Deadline: February 6, 2026
Applications are open for the RJI Professional Innovation Fellowships 2026. The Reynolds Journalism Institute invites proposals from individuals and organizations who wish to build practical and innovative resources for community-centered news, journalists and the communities they serve.
The RJI Fellowships include:
- Institutional Fellowship: A RJI Fellow embedded at an organization to build out a specific resource, tool, program or product that addresses a current need, gap or challenge for that organization but is also applicable to other journalists and organizations in the industry.
- Individual Fellowship: A RJI Fellow who wants to build a resource, tool, program or product that addresses a current need, gap or challenge in journalism.
- Emerging Technology Fellowship: A RJI Fellow who wants to utilize emerging technology to build a resource, tool or product where the emerging technology is key to solving the problem or challenge within journalism.
Stipend
- Institutional Fellowship: $75,0000 stipend paid directly to organization or fellow, in three payments based upon completion of deliverables
- Individual Fellowship: $75,0000 stipend is paid directly to individual, in three payments based upon completion of deliverables
- $100,000 stipend is paid directly to individual, in three payments based upon completion of deliverables
Eligibility
- Institutional Fellowship: This Fellowship is for individuals who want to work within an organization’s environment to collaborate across teams and benefit from the support and partnership of the organization. This fellow can be currently employed with the organization or engage in a mutually agreed upon partnership to work with the org for this fellowship project.
- Individual Fellowship: This Fellowship is for journalists, consultants, researchers or other individuals who may have a full-time job or freelancing business but want to pursue a vital innovative project outside of that work.
Application
- First round applications close: February 6
- Second Round applications sent out through submittable: by February 20 (you will have two weeks to fill out this more in-depth second round application and submit it)
- Finalist interviews: April 6-17, 2026
For more information, visit RJI Professional Innovation Fellowships.
