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The Michel du Cille Fellowship

Closed • Award: $15000

Grant Information

About This Grant

Michel du Cille Fellowship

The Michel du Cille Fellowship, awarded annually by the National Press Photographers Foundation (NPPF), provides $15,000 to a professional visual journalist pursuing a documentary project that serves the public good, reflecting the values and vision of Michel du Cille. A three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, du Cille was revered for his integrity, compassion, and unwavering commitment to covering injustice and human suffering. His work gave voice to the vulnerable, from crack-addicted communities in Miami to Ebola-stricken villages in Liberia. He died in 2014 while reporting on the Ebola crisis.

The fellowship honors du Cille’s legacy as a journalist, mentor, and humanitarian whose life and work set the standard for ethical, impactful visual storytelling. Michel’s photographs moved audiences in ways words alone could not. He crossed boundaries, told difficult truths with humanity and respect, and pursued stories others overlooked—all with diligence, courage, and empathy. This fellowship exists to support photojournalists who follow that same path.

Open to professional photojournalists dedicated to in-depth visual reporting, the fellowship supports a substantive project that addresses meaningful social issues and meets the highest standards of contemporary documentary storytelling.

Funded by donations from colleagues and proceeds from NPPF photo auctions, the fellowship is both a tribute to Michel du Cille’s life and an investment in the next generation of photojournalists committed to public service through powerful, ethical journalism.

Michel du Cille
About the Honoree

Michel du Cille

Photojournalist Michel du Cille drew praise from colleagues around the globe for his deep moral compass and sense of social justice. His three Pulitzer Prizes are a fitting…

Read more

How to Submit Your Application

How to Enter

The Michel du Cille Fellowship is open to professional photojournalists who are legally residing in or legally authorized to work in Puerto Rico, the United States, or the United States Minor Outlying Islands.

Required Materials

Applicants must provide their full name, date of birth, permanent address, personal email address, and personal mobile phone number.

A concise bio is required, highlighting the applicant’s professional experience and their commitment to completing a project of consequence.

Applicants must submit a CV that includes two to three (2–3) professional references, with each reference’s name, email address, and phone number.

Project Information

Each application must include a project title.

A project description or summary of fewer than 2,500 characters, including spaces, must be submitted.

Applicants must also submit a project proposal of fewer than 4,000 characters, including spaces. The proposal should explain the project to be undertaken, include a brief timeline, and describe how the grant funds will be used.

Body of Work

Applicants must submit a body of work as part of their application. Still-only applications may include up to twenty-four (24) images. Video applications may include two to three (2–3) videos, each less than ten (10) minutes in length.

Example entries may include two stories of twelve (12) or fewer images each; one story of twelve (12) or fewer images and one video of less than ten (10) minutes; or two to three video stories, each less than ten (10) minutes in length.

Digital Image Specifications

Digital images must be submitted as .JPG files and measure 3000 pixels on the long side.

IPTC metadata fields are required for all images. Captions must not include the photographer’s name. For story submissions, a short story description must be included in the first image.

Additional required IPTC fields include city and state, the date the image was made, creator or photographer, and copyright information.

Terms and Conditions

Eligibility

Michel du Cille Fellowship

The Michel du Cille Fellowship is open only to professional photojournalists legally authorized to work in the United States (all 50 states), Puerto Rico, or the United States Minor Outlying Islands.
A completed IRS Form ____ will be required upon acceptance of the award. There are no geographic restrictions on where stories may be photographed.

Bob & Millie Lynn Grant

The Bob & Millie Lynn Grant is open only to photojournalists and photojournalism students legally authorized to work in the United States (all 50 states), Puerto Rico, or the United States Minor Outlying Islands.
A completed IRS Form ____ will be required upon acceptance of the award. There are no geographic restrictions on where stories may be photographed.

Staff Photographer Permission

Eligible staff photographers must first obtain and submit written permission from their employer agreeing to these grant terms before those staff photographers move forward on their project.

