Rural Creator Fellowship 2026 ($3,500 stipend) – YOA

Deadline: June 7, 2026

Applications are open for the Rural Creator Fellowship 2026. The Rural Creator Fellowship trains trusted native voices within the truth-checking expertise they must be dependable sources of correct data for his or her communities.

More than 3,500 native information shops have closed previously 20 years. In rural America, that loss is acute — communities the place the one native paper closed years in the past, college board conferences with nobody overlaying them, public well being crises with no native reporter on the beat. When correct data disappears, misinformation strikes in. The Rural Creator Fellowship exists to vary that.

This brief-time period digital fellowship is open to 2 sorts of individuals: skilled content material creators who need to deepen their truth-checking expertise, and trusted group members — retired academics, civic leaders, native enterprise house owners, and others — who’re able to take their first steps in public data sharing. What issues most isn’t a following or a digital camera setup. It’s group belief and a dedication to getting issues proper.

Program Details

The fellowship curriculum consists of:

• Fact-checking and discovering dependable sources
• Public data analysis and FOIA requests
• Citing analysis, research, and knowledge
• Interviewing and supply growth
• Understanding your viewers and constructing belief
• Audio and video technical instruments
• Platform technique, web optimization, and algorithms
• Staying secure throughout platforms

The cohort meets just about as soon as every week for six weeks (roughly July 13-August 21), with assignments designed to place new expertise into apply straight away. Fellows have entry to dialogue boards with program administrators and fellow individuals to brainstorm concepts, ask questions, and construct group with friends from throughout rural America.

Stipend

• Each fellow receives a $3,500 stipend for his or her time and dedication to this system. 

Eligibility

• Open to creators who serve communities of fifty,000 folks or much less.
• They ought to be within the United states.

Application

This program is designed for creators who serve communities of fifty,000 folks or much less. Applications are open till June 7 at midnight ET.

Click here to apply

For extra data, go to Rural Creator Fellowship.