The programme is called The Invisible Life, and it targets one of the most systematically underreported corners of European food systems: the welfare and living conditions of farmed animals. Grants are open now to cross-border teams of professional journalists and news outlets based in at least two different countries.
What the programme funds
The Invisible Life forms part of The Earth Investigations Programme, Journalismfund's large-scale grant initiative supporting environmental investigative journalism on European affairs, in and outside Europe, funded by Arcadia. Within that programme, it sits under Journalismfund's Environmental Investigative Journalism Grant strand. It offers grants to cover working time and expenses for investigations into farm animal welfare across Europe, and beyond, where the story has a clear European dimension.
The programme runs as a pilot over 12 months, with two calls.
Supported investigations must result in publications in at least two media outlets in different countries. At least one of those outlets must be European and target European audiences. Publications can take any professional form: newspaper articles, broadcast documentaries, podcasts, photo-reportages, or cross-media formats.
Why farmed animals, and why now
Billions of farmed animals pass through European food systems every year. The conditions in which they live, and the systems that govern those conditions, remain, with rare exceptions, invisible to the public.
This is not simply an animal welfare story. It connects to regulation and supply chain transparency, to scientific research on animal cognition and sentience, to public health, and to the environmental pressures that intensive livestock and fish farming place on ecosystems. Yet it attracts relatively little journalistic attention, and even less philanthropic or research funding.
Investigations need not be limited to welfare conditions in the narrow sense. Eligible stories include those examining economic pressures on producers, alternative production models, trade flows, and cross-border policy comparisons, as long as the connection to animal welfare is clear.
The programme does not aim to promote any single perspective. Journalismfund has been explicit about that: the goal is facts, context, and diverse perspectives, not advocacy.
Who can apply
The programme is open to cross-border teams of at least two professional journalists and/or registered news outlets that are legally based in at least two different countries. News outlets must have been formally incorporated for at least 12 months before the application deadline.
Applications require personal references, links to previous work, and letters of intent from at least two professional news outlets committed to publication, one of which must be based in Europe.
As with all Journalismfund programmes, the selection process uses an independent, jury of professional journalists and domain experts.
Support beyond the grant
Journalismfund is offering more than money. Selected teams can apply for a mentor to help shape the focus of an investigation or build competence in a specific skill.
The programme also includes an audience engagement and impact facilitator, a dedicated function designed to ensure that supported investigations reach the audiences and stakeholders best placed to act on them. The facilitator will advise teams on publication and dissemination strategy, connect them with relevant stakeholders, and track the impact of supported stories over time.
Journalismfund describes the rationale plainly: many journalists remain focused on the production of stories, while the work of placing those stories in front of decision-makers and wider audiences often goes undone. The impact facilitator is intended to close that gap.
Who funds the programme
The Invisible Life sits within The Earth Investigations Programme, a large-scale Journalismfund initiative funding environmental investigative journalism on European affairs, supported by Arcadia.
This specific grant strand on farmed animal welfare is additionally funded by Coefficient Giving, a philanthropic funder and advisor (based in the USA) whose mission is to use its resources to help others as much as possible. Journalismfund Europe manages the programme independently, including the selection process, which is conducted by an anonymous jury with no involvement from the funders.
How to apply
Applications for The Invisible Life can be submitted through the Journalismfund Europe grant portal at grants.journalismfund.eu. The programme is part of Journalismfund's Environmental Investigative Journalism strand.
For questions, contact Journalismfund Europe at invisiblelife@journalismfund.eu or +32 2 705 59 19.