Expectations

  • Upon conclusion of the project, recipient will submit to the NPPF a minimum of twenty-five (25) high-resolution images and any videos with comprehensive captions/information from the project. If the project results in a video, a high-resolution copy must be submitted.
  • Recipients will do their best to adhere to the project timeline and communicate their progress with the NPPF’s coordinator monthly. It is expected that the project will be completed within one (1) year of the grant agreement, or an otherwise mutually agreed upon date.
  • Recipients may seek advice and recommendations from the NPPF as the recipients deems useful. The NPPF Board is committed to advising the grantee to create powerful and memorable results that meet the highest standards of contemporary journalism and storytelling.
  • A written document outlining work on the grant is required to be submitted within twelve to eighteen (12-18) months of receiving the grant.
  • Recipients agree that the NPPF and the respective Award Grantor(s) will be recognized and credited in writing as sponsors of the activities funded by the Grant Funds in all publications or public communications made in connection with the Grant Purposes, unless Grantor(s) indicates otherwise.
  • Recipient’s application information and submitted proposals are subject to verification by the NPPF, whose decisions are final and binding in all matters related to the grant.
  • If the NPPF finds cause to disqualify a submission or completed project after grants have been announced or awarded, that grant and any award amounts still due to be paid may be rescinded.
  • Decisions regarding the eligibility and integrity of all submissions and project reviews reside solely with the NPPF and those decisions shall be final.

Intellectual Property

  • Submitted materials and ideas are confidential and will be used only for judging purposes except for the selected project.
  • The recipient retains the ownership and copyright of the final product. Any monies generated by this project shall be retained by the recipient.
  • The recipient grants the NPPF the right to use their name, likeness, biographical information, submitted images and/or videos from the application and project images on NPPF’s website, in any social media publicizing the NPPF programs and publications, including but not limited to educational, promotional and fundraising purposes at the NPPF’s sole discretion, without additional permission or consideration, or notification to the grant recipient or any third party.
  • The recipient also grants the NPPF its licensees, affiliates and their designees an irrevocable, non-exclusive, perpetual royalty-free license to use elements of their project (or the project in its entirety) on the NPPF’s website, on social media and as promotional materials to fundraise and promote its scholarships and grants.
    The recipient also hereby grants the NPPF the right to make their project (or any and all elements thereof) available for educational purposes, including to colleges and universities of the NPPF’s choosing.

Ethics

  • Recipients understand that they must adhere to the highest professional, ethical and personal standards for visual journalists. At its sole discretion, violations of these standards will result in withdrawal of the grant and funding by the NPPF.
  • An entry may not contain images that have been manipulated digitally in violation of generally accepted professional photojournalistic standards. Applicants should review and adhere to the ____ concerning image manipulation.
  • The NPPF, in its sole discretion, retains the right to disqualify any entry found to include manipulated images or staged situations.
  • The NPPF, in its sole discretion, may exercise its right to rescind the entire award amount if the grantee is found to have manipulated images beyond what is professionally accepted, as noted in the NPPA Code of Ethics.

Financial

Taxes and Required Forms

Payment of all taxes and expenses is solely the responsibility of the recipient. A completed IRS Form ____ will be required upon acceptance of the award.

Michel du Cille Fellowship Payments

The NPPF will pay six thousand dollars ($6,000) upon award of the Michel du Cille Fellowship, an additional six thousand dollars ($6,000) when significant progress (determined at the NPPF’s sole discretion) has been demonstrated, and the remaining three thousand dollars ($3,000) will be paid upon receipt of at least thirty (30) digital images and any videos from the project within eighteen (18) months after receipt of the fellowship.

Alan Hagman Grant Payments

The NPPF will pay five thousand dollars ($5,000) upon award of the Alan Hagman Grant, and the recipient will be paid one thousand dollars ($1,000) upon receipt of at least twenty-five (25) digital images and any videos within eighteen (18) months after receipt of the Grant.

Bob & Millie Lynn Grant Payments

The NPPF will pay four thousand dollars ($4,000) upon award of the Bob & Millie Lynn Grant, and the recipient will be paid one thousand dollars ($1,000) upon receipt of at least twenty-five (25) digital images and any videos within eighteen (18) months after receipt of the Grant.

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