Join our newsletter!

Sign up

Menu

Get Funded

You have a powerful story to tell—let’s bring it to life together. We offer development and co-production funds for both short and feature documentaries.

  • 1,455 Funded Projects
  • 48 Peabody Awards
  • 49 Emmys
  • 23 Oscar Nominations

ITVS funds groundbreaking documentary projects that spotlight a range of lived experiences from across the country.

With a deep commitment to independent storytelling, ITVS-funded work has gone on to earn prominent awards—recognition that reflects the impact, excellence, and relevance of the stories we help bring to the American public.

Person holding camera shooting a woman with dark brown hair and medium tan skin tone who is preparing food

Open Call

Funding and co-production support for exceptional documentaries in progress.

Open Call supports independent documentary storytellers completing nonfiction projects for public media. If you have a compelling, original project ready for production or post-production, we’d love to hear from you.

  • Single, nonfiction projects only (sorry, no series or pilots)

  • Short or feature projects over 10 minutes in length

  • In production or post-production (no development or R&D)

Stanley Nelson looking into camera in audio recording studio

Development Fund

Early-stage funding for bold new nonfiction stories.

The Development Fund supports documentary projects that take creative risks, inspire dialogue, and are rarely seen on public or commercial media. With over 20 years of impact, the fund covers a range of storytelling formats and lengths for public media distribution.

  • Up to $35k in development funding for nonfiction projects

  • Feedback to develop your full funding proposal

  • Projects that are 30, 60, or 90 minutes in length

Man holding a camera while sitting in a shopping cart with a woman also wearing camera gear both smiling

Series and Special Projects

Commissioned funding for innovative and timely nonfiction projects.

We provide development and production support for a select number of invited series and special projects.

  • Invitation-only development and/or production funding

  • Focus on innovative and timely series and features

  • Over 200 projects funded to date

We ensure public media distribution.

As your documentary nears completion, we collaborate closely with public media distributors to ensure we reach the widest, most engaged audience possible.

Where We Stream

Doc World
American Masters
PBS Video App
POV logo
NETA Logo
American Reframed logo
Voces logo
Reel South Logo
World channel logo
Frontline
Afro Pop The ultimate Cultural Exchange logo