The Bertha Challenge is a year-long Fellowship run by Bertha Foundation for activists, investigative journalists, filmmakers and lawyers. The foundation sets one Challenge question each year, and every Fellow spends the year working full time on a project that answers it and that is meant to go on beyond the Fellowship. Fellows work from a host organisation they bring themselves: it publishes or distributes the work, connects them to partners and audiences, and disburses their money. They also work as one international cohort, meeting at Fellowship convenings and on regular calls through the year. The 2026 Challenge, The Profit and Politics of the Threat to Democracy, asks how collusion between governments and corporations is driving the assault on the rule of law, civil rights and a free press, and how to push back to protect democratic accountability. Earlier Challenges took on farming (2025), food (2023) and water (2022). The 2026 Fellows are based in Canada, Italy, Poland, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom and the United States, at hosts including Liberty Investigates, Statewatch, Medact, Passion Pictures, Wired Italy and the Center for Strategic Litigation.
Benefits & funding
- A salary for the Fellowship year, paid to the Fellow through the host organisation. Fellows may be employed by the host or paid by it as a freelancer; tax and social security are agreed between the Fellow and the host.
- A Project Fund to produce the culminating work, and a Connect Fund to encourage collaboration with other Fellows. Both are disbursed by the host organisation.
- Bertha publishes the salary, Project Fund and Connect Fund amounts with each year’s call. No figures appear on the programme pages between cycles, so check the call when it opens.
- A full year of dedicated time on one question, instead of work squeezed around a job.
- An international cohort: Fellowship convenings, calls scheduled every two months, and discussion with other Bertha Fellows and partners.
- The work stays open. Bertha retains the intellectual property specifically so the work can be reprinted and distributed as widely as possible; the host organisation gets first option to print, broadcast or distribute it, and no organisation needs Bertha’s permission to publish.
Eligibility
- Activists, investigative journalists, filmmakers and lawyers.
- No nationality or residency requirement is published. The 2026 cohort is based across Africa, Europe and North America.
- Around five years of relevant experience is the norm. Applicants with less are still considered if the proposed project, the host organisation and what they could achieve make the case; unpaid work counts as work experience.
- Lawyers are expected to hold a relevant academic legal qualification. For activists, investigative journalists and filmmakers, qualifications are of interest but are not a prerequisite — experience, the body of work already produced, the proposed project, motivation and passion weigh more.
- A host organisation is mandatory. Applications without one are not considered. The host must be able to publish or distribute the work, connect the Fellow to relevant partners and audiences, and give administrative support including disbursing the salary and Project Fund.
- Fellows do not have to be employed by the host organisation, and do not have to be in the same city or area as it, although most are.
- A full-time commitment to the Fellowship project for the year, agreed in a signed document at the start, including attendance at convenings and regular cohort calls. Applicants who cannot work on the project full time are told not to apply.
- Previous Bertha Challenge Fellows are not considered for a second Fellowship. Recipients of other Bertha Foundation funding may apply.
- Joint applications on linked projects are welcome. Each applicant applies with their own project and their own host organisation, and each project must also stand alone.
- All final work is presented in English, and cohort calls and discussions run in English.
Can you apply?
Open to all applicants
No nationality, residency, education, or experience limits are listed.
We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Watch for the annual call. Bertha publishes that year’s Challenge question, the application questions and the online form when applications open.
- 2Secure a host organisation first, and agree how it will support the work, publish or distribute it, and disburse the salary and funds.
- 3Read the application questions, which Bertha posts as a reference PDF while applications are open; submissions are made through the online form, not the PDF.
- 4Prepare a project proposal that answers that year’s Challenge question, with a defined final product and audience, alongside the body of work behind it.
- 5Submit through the online application form. Joint applicants each submit their own application, project and host organisation.
- 6Email berthachallenge@berthafoundation.org if the form causes problems.
Program timeline
28 July 2025
Applications closed for the 2026 Challenge (this date is no longer published on the site)
Through 2026
The 2026 cohort works its Fellowship year
Next round
Bertha has published no 2027 Challenge question, opening date or deadline