While numerous funding opportunities exist for emerging and established visual journalists, few provide meaningful support for mid-career professionals seeking to fund in-depth projects. At this stage, when expertise is refined but resources can be scarce, project work may be difficult to sustain. The $4,000 WPOW Butterfly Grant, exclusively for WPOW members, seeks to address this gap by providing resources that enable recipients to pursue significant, well-developed projects and remain engaged in the field.

The award is intended for mid-career photo and video journalists with a minimum of ten years of professional experience and is open only to WPOW members to support the cost of working on a new or in-progress project (apply to be a WPOW member here). Funds may be used to cover any part of project creation, including travel expenses, creative fees, exhibition mounting, book production, and community engagement. This grant is not intended to fund major equipment purchases.

Grant applications will be judged by the WPOW board of directors in a non-blind process.