2027 Vital Impacts Fellowships and Mentorships

Vital Impacts offers one $20,000 fellowship and six $5,000 fellowships to local photographers documenting solutions-focused environmental and conservation stories within their own communities.

Overview

The Vital Impacts Environmental Photography Grant offers one $20,000 fellowship and six $5,000 fellowships to support visual storytellers capturing solutions-focused environmental stories at the local level. Fellowship recipients will have twelve months to develop their projects, with support from Vital Impacts to publish and showcase their work.

The fellowships are named in honor of environmental advocates including Dr. Jane Goodall, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Ian Lemaiyan, Chico Mendes, Madonna Thunder Hawk, and E.O. Wilson. Each fellowship recognizes the legacy of these figures whose work has inspired global environmental change.

Additionally, ten emerging photographers will be chosen to participate in an intensive mentorship program designed to nurture their growth and enhance their craft. All applicants are also welcome to join Vital Impacts' online speaker series.

Practical Info

Vital Impacts is seeking local photographers and visual storytellers who are deeply embedded in their communities and uniquely positioned to document environmental and conservation issues within their own surroundings. The organization aims to support work that explores both the complexity of these challenges and the solutions emerging in response.

It is imperative that fellowship recipients focus on documenting a story within their own community. The goal is to bolster local journalism, so applications from photographers residing outside of the respective community or country will not be considered.

Applicants are encouraged to apply in their native language or in English. For proposals submitted in foreign languages, translation services will be arranged to ensure fair evaluation. Prior publication experience is not a requirement. Vital Impacts is particularly interested in uplifting photographers who have been working on long-term projects and who have existing relationships with the stakeholders in the issue.

All applicants must follow the Vital Impacts Code of Ethics and be able to agree to and sign the Environmental Fellowship Agreement. Grantees cannot be the target of sanctions or located or resident in a country, territory or region that is the target of comprehensive territorial sanctions. Prior applicants as well as previous fellowship and mentorship recipients are welcome to reapply.

The entrance fee is $25. The fee may be waived for economic hardship and is waived for all applicants from developing countries. Applicants should reach out to hello@vitalimpacts.org for fee waiver codes.

Grant and mentorship recipients will be announced in January 2027. The jury is composed of Kathy Moran, Gail Fletcher, Laura Covelli, Alessia Glaviano, and Britta Jaschinski.

About Vital Impacts

Vital Impacts is a women-led 501c3 non-profit organization that uses art and storytelling to amplify and support the work of communities who are protecting people, wildlife and habitats worldwide. The mission of the organization is to support both grassroots conservation organizations and the photographers and artists who work to tell critical environmental stories.