NOW OPEN: 2026 Earth Alliance Impact Pitch
Jackson Wild and Earth Alliance Open Applications for the 2026 Impact Pitch, Expanding Support for Filmmakers Bridging Conservation Storytelling and Action.
All 2026 Jackson Wild Media Awards entrants are eligible to apply for funding and strategic support to turn powerful films into measurable real-world impact
JACKSON, WY — Jackson Wild, the global forum amplifying impactful storytelling at the nexus of nature, science, and climate, and Earth Alliance, a leading platform dedicated to co-creating, producing, and elevating community-led and coalition-based impact campaigns, today announced the return of the Jackson Wild x Earth Alliance Impact Pitch for 2026. The program is now officially open for applications, offering filmmakers the opportunity to compete for up to $30,000 USD in grant funding and strategic support to launch or expand impact campaigns tied to their films.
The Impact Pitch was created in 2025 to address a critical gap in the documentary ecosystem: while films about the natural world can inspire audiences, many filmmakers lack the resources and support needed to translate awareness into sustained action. Through this partnership, Jackson Wild and Earth Alliance aim to help filmmakers build meaningful, solutions-oriented campaigns that can drive conservation outcomes, policy influence, and community-led change.
The program supports films that explore threatened wildlife, irreplaceable ecosystems, and communities leading solutions around the world. Selected finalists will be invited to participate in a competitive pitch process during this year’s Summit in Los Angeles, a collaboration between Jackson Wild and Hollywood Climate Summit, where they will present their impact vision to an audience of industry leaders, funders, and partners. Grant recipients will receive both financial support and strategic guidance from Earth Alliance to help bring their campaigns to life.
“Powerful storytelling has the ability to shift culture, but real change requires the support and strategy to move audiences from inspiration to action,” said Christie Quinn, Executive Director of Jackson Wild. “The Jackson Wild x Earth Alliance Impact Pitch exists to help filmmakers take that next step. We’re thrilled to open applications again in 2026 and continue investing in storytellers who are working to protect our planet.”
The 2026 launch builds on a strong inaugural year, which drew an inspiring pool of applicants and finalists from across the globe—representing a wide range of regions, communities, and conservation challenges. In 2025, projects explored stories rooted in Tanzania’s cloud forests, shark conservation in the Philippines, and Indigenous resilience in Bolivia, demonstrating the breadth of urgent environmental storytelling and the deep potential for documentary-led impact campaigns.
“Documentary impact work has never been more essential and it remains chronically underfunded,” said Marianna Olinger, co-director at Earth Alliance. “Last year’s applicants brought an extraordinary range of visions for how storytelling can support communities, strengthen conservation work, and help shift systems. We’re excited to return for 2026 and support a new cohort of filmmakers building campaigns that are grounded in partnership, strategy, and measurable outcomes.”
The inaugural grand prize recipient, Chameleon Corridors, received $30,000 in funding and strategic support to advance a reforestation campaign in Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains with local partners to challenge harmful superstitions, engage farmers and students, and promote long-term forest recovery. Two additional projects, Iyo Ang Dagat (The Sea is Yours) and Qotzuñi: People of the Lake, each received $15,000 to support campaigns focused on shark and ray protection in the Philippines and community-led resilience efforts with the Uru Indigenous Nation in Bolivia.
The 2026 Jackson Wild x Earth Alliance Impact Pitch is open exclusively to entrants of the 2026 Jackson Wild Media Awards. Filmmakers who have already submitted their Media Awards entry (as well as those who enter before the final media awards deadline on May 18th) are eligible to apply. Once a project has been entered into the Media Awards, creators will be able to complete a separate Impact Pitch application form for consideration.
As audience demand grows for stories that move toward solutions, Jackson Wild and Earth Alliance continue to champion impact campaigns that offer pathways forward, helping filmmakers build the partnerships, tools, and infrastructure needed to create real-world outcomes.
Applications for the 2026 Jackson Wild x Earth Alