The Fledgling Fund Announces New Grantees

The Fledgling Fund is pleased to announce Fledgling's newest grant recipients. At Fledgling, we believe that powerful and timely storytelling can be a catalyst for change, particularly when coupled with audience engagement strategies that move viewers beyond awareness to concrete action. The following projects were selected after a rigorous application process that began with over 325 letters of inquiry. This group of grantees includes a number of projects that we have funded before that we believe have an opportunity to deepen their impact, as well as new projects that deal with issues that are particularly ripe for change. All use a compelling story as a starting point for engagement and action around critical and timely issues. We believe they are all poised for impact.

We are particularly happy to be working with The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, our newest funding partner, on Cafeteria Man. Formed in 1995, the Blank Foundation promotes innovative solutions to improve the lives of youth and their families, seeking results that move communities beyond what seems possible today. It invests in early childhood development, education, green space, and the arts and leads giving programs for each of the Blank Family of Businesses, including the Atlanta Falcons. It recently awarded a $50,000 grant to Fledgling and will allocate a portion to support Cafeteria Man. And, importantly, it is looking for opportunities to link the film to initiatives and organizations within Atlanta. We are so pleased to see this partnership take shape--benefiting both the film as well as efforts within the Atlanta community.

We also are pleased to continue our support for the field of social issue documentary film, supporting several key festivals that have a strong focus on engagement, as well as several programs designed to increase the capacity of social issue filmmakers and other stakeholders to design, implement and measure high impact audience engagement campaigns. 

As always, Fledgling is dedicated to supporting creative media that we believe will improve the lives of vulnerable individuals, families, and communities. We believe that the following grantees will all achieve those goals and we look forward to sharing their progress with you in the months and years ahead. 

For the full list of grant recipients, please click here.