Rewarding Fair Practice

Biggest-ever FIRE gift enables "Greenlight" story grants

Not long after we launched the pilot FIRE Guide to Freelancer Protection this year (to positive response here), FIRE received the largest gift in our history.

The new support, a three-year $450,000 capacity-building grant from a longtime anonymous donor, will do more than just sustain the Guide. It will enable a pilot program of unprecendented new story grants.

In early 2026, FIRE will be announcing an application deadline for three "Greenlight Grants," each totaling $25,000, that will support freelance investigations and at the same time introduce

• shared grant disbursal—splitting amounts 80/20 ($20,000 to the reporter; $5,000 to the publisher or broadcaster)
• outlet eligibility—screening for FIRE-approved engagement of freelancers, including a written promise against defamation exposure.

We think the public is best served by individual stories and more effective ways to produce them.

We think the only way to honor the hard-working reporters and editors who inform us during these critical times is to think big.

More on rewarding fair practices via the Greenlight Grants here; more from the field's response to the Guide here.

For any questions, suggestions, or observations, feel free to email us.

Thank you!