2026–2027 Better Life Lab Multimedia Reporting Grants for Journalists and Storytellers

The Better Life Lab at New America is inviting journalists and storytellers to apply for its 2026–2027 Multimedia Reporting Grants, an opportunity designed to support powerful, solutions-oriented stories about caregiving, child care, family support, disability care, elder care, and end-of-life care. The reporting grants are intended for storytellers who can use journalism and creative storytelling to explore the challenges surrounding care in the United States while highlighting practical solutions, innovations, and possibilities for building stronger care systems. Selected storytellers will have their stories commissioned on a rolling basis beginning in October 2026. In addition to funding for reporting, successful applicants will be invited to participate in the Better Life Lab's reporting cohort and receive editorial guidance and placement assistance. The program welcomes both new and experienced reporters and particularly encourages applications from people with perspectives that have traditionally been underrepresented in the media. About the Better Life Lab Multimedia Reporting Grants The Better Life Lab, a program at New America, focuses on issues connected to work-family justice, gender equity, and the value of care. The Lab recognizes that care is a universal part of human life. People provide or receive care in many different circumstances, including raising children, supporting family members during illness, caring for older relatives, assisting people with disabilities, and providing comfort at the end of life. However, the source notes that care infrastructure in the United States faces significant challenges. The Better Life Lab therefore sees storytelling as an important way to examine these challenges, highlight solutions, influence policy discussions, and help audiences understand why care systems matter. Through the 2026–2027 reporting grants, the Lab is seeking journalists and storytellers who can develop compelling stories that do more than describe problems. The program emphasizes reporting that identifies approaches that are already being tested or implemented and examines what could be learned from them. What the 2026–2027 Reporting Grants Are Looking For The Better Life Lab is particularly interested in stories addressing two major pillars of the care crisis: 1. Innovations in Child Care One major focus of the reporting grants is innovation in child care. Applicants are encouraged to develop stories about real-world efforts that are already underway and that could contribute to a more equitable and accessible child care system. The goal is to identify and explore promising approaches while helping audiences envision what a stronger child care system could look like. Stories in this area may examine child care solutions or address fundamental questions about how early childhood education and care can be improved. The source specifically identifies several areas that storytellers can explore, including: • Rethinking when learning begins. • Examining who is served by child care systems. • Exploring the quality of care provided. • Examining the costs associated with child care. • Exploring how child care is financed and paid for. • Highlighting innovations that could contribute to a more equitable child care system. • Examining approaches that could provide families with greater choices. • Exploring ways of supporting living wages for child care educators and providers. The initiative's child care reporting component is supported by the Bainum Family Foundation and other funders. Applicants interested in this area can therefore consider reporting that moves beyond identifying shortcomings and instead investigates programs, models, practices, policies, or community efforts that could offer useful lessons for the future. 2. Investments in Care Infrastructure The second major focus is the broader issue of investment in care infrastructure. This area recognizes that caregiving extends throughout the life cycle and is not limited to early childhood. The Better Life Lab is seeking multimedia stories examining both challenges and potential solutions affecting caregivers and people who depend on care, including: • Infants and young children. • Families requiring child care. • People with disabilities. • Older adults. • Families caring for aging relatives. • People approaching the end of life. • Caregivers supporting family members across different stages of life. The reporting can explore how investments in care infrastructure could strengthen families, communities, and gender equality. The Lab's call also points to the relationship between caregiving and women's lives, noting that care is often treated as a private family responsibility and frequently falls disproportionately on women. Stories can therefore examine how better care infrastructure could affect families and communities while also considering the broader economic and social implications of care. Solutions-Oriented Journalism Is at the Heart of the Opportunity A defining feature of these reporting grants is the emphasis on solutions-oriented storytelling. Rather than focusing exclusively on what is broken within care systems, the Better Life Lab wants stories that investigate how and why care issues matter and what can be done about them. The program describes its approach as solutions journalism: reporting that emphasizes not only problems but also possible ways of addressing them. For applicants, this means that a strong reporting proposal should ideally have a clear connection between the issue being examined and potential solutions, innovations, or approaches that can be explored through reporting. The stories should help audiences understand: • Why care matters to families. • Why care matters to children. • Why care matters to communities. • Why care matters to the economy. • What innovative approaches are already being attempted. • Whether particular innovations could be expanded or replicated. • What a better future for care could look like. The Better Life Lab says this approach is intended to help build the energy and public demand necessary to support solutions to care challenges. Who Can Apply for the Reporting Grants? The opportunity is open to journalists and storytellers, with applications welcomed from both new and experienced reporters. The source specifically states that: • New reporters are welcome to apply. • Experienced reporters are welcome to apply. • People with perspectives traditionally underrepresented in the media are especially encouraged to apply. The program is therefore not restricted solely to established journalists with long professional careers. The invitation explicitly includes newer reporters and storytellers. What Types of Stories Can Be Submitted? The Better Life Lab is open to a broad range of storytelling formats. Applicants are not limited to conventional written journalism. The program welcomes multiple forms of media, including • Print stories. • Online articles. • Photojournalism. • Graphic stories. • Podcasts. • Audio stories. • Multimedia projects. • Videography. The Lab also expresses interest in new and creative storytelling methods that can reach broad and diverse audiences. This provides applicants with considerable flexibility in how they approach a proposed story. Rather than requiring every applicant to use the same medium, the program allows storytellers to select a format that fits the subject and intended audience. Creative Storytelling and Reaching Diverse Audiences The Better Life Lab is interested in stories that can communicate complex care issues to broad and diverse audiences. Applicants should therefore consider how their proposed reporting can make care-related issues understandable, engaging, and relevant to people beyond a specialized professional audience. Creative approaches may be particularly relevant where they help audiences understand: • The realities faced by caregivers. • The experiences of families seeking care. • The importance of child care systems. • The challenges associated with aging. • Disability and care needs. • End-of-life care. • The economic importance of care. • Innovative solutions being tested in communities. The Lab also wants stories that can paint a vision of what is possible in the future and examine whether promising innovations have the potential to scale. What Selected Storytellers Receive Successful applicants will receive more than an opportunity to develop a story. According to the Better Life Lab, selected journalists and storytellers will benefit from several forms of support. Reporting Commissions Stories will be commissioned on a rolling basis beginning in October 2026. This means selected storytellers will have an opportunity to develop reporting around the care-related topics identified by the program. Participation in a Reporting Cohort Selected journalists will also be invited to participate in the Better Life Lab reporting cohort. This creates an opportunity for participating storytellers to engage with others working on care-related reporting and become part of a broader group supported by the Lab. Editorial Guidance The program will provide selected journalists with editorial guidance. This support can be particularly relevant for storytellers developing complex stories that require careful reporting, framing, research, and presentation. Placement Assistance Selected storytellers will also receive placement assistance. The source indicates that the Lab works with its grantees to support the publication and placement of their stories. Track Record of the Better Life Lab Reporting Grants The Better Life Lab has an established history of supporting storytellers. Since 2021, the Lab reports that it has supported more than 30 different storytellers. Together with its team, it has produced nearly 100 stories on child care innovations, with those stories appearing in nearly 40 different publications and media outlets. This previous work demonstrates the program's focus on taking care-related reporting to established media audiences. Examples highlighted by the Lab include stories published by outlets such as Slate, Wisconsin Examiner, and Vox. The examples cover topics including elder care, child care differences across countries, and challenges facing caregivers who simultaneously support aging parents and children. Previous Better Life Lab Care Story Collections The Better Life Lab has also published collections of stories from previous reporting grant periods. Applicants interested in understanding the type of work previously supported by the program can review its earlier collections, including: • 2023: Telling the Story of Child Care • 2024 and 2025: Collection of Stories on Care These previous collections can provide useful context about the themes and approaches that have been explored through the reporting initiative. Resources for Applicants and Reporters The Better Life Lab also provides resources for journalists and storytellers interested in reporting on care. One resource focuses specifically on telling stories of care through video. The resource provides guidance for reporters who want to create videos, including practical considerations such as writing a script and preparing for presentation on camera. Applicants interested in producing video or multimedia reporting may find these resources particularly relevant when developing their storytelling approach. Why Caregiving Stories Matter Caregiving affects virtually every stage of life. Families may need child care when children are young, support for relatives dealing with illness, assistance for people living with disabilities, care for aging family members, or support during the end-of-life stage. Because these needs affect individuals, families, communities, workplaces, and economies, reporting on care can extend beyon

• Must be a journalist or storyteller • Both new and experienced reporters are welcome • People with perspectives traditionally underrepresented in media are particularly encouraged to apply