AWE's 2023 Wildland Fire Digital Storytelling Micro-grant Application

AWE's 2023 Wildland Fire Digital Storytelling Micro-grant Application

Deadline June 4, 2023.

At The American Wildfire Experience, we define digital storytelling as the process of coupling personal stories with broader public issues (like wildland fire) by leveraging digital technology and media to showcase stories and the storytellers. We consider digital storytelling to be a process of community building and an integral part of educating and engaging the public about wildland fire.

Digital storytelling can take many shapes - such as a thoughtful series of photographs with creative captions posted on Instagram, a short video with interviews posted on YouTube, fireline footage, and/or narration shot on your smartphone and shared on Vimeo, or a blog-post that showcases writing and artwork from the fireline. These are just a few examples of digital storytelling that wildland firefighters and practitioners are creating every season. Put simply, at The American Wildfire Experience, we want to encourage and promote quality wildland fire storytelling that helps influence public perceptions about wildland fire and shines a light on our human experience with fire.

We are excited to be offering up to eleven (11) micro-grants to international/global applicants this year. These micro-grants are $500.00 USD apiece.

Micro-grant categories include: photography, videography, writing, and "other."

Our grants are open to wildland fire practitioners from across the globe. We welcome applicants from all levels, organizations, and positions.

To see an example of a project proposal (including the questions you'll encounter throughout this form), click here.

It is our hope that these grants will encourage thoughtful wildland fire storytelling by active content creators on social media, improve the production value of our grantee’s creative works by providing digital storytelling equipment/tools, and will begin to build a cadre of wildland fire practitioners developing engaging content well aligned with AWE’s mission. We are excited that you are interested in applying and look forward to reviewing your project proposal!

BEFORE YOU APPLY:

Make sure you have the following:

3-9 examples of your work.
A completed budget worksheet (found here).

Please note: We recommend drafting your application in a separate document and cutting/pasting into the form below when you're ready.

If you have questions, please email: grants@wildfire-experience.org

Applicant Information

Please provide your contact information. Limit one application per person. Thank you!

First Name*

Last Name*

Email Address*

Phone Number (with country code)*

City, Province/State*

Country*

Applicant Background

Tell us about yourself! We are excited to support digital content creators with firsthand wildland fire experience. We would like to know a little bit about who you are, how you've been sharing your story, and what your creative approach looks like. Don't be shy - these grants are for people with first-hand experience wildland fire, including wildland firefighters and practitioners from all walks of life and at all levels!

Briefly describe your background:*

Tell us a bit about your background. How are you involved in wildland fire and what kind of storytelling have you been doing along the way?

Where can we find you online?*

You are encouraged to provide links to your social media accounts (make sure they're publicly accessible or we won't view), blogs, or portfolios that contain examples of your work.

Please note: sharing your IG account here does not replace the need to provide examples of your work. Though you need to have a digital presence of some sort for this grant, not providing these will not necessarily result in disqualification.

Project Proposal:

Our digital storytelling grants are intended to help wildland fire content creators/creatives share their experience with the broader public. Your project proposal should outline how you would like to use photography, video, writing, or other digital mediums to share your story and/or the story of wildland fire throughout the 2023/2024 fire year.

To see an example of a project proposal, click here.

You are encouraged to be creative and innovative with your concept.

For example, you might propose to create a series of profile/headshots of fellow crew members during mop-up (to showcase the camaraderie of a fire crew), a time-lapse video of landscape regeneration after an early-spring prescribed fire (to generate discussion about the role of fire in the environment), a three-part blog post on a specific wildland fire policy issue (to help educate people on fire management), a photographic look-back at the Australian bush fire season, or a compilation of fire season poetry (to illustrate firefighters' intimate connection to nature)… The possibilities are endless. The important part is that your project shows your unique perspective.

Please note: We do not award grants for crew end-of-year videos. Projects about what being a wildland firefighter is like are generally unsuccessful; your project should have a unique perspective about a specific topic. We award one Impact Award grant every year for a project that focuses on mental health. Also, we do not fund projects that solely post to social media "story" formats that disappear.

Be sure to tell us what you propose to create and what you hope to convey through your digital storytelling. Your project must be compelling and must be able to be completed within the fire year.

Choose a project category:*

If your project concept includes more than one category, choose the primary category for which you'd like to be considered.

Select or enter value

Project Name*

This can be changed at a later date, if selected.

Project Vision*

Describe your vision (in detail) for your wildland fire digital storytelling project. Please be specific about what you will be producing/creating. Remember, it must be focused around digital media.

This is the most important part of your application. Be detailed and thoughtful about what kind of project you're envisioning.

Project Goals*

What are your project goals? What are you hoping to convey through your work? This is the second most important part of your application.

Project Timeline*

What is your proposed timeline for your project?

Deliverables*

What digital products will you create as part of your project? How will they be shared?

For example, "I will produce an Instagram series containing seven fireline photographs, each with captions." "I will produce one 5-minute video of XYZ, shared via YouTube." "I will produce two blog posts at myblog.com."

We will not consider projects that only share via IG or FB Stories. Though you can include Stories as part of your project, it must also produce content that lasts longer than 24 hrs...

Please note, you are setting your own deliverables in this section - make sure they are reasonable and realistic within the proposed timeline.

Finalizing your application:

Your application will not be complete until you upload your supporting documents below.

FILE UPLOAD:*

Please upload 3-9 examples of previous work AND your budget worksheet.

Upload your budget:

Budget worksheet can be found here. Please note: a minimum of fifty-percent of your budget must allocated towards purchasing tools, equipment, or software that support your storytelling effort.

Upload your examples:

We require all applicants to submit 3-9 examples of their work (e.g., fireline photographs, videos, a piece of writing you wrote during a tough assignment, a sketch that you created while on a fire, etc.). All types of submissions are welcomed.

Videography applicants: If you are submitting videos that are already hosted online, consider uploading a document with links to those videos (instead of uploading the videos themselves).

Drag and drop files here or

Application Agreement:

By submitting this application, you understand that no funds will be awarded for expenses incurred prior to written notification of selection from The American Wildfire Experience.

You agree that to the best of your knowledge, the information contained in this application is true and correct and that you retain all copyright to the material submitted as part of this application.

You acknowledge that only you are responsible for following your employer's policies, regulations, and guidelines (e.g., social media rules, ethics, etc.).

If selected, you agree that the American Wildfire Experience and it's affiliates, including micro-grant initiative donors, can share your social media posts through their channels (with credit, of course). You agree to use identified hashtags for all posts relating to the grant project.

Submitting this application does not guarantee award. Grant winners will be notified at the end of June/early July.

I have read, understand, and agree to the above statements.*

Send me a copy of my responses

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