MRF 2026 Grants Program
The Moldova Resilience Fund is currently accepting applications for the following programs:
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Travel Mini-Grants Program (rolling)
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Innovation Grant Program (rolling)
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Emergency Funding Program (rolling)
Who Can Apply?
The Moldova Resilience Fund primarily supports independent media organizations, civic organizations, and other nonprofit institutions working to strengthen democratic resilience in Moldova. This includes organizations engaged in investigative journalism, public-interest reporting, civic participation, fact-based public discourse, government accountability, media development, and related fields.
Depending on the program, we may also support collaborations, academic institutions, professional associations, or other mission-aligned organizations where doing so advances our charitable purposes.
Eligibility requirements vary by program. Please review the specific guidelines for each funding opportunity before applying.
Travel Mini-Grants Program
Frequency: Rolling
Description: Grants of up to $500 for travel related expenses for journalists. This could be travel for conferences, professional trainings, or cross border reporting trips.
Eligibile Recipients:
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Independent media organizations applying on behalf of a journalist or small team
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Independent journalists or freelancers applying for themselves
Application Process: Short concept note outlining the purpose of the grant, planned budget and expected outputs.
Click here to apply online
Decision Time: Within 7 days.
Eligible Costs:
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Travel
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Lodging
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Conference fees
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Per diem
Co-funding from organizations or other donors is welcomed but not required
Public Output:
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Short reflection on the conference and outcomes for publication by MRF
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Recipients are encouraged to acknowledge MRF support in relevant public outputs
Innovation Grants Program
Frequency: Rolling
Maximum Grant: $3000 (exceptions made in rare cases)
Description: MRF will fund grants specifically designed to support financial sustainability. Applicants will send a 1 page project description that details:
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Activities to be taken under the grant
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A description of how the proposed activity demonstrates a plausible pathway toward improving organizational sustainability, audience growth, earned revenue, or operational efficiency.
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A clear analysis of the major risks to success and how would they adapt
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What (if any) attempts the organization has made to fund this activity with other donors and what (if any) feedback they received.
Eligibile Recipients:
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Independent media organizations
Examples of eligible activities:
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membership/subscription growth experiments
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advertising systems
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CRM implementation
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podcast monetization
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audience analytics
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events
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translation/localization
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merchandising
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fundraising infrastructure
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donor conversion funnels
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SEO/content optimization
Preference will be given to approaches with realistic pathways toward long-term sustainability or replicability.
The goal of programs funded under this program is to test out innovative approaches. MRF understands that not all experiments succeed.
Click Here to Apply Online
Emergency Funding Program
Frequency: Rolling
Decision Time: within 72 hours
Description: The MRF emergency fund is for rapid response situations where a partner needs timely support for a critical issue. The board will use discretion when considering applications, but we will advertise a list of basic guidelines as follows:
Eligibile Recipients:
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Independent media organizations
Activities unlikely to be approved:
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Payment of salaries during a gap between grants
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Rent or administrative costs
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Investments - equipment, training, events, etc
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Other regular operating expenses
Activities more likely to be approved:
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Emergency reporting trips
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Tools or costs critical to an ongoing investigation
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Costs that other donors are unable to fund or unable to fund in time
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Other urgent or emergency funds that promote important work in a time sensitive way
Grant Size: In order to keep this mechanism flexible, MRF does not have either minimum or maximum requirements for emergency applications. That said, MRF is a small organization and small high-impact grants will be most likely to be approved quickly.