Eastern European Independent Journalist Fund Surpasses its Goal on Kickstarter!

More than 35.000 USD was raised for the Eastern European Independent Journalist Fund in a Kickstarter campaign launched by Transitions and SEENPM, together with a number of other media support organizations and media outlets.

The fund will serve as a lifeline to allow individual journalists from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia to stay on the job and pursue their independent and professional journalistic work. After the application process, in the coming weeks more than 35.000 USD will be distributed to journalists who are reporting the truth on the war despite the enormous risks. 

“This will be an important contribution toward making life and work slightly easier for colleagues who are now operating in very difficult conditions. I would like to thank those who contributed funds or helped promote the campaign,” said Tihomir Loza, SEENPM executive director.

The Eastern European Independent Fund was launched in mid-March to help finance independent, on-the-ground reporting. The costs to administer the fund will be kept at an absolute minimum, so virtually all the funds raised will go directly to the selected journalists.

The fund will pay freelance journalists and staff reporters working on stories for independent media, both local and national. In all cases, journalists should have a demonstrated history of reporting freely and independently and not in the service of any political or economic interests. 

“The plan is to get the system up and running quickly so we can start to disperse the funds as soon as we can to those in need,” said Jeremy Druker, Transitions’ executive director. “Journalists will use a streamlined form to submit their applications, which an expert committee will review on an ongoing basis.”

If you are interested in supporting independent journalism, more information about the Eastern European Independent Journalist Fund and the Kickstarter campaign can be found here. While the campaign has ended, donations can still be made to the fund. Please write: lifeline4journalists@tol.org.