The Southern Africa Accountability Journalism Project (SA | AJP) calls for pitches from reporters in the region.
The Southern Africa Accountability Journalism Project (SA | AJP) invites journalists from select countries in the region to submit pitches for investigative stories that seek to expose wrongdoing, abuses of power, or failures of accountability.
Who can apply: Editors or journalists from the following countries: South Africa, eSwatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique.
Funding available: Successful applicants will receive a grant totalling USD1,500.00. Funds may cover a journalist’s remuneration (up to USD1,200.00) and reporting-related expenses (up to USD300.00).
Editorial support: Each journalist will be paired with an investigative editor to support them in delivering a strong, impactful investigation or series within an agreed timeframe.
How to apply: Pitching journalists should fill out this online questionnaire.
Call for proposals on public service reform
The new Public Service Amendment Act addresses a critical flaw in our state administration. During the democratic transition the line between elected leaders and public servants was blurred, for various historical reasons. The new Act draws a clear distinction between those who decide what the government must do and those who are entrusted to decide how to carry it out and who must do it.
This raises many critical issues. Does the Act address the causes and effects of state capture? Will it help in repairing the damage. Will it establish a solid, stable, professional public service? What impact will it have on the workings of our state? And on the lives of public servants? And the public?
We are offering grants to journalists to investigate and do in-depth reporting on issues, problems and solutions in South Africa’s public service. Find out more
Call for proposals for journalists to investigate reading and literacy issues in SA
An initiative to enable coverage of a crucial education issue
The ability to read and write is one of the hallmarks of personal development required for economic progress, political participation and self-expression. According to the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), 81% of grade 4 learners could not read for meaning in any language. Reading and literacy are therefore foundational issues in tackling South African education.
Each year, the 2030 Reading Panel brings together leading figures to review progress towards the goal of having every South African child able to read for meaning by 2030. HNF enables investigative journalism in the public interest and wishes to encourage coverage of this area.
HNF is offering grants to journalists to investigate and do in-depth reporting on literacy issues in SA. We hope that journalists and data journalists can make use of the extensive research available at the Reading Panel as a basis for further reporting to increase public awareness of the issue.
Grants of R50 000 are available for two journalists as well as R50 000 for data specialist/s. Any journalist or team of journalists and/or data specialists may apply, and the work may be done and published/broadcast in any medium. Successful applicants will be expected to attend the Reading Panel in Johannesburg on February 24-25, 2025 in Johannesburg.
HNF favours work which is in the public interest, aims to reveal new information, is in-depth and investigative in approach and uses innovative techniques or tools. Grant decisions are made by an independent panel of experts and are treated confidentially.
HNF will provide editing and publication support.
Applicants should submit a short proposal (not more than two pages), a CV, a budget and where possible an expression of interest from a publisher. The proposal should make it clear what you intend to show in the work, how you intend to do it and how you will ensure it has impact.
Applications should be sent to: henrynxumalofund@gmail.com. Closing date: February 10, 2025.
The power of investigative reporting: a case study
A few weeks ago, journalist Vicky Abraham wrote to us at the Henry Nxumalo Foundation. “The Polokwane Local Municipality and the Department of Basic Education in Limpopo have allegedly ignored the challenges faced by 258 Blind and Deaf pupils who are currently taught in mobile classrooms lacking running water and proper sanitation facilities,” she wrote.
The details of the treatment of these children were truly horrific. Vicky asked for a modest grant for her and Ntokozo Abraham to go to Limpopo and investigate.
The result, delivered within two weeks, was a detailed report, with pictures, in last week’s Sunday Time, Rapport/Netwerk24 and the publication Diary Series of Deaf People. Vicky also scheduled radio interviews about it and by the end of the week her social media had drawn 50 400 views and 4 000 likes and vigorous public debates.
You can read these stories here:
* IN PICS | Sharing water with the dead
* Blind en doof, én hul skool is haglik
* Blind and Deaf Learners: Trauma of sharing water with the dead
The day after publication, the Human Rights Commission visited the school. The chair of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Basic Education condemned the conditions and said they would take it up with the Limpopo authorities.
And five days after asking the Limpopo Department of Education about it, there was a team at the school renovating the classrooms and bathrooms. After eight years of inactivity, it took less than a week for a contractor to be given R450 000 to sort the problem out.
That is the power of investigative journalism! That is the value of hard-hitting, independent journalism by dedicated and passionate reporters.
This is the work we do all the time at the Henry Nxumalo Foundation, where we enable this kind of accountability journalism to take place with grants, training and mentoring.
Please take a look here at the more than 90 projects we have backed and consider making a contribution. Big or small, your contribution can help make this kind of journalism happen – and have a real impact on our society and our democracy.
Call for investigative story pitches from newsrooms in southern Africa
The Southern Africa Accountability Journalism Project (SA | AJP) invites newsrooms from select countries to submit pitches for investigative stories that seek to expose wrongdoing, abuses of power, or failures of accountability.
Who can apply: Editors or staff reporters representing established newsrooms from the following countries: South Africa, eSwatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique. Freelancers from these countries are invited to apply separately (see here).
Funding available: Each selected newsroom will receive a grant of USD 3,000. Three grants are available. Funds may be used to cover journalist remuneration and reporting-related expenses.
Editorial support: Each newsroom team will be paired with an investigative editor to support it in delivering a strong, impactful investigation or series within an agreed timeframe.
Pitch guidelines: Pitches should be a single, compelling narrative of no more than 700 words, addressing the questions outlined below. Pitches should include a budget, showing how you intend to spend the grant.
What else to include: Pitches should be accompanied by a short profile of your newsroom, including information about ownership, turnover, readership and your most impactful recent stories. Also, please include information about the reporter(s) who will be involved in this project.
Preparation support: Pitching newsrooms are encouraged to discuss ideas with SA | AJP editors while developing their pitches. Draft pitches or queries can be sent for feedback at any time before the deadline to the project’s editorial coordinator at daneel@viewfinder.org.za.
How to apply: Email your final pitch, budget and additional information as a single PDF attachment to henrynxumalofund@gmail.com by the deadline. The subject line should include your newsroom’s name, the word “pitch”, and a short title for their story idea.
Deadline: 21 November 2025
About the SA AJP: For more information about the Southern Africa Accountability Journalism Project, see here.
Call for proposals for research into freelance journalists
The Henry Nxumalo Foundation has issued a call for proposals for research into the working conditions of South Africa’s freelance journalists. The purpose is to gather the information to inform a discussion and consider action to ensure the sustainability of the important role these journalists are playing in our news media. Closing date: March 15, 2024
Read more
A grant to monitor, investigate and report on digital disruption of the 2024 elections.
The Henry Nxumalo Foundation is offering a grant to journalists to investigate and report on digital disruption of South Africa’s 2024 elections.
Read more
Call for applications: Grants to investigate the ‘construction mafia’
The Henry Nxumalo Foundation is offering grants to journalists to investigate South Africa’s ‘construction mafia’. There have been an increasing number of reports of these groups and their disruption of major construction projects. “Cape Town dealing with extortion and criminality at construction sites”, eNCA reported on 12 February. “Extortion by gangs is hampering the delivery of housing projects in Cape Town”, Daily Maverick reported on 5 February. And perhaps most shocking was this News24 report of February 23: “Cape Town official gunned down by ‘construction mafia’.”
Read more
Call for applications: Grants to investigate kidnapping in South Africa
The Henry Nxumalo Foundation is offering grants to journalists to investigate the rise in kidnapping cases in South Africa. The grants are intended to increase awareness and understanding of this phenomenon and to give journalists the time and resources to do this kind of in-depth reporting. There will be 4-6 grants, the size of each depending on the scale of the investigation. The work should be completed and published/broadcast within six months.
Read more | PDF
Call for applications: Grants to investigate health issues
The Henry Nxumalo Foundation and the African Investigative Journalism Conference (AIJC) are offering grants to journalists to investigate health issues in six African countries: Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa.
Download in PDF | Word
Grant Opportunities Meet & Greet: How to Make Successful Pitches
November 10, 2021 | 10:00 AM EST
Register here
August 2021: GroundUp journalists win Nat Nakasa award for lottery reporting
August 2021: Call for applications: Grants to investigate environmental crimes in Africa
July 2021: Call for proposals to investigate current violence/looting