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Rewrite the climate narrative with us by pitching your climate news products and services that redefine the media ecosystem. Over 10-months you will receive seed money to take your MVP to market, editorial and business mentoring.
The cXc Innovation Fund is open for climate news innovators. £5k-15K funding available. Deadline for applications May 30, 2025.
The programme is designed to empower the next wave of climate journalism by developing bold, transformative climate news products and prototypes that will transform the media narrative.
We want innovative thinkers, brave newsrooms and dynamic content platforms who have skin in the game and are ready to challenge the status quo.
This fund is your opportunity to think big and experiment with news as a product and service: to put the audience's needs first, to understand the value of the idea to them, and develop groundbreaking media approaches.
Together, let’s create the future of climate communication.
1. Have a great climate news product or service idea that will shake up the media ecosystem.
2. Commit to a 10-month programme and reporting requirements.
3. Ensure your news product and service can answer one of the 4-global climate challenge areas.
4. Understand the intersection of climate and culture. Read the cXc Glossary.
5. Decide on the level of investment needed to bring your product or service to market. Awards range from a minimum of £5k to a maximum of £15k. You can apply for any amount within this range.
6. Fill in the Application - you can save as you go.
cXc research has identified 4-key global challenges which local newsrooms agreed on over the past 2-years. These are key to transforming climate news. Are you ready for the challenge?
1. News avoidance and the climate engagement crisis
2. Language, localisation, and cultural relevance gaps
3. The newsroom resource puzzle
4. Editorial priorities and institutional resistance
Deadline for applications May 30, 2025.
Apply Now• Fill in the application form. Deadline on May 30 23:59 BST. The form is quite detailed, so please allow plenty of time to complete it. You are able to save as you go and come back to it.
• If you have been shortlisted, we will invite you to present your pitch to us directly via video call. You must be available for a call during the week of June 23.
• There will be a final round of judging and the grant winners will be contacted on June 30 to inform them of their award.
• Due to the volume of submissions, we are not able to provide individual feedback to unsuccessful applications.
We ask for a full financial breakdown of resources and line items to be submitted on application. If the award is successful we ask:
• August 29, 2025 Update on project status be provided with full Impact plan, created with cXc be in place so tacking of progress and KPIs can be measured.
• November 28, 2025 End of year report be submitted, form to be supplied by cXc.
• April 30, 2026 A full report on the project. Financial close with receipts, cost tracking, revenue.
Submit an online application including a project proposal, a visual to support your application, a short video (maximum 2 minutes), budget breakdown, timeline, and details about yourself. The application deadline is May 30. Please note that due to the volume of applications cXc will not contact unsuccessful pitches and no direct feedback will be available.
Culture-first: The pitch Product / Service transforms climate from a siloed topic into a cultural force that is part of the media ecosystem. Read cXc Climate Culture Guide.
Innovation: The Product / Service drives innovation interest amongst newsrooms in the market or regionally. The approach will innovate processes and create an innovation-based culture within the organisation.
Impact: The Product / Service moves the climate conversation forward in the local market. There is a direct contribution made to changing the Climate Journalism ecosystem. That other markets could learn from the Product / Service and the knowledge is transferable.
Scale: The Product / Service is scalable in local or regional markets and has growth potential.
Financial Sustainability: That the Product / Service has the possibility of generating a financially sustainable business model and could be replicated across regions or other markets.
The applicant will fully own the idea. cXc has no right over the intellectual property. We ask the methodology and learning to be open source, however, all copyright and IP of the Product and Service is yours.
We recognize that climate change is not just a scientific or political issue, it’s a cultural one. We encourage projects that shape climate culture by making climate news more relatable, inspiring action, or connecting with communities through storytelling, art, or innovative engagement strategies.
Ready to shake up climate journalism? The cXc Innovation Fund offers to fuel bold, game-changing news products and services that put audiences first and redefine the media landscape.
Be part redefining the media eco-system.
Deadline for applications May 30, 2025.
climateXchange is the flagship initiative of Syli, our parent company—a non-profit dedicated to mission driven journalism. With a vision of a world where everyone has access to equitable, trustworthy and accurate information we are on a mission to create a healthier, more sustainable media ecosystem for better informed global audiences.
