Requirements

All applicants must:

1. Submit up to 20 JPEG images representing one or two bodies of work or photo stories. Applicants may submit 10 images from one project and 10 from another, or, if preferred, up to 15-20 images from a single project. The selection should demonstrate the applicant’s experience and ability in documentary storytelling, rather than simply present a collection of individual photographs.
2. Submit a 25-word synopsis of the proposed project.
3. Submit a 500-word project statement that describes the project, the environmental issue it explores, and the personal connection that drives the work. The statement should articulate what the photographer hopes the project will reveal, communicate, or change—and the impact they hope it will have on audiences, communities, or conservation efforts.
4. Submit a biography of up to 1,500 characters.
5. Provide requested social media information.
6. Agree to abide by the Vital Impacts Code of Ethics.
7. Agree to and sign the Vital Impacts Environmental Fellowship or Mentorship Agreement if selected.

Applicants may apply in their native language or in English. Where necessary, Vital Impacts will arrange translation of proposals submitted in other languages to support a fair evaluation process.

Fellows cannot be the target of sanctions or be located or resident in a country, territory, or region subject to comprehensive territorial sanctions applicable to the fellowship.

Timeline

Submission opens: August 31, 2026
Submission closes: November 30, 2026
Recipients notified: January 2027
Public announcement: January 2027

Fellowship and Mentorship Period

The fellowship and mentorship period will run from the date the selected fellow formally accepts the award and executes the Environmental Fellowship and Mentorship Agreement, until December 31, 2027.

The fellow is expected to begin substantive work on the proposed project within 30 days of accepting the award. Any significant delay must be discussed with and approved by Vital Impacts in writing.

Entrance Fee

The application fee is $25.

The fee may be waived for applicants experiencing economic hardship. The fee is also waived for applicants from developing countries.

Applicants seeking a fee waiver may contact hello@vitalimpacts.org for a waiver code.

Fellowship Funding

$20,000 Fellowship

The $20,000 fellowship will be distributed in three installments:

1. $5,000 upon formal acceptance of the award and execution of the Environmental Fellowship Agreement.
2. $10,000 approximately six months into the fellowship period, provided the fellow has demonstrated meaningful progress and a substantial body of work has been developed.
3. $5,000 upon submission and acceptance of the final project materials required under the agreement.

$5,000 Fellowships

Each $5,000 fellowship will be distributed in three installments:

1. $1,000 upon formal acceptance of the award and execution of the Environmental Fellowship Agreement.
2. $3,000 approximately six months into the fellowship period, provided the fellow has demonstrated meaningful progress and a substantial body of work has been developed.
3. $1,000 upon submission and acceptance of the final project materials required under the agreement.

Vital Impacts reserves the right to withhold any unpaid installment if a fellow has materially failed to meet the requirements of the fellowship agreement, including failure to demonstrate meaningful progress, failure to participate in required check-ins or mentorship, misuse of fellowship funds, or violation of the Vital Impacts Code of Ethics.

Fellowship and Mentorship Agreement and Remedies

All fellowship and mentorship recipients must execute the applicable Vital Impacts Environmental Fellowship or Mentorship Agreement before receiving fellowship funds or mentorship.

Expectations

Fellows and Mentees are expected to dedicate the fellowship and mentorship period to developing their proposed project and allowing the story to evolve through sustained engagement, reporting, and observation.

Fellows will:

• Meet regularly with their assigned mentor;
• Participate in regular check-ins with the Vital Impacts team;
• Provide periodic updates on the development of their project;
• Use fellowship funds for purposes consistent with the approved project;
• Maintain appropriate ethical and professional standards throughout the project;
• Notify Vital Impacts promptly of any material changes to the project, including significant changes in access, safety, community relationships, or the feasibility of completing the proposed work; and
• Complete and submit the agreed final project materials by the end of the fellowship  or mentorship period.

Ethical Standards

Photographers must approach all subjects—especially children, vulnerable individuals, communities, and wildlife—with dignity, respect, and care, and must not place subjects or environments at unnecessary risk for the purpose of obtaining a photograph. 

Photographers should obtain appropriate informed consent, respect privacy and cultural sensitivities, and avoid coercion, exploitation, staging, or manipulation that could mislead the viewer. Photographs must accurately represent what occurred in front of the camera; posed portraits are permitted, but staged scenes, reenactments, or significant direction of subjects must be disclosed. 

Post-production is permitted only when it preserves the integrity of the original photograph. Cropping and reasonable adjustments to exposure, color, contrast, sharpness, and conversion to black and white are allowed, but no elements may be added, removed, moved, duplicated, or otherwise altered. 

The use of AI or generative tools to create or materially alter photographic content is not permitted. Original RAW files must be retained and will be requested for verification. 

Captions, project statements, and accompanying text must be complete, accurate, and provide sufficient context about the subject, location, date, and circumstances in which the photographs were made. Omitting, disguising, exaggerating, or misrepresenting information, including the circumstances of how an image was created, may result in disqualification. 

If a submission is found to violate these standards at any time, including after an award has been announced, Vital Impacts reserves the right to disqualify the submission or withdraw the award.

Ethical Storytelling

All fellows and mentees are required to comply with the Vital Impacts Code of Ethics throughout the application, fellowship or mentorship, production, and delivery of their project.

Applicants should review the Vital Impacts Code of Ethics before applying and must agree to comply with it if selected.

Ethical compliance is not based solely on the applicant's signed statement. Vital Impacts may assess compliance through a combination of:

• Review of submitted work and project materials;
• The applicant's project statement and demonstrated relationship with the community or issue;
• Regular check-ins;
• Communications with mentors and the Vital Impacts team;
• Review of concerns or complaints brought to Vital Impacts' attention;
• Requests for additional information or clarification where appropriate; and
• Review of project materials, captions, metadata, or other documentation where necessary to assess compliance with the Code of Ethics.

Vital Impacts reserves the right to investigate credible concerns regarding ethical misconduct and to take appropriate action when a fellow is found to have materially violated the Code of Ethics or the applicable Fellowship or Mentorship Agreement.

Community Relationships

The strength of an applicant's proposal will depend in part on their relationship to the community or issue they propose to document.

Applicants should demonstrate how they have developed trust, access, and knowledge over time. This may include previous photographic work, recurring travel to the area, professional or academic experience, collaboration with local organizations, or other evidence of sustained engagement.

A photographer does not necessarily need to live permanently within a community to demonstrate a meaningful relationship with it. However, short-term access or a single visit will generally be insufficient where the applicant is proposing a long-term documentary project centered on that community.

Vital Impacts is particularly interested in supporting photographers whose existing relationships allow them to tell stories with greater depth, context, accountability, and sensitivity.

Delivery of Final Project

At the conclusion of the applicable fellowship or mentorship period, recipients will be expected to provide:

• A wide edit of approximately 50 color-corrected JPEG images and the corresponding RAW files;
• Any agreed-upon audiovisual materials, where applicable.

The final work should represent a meaningful and substantial body of work developed during the fellowship or mentorship period.

Vital Impacts will work with fellows and mentors to amplify the resulting stories and, where appropriate, seek publication, exhibition, media placement, or other opportunities that can increase the reach and impact of the work.

Vital Impacts may provide editorial guidance and support with pitching and negotiating publication opportunities. The photographer retains appropriate authorship and rights as provided in the Fellowship or Mentorship Agreement.

Mentorships

In addition to the seven fellowship recipients, Vital Impacts will select ten emerging photographers to participate in a mentorship program. 

Participants will engage in one-on-one sessions with industry experts, photographers, editors, and other professionals. Through these sessions, participants will refine their storytelling, receive guidance on navigating the photography industry, and build professional networks.

Mentorship recipients are expected to:

• Meet with their assigned mentor monthly;
• Participate in required mentorship lectures and programming;
• Actively advance their environmental photography project throughout the program; and
• Present their work to the Vital Impacts community at the conclusion of the program.

Grant of Rights

All applicants agree that Vital Impacts may use submitted application materials solely for purposes connected to administering, promoting, and announcing the fellowships and mentorships, including announcing finalists and recipients.

Winners will grant Vital Impacts a non-exclusive license to use agreed-upon application materials both in print and online for purposes including:

• Promoting the fellow and their project;
• Promoting the Vital Impacts fellowship and mentorship program;
• Social media;
• Newsletters;
• Website;
• Exhibitions;
• Educational programming;
• Media outreach; and
• Other nonprofit promotional and editorial activities related to Vital Impacts' mission.

 Vital Impacts will work closely with fellows and mentees to amplify their work and profiles, helping create meaningful opportunities for greater visibility, connection, and impact. We will use their stories and work to promote their projects, introduce them to new audiences and networks, and help open doors to future opportunities—always in collaboration with them and with respect for their creative ownership, voice, and goals.