Procedure and Checklist for the Catapult Research Grant:

Our application is based on the Nonfiction Core Application, a collaborative effort to standardize application requirements for documentary filmmakers. We do not accept unsolicited pitches for individual projects outside of application cycles.

To ensure you receive communications regarding your application, please add info@catapultfilmfund.org and the Submittable domain (email.submittable.com) to your “safe list” through your email provider. If you experience issues with Submittable, please let us know and feel free to reach out to support@submittable.com to assist you further.

How To Apply

Applicants must have a Submittable account to access the application. This process is free and requires a username, password, and contact information. Communications regarding your submission will be sent to your registered email.

The application procedure includes:

• LOI Application: After logging into Submittable, click the Apply button (below) to begin the application. You can save and return to it as often as needed until you are ready to submit. To request reasonable assistance for applicants with a disability, contact info@catapultfilmfund.org or leave a message at 415-738-8553.
• Submission: Catapult accepts applications until 5 p.m. PST on the LOI deadline. We highly recommend early submission to avoid technical difficulties. Please inform us immediately about platform-related issues and reach out to Submittable for further assistance. We cannot offer extensions due to staff capacity and in fairness to other applicants.
• Full Application Invitation: We will contact selected projects in early December with the invitation to submit the full application for funding consideration. Please be sure to whitelist the Submittable domain (email.submittable.com) to ensure you receive time-sensitive updates. For reference, a checklist of the full application is provided below.
• Final Review: Each application will be reviewed through a rigorous process including several rounds of independent review that inform final decisions by Catapult staff. During this process, we may contact finalists with additional project questions.
• Notification: Grantees will be announced in the spring. Applicants will be notified directly via your registered email once a decision has been made. We have limited capacity to give individual project feedback.

Checklist

Catapult uses the Nonfiction Core Application, in addition to supplemental grant-specific questions. We have simplified some Core App questions, with abbreviated word counts, in recognition of the proposed project’s early stage. Preview Nonfiction Core Application questions (available in English and Spanish)»

The LOI checklist includes:

• Contact information: director name, email, and address
• Project information: title, length, logline, story or concept summary, topic summary
• Catapult requirements: connection to project, grant impact based on project stage and filmmaker goals
• Key creative personnel: brief team bios, relevant expertise, and project role
• Prior work sample: sample description, link, password

The full application checklist includes:

• Contact information: director name, email, and address
• Project information: title, length, logline, story or concept summary, topic summary, creative control, and project stage and timeline
• Approach and ethics: artistic approach, connection and access, perspective, protagonist agreement, accountability, community care and safety, and accessibility
• Key creative personnel: brief team bios, relevant expertise, and project role
• Funding: fundraising strategy, total budget, funding raised and spent to date
• Catapult requirements: previous application update, grant impact
• Fiscal sponsor: a fiscal sponsor is not required to apply but if selected, must be confirmed in order to accept grant award
• Work sample(s): may include project material and/or representative work

Please carefully review the Guidelines and Eligibility and FAQ sections before applying. If you still have questions, email info@catapultfilmfund.org with the full title of your project in the subject line. We are a small team and will do our best to respond in a timely manner, with limited capacity to reply during peak application periods.