Simon Cumbers Media Fund 2025

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About Simon Cumbers Media Fund

The Simon Cumbers Media Fund, an initiative of Irish Aid, supports journalists in Ireland to report on issues of global development for Irish audiences.

The media plays an important role in informing the public about major issues facing our world today. This fund promotes quality coverage of global development issues in the Irish media by supporting journalists to travel to the ‘Global South’ to produce a report for publication.

The fund is named in honour of Simon Cumbers, an Irish journalist who was killed while working for the BBC in Saudi Arabia in 2004.

• Sponsor Organisation: Irish Aid

Benefits of Simon Cumbers Media Fund

• The maximum amount of funding available is €10,000, but this sum will be awarded only in exceptional circumstances. 
• The Fund is intended to cover costs associated with members of the media travelling to and within, a developing country for the production of development-related articles or reports that would not normally be covered by a media organisation’s news budget. Funding sought must be for costs to facilitate the project.

Simon Cumbers Media Fund Requirements

• The applicants must be professional journalists, either employed directly by a media organisation or with a demonstrable record as a freelance reporter;
• Personal references and/or references to earlier work are essential in that respect.
• News/media outlets the applicant is affiliated to must be legal entities officially incorporated at least one year before the application deadline of the grant call.
• The media outlet committing to publish the project should be a member of the Press Council of Ireland or a recognisable professional body.
• Applications will be accepted for print, broadcast and online projects, with a preference for cross-media projects;
• Joint applications, for example between a journalist and a photographer, are permitted, but the applicant must indicate strong reasons for the proposed collaboration.
• All applications must be accompanied at the time of submission by a valid letter of commitment to publish by a verifiable media outlet with its primary audience in the Republic of Ireland.

Application Requirements

Proposed media projects should: -

• Focus on international development themes and be clearly linked with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and one or more priority areas in A Better World, Ireland's policy on international development.
• Reflect the modern reality of life in the ‘Global South’ in the context of international development.
• Challenge stereotypes and/or seek to portray positive developments, as well as exploring the challenges.
• Projects exploring themes of innovation, growth and entrepreneurship are encouraged.
• Applicants may only submit one project proposal and one exhibition proposal in each funding round. 
• The proposed media project must be new, i.e. it must not have been broadcast, published or exhibited in any format previously. 
• Applicants who are already in receipt of grants from other funding streams within Irish Aid for their proposed project will not be eligible to apply.
• All applications must be accompanied at the time of submission by a valid letter of commitment by a media outlet with its primary audience in the Republic of Ireland. The letter must be on the organisation’s headed paper and must be signed by a commissioning editor.

Application Date and Process

Apply Here

For more infromation, please contact [email protected].

Application Deadline

19 September, 2025

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