sustainably in ways that respond to the changing landscape for non-fiction filmmaking. We plan to strengthen our support for documentary filmmakers across all that we do, including a stronger commitment to advocacy for the field.

We remain steadfast in providing the documentary field with educational, editorial, administrative, legal, and financial resources. In the coming weeks, we will announce the details of our new Artist Support team, which we are creating to serve all our constituents, grantees, fellows, members, and fiscal sponsorship clients.

We look forward to sharing our enhanced funding framework later this year. In the meantime, please visit our Other Grants Directory, and for specific questions regarding existing grants, please contact funds@documentary.org

Program Updates

  • Enterprise Documentary Fund: The fund is under strategic review; applications are paused for 2025. Learn more here.
  • Logan Elevate Grant: The grant program is under strategic review and evaluation. Applications are paused for 2025. Learn more here.
  • Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund: The program will continue with an enhanced mission focus. The process to award Pare Lorentz fund grantees will begin in May 2025. Learn more here.
  • IDA Field-Building Fund: The program will return in the summer of 2025 with program information announced in June 2025. Learn more here.
  • Nonfiction Access Initiative: IDA’s Nonfiction Access Initiative (NAI), which published the report on Enhancing Accessibility and Support for Disabled Nonfiction Media Makers and administered the NAI Direct Access Fund, is in transition of becoming a new independent initiative that will be announced soon. Subscribe to our newsletters here to stay informed about the launch of this new organization.