Better Life Lab Care Reporting Grant

The Better Life Lab at New America is paying journalists and storytellers to report solutions-focused stories about care in the United States, from child care innovations to family, disability, elder and end-of-life care. Any medium works, from print and podcasts to photojournalism, graphic stories and video, and both new and experienced reporters can apply. Stories are commissioned on a rolling basis from October 2026.

What you get:

• A reporting grant, typically about $1,000 for a traditional print or digital story, with more available for multimedia, graphic and nontraditional stories
• Paid on publication, and any fee the publishing outlet pays you is yours to keep
• Editorial guidance, pitching support and help placing your story with an outlet
• A place in the Better Life Lab reporting cohort, with peer convenings
• Amplification of your published work across Better Life Lab and New America networks

What you'll do:

• Pitch a solutions-oriented story on child care innovation or on investment in care across the life cycle
• Report and publish the story within six months, with progress updates at two and four months
• Work with the Lab's editors to find the story a publication home

• Open to new and experienced reporters and storytellers
• Pitch must be a solutions-oriented story about care in the United States: child care innovation, or challenges and solutions across family, disability, elder and end-of-life care
• Early to mid-career and experienced applicants submit three relevant published clips
• Emerging voices submit two samples of their work, which may be unpublished
• Application asks for a headline, a 200 to 500 word description of the piece, a short bio and potential outlets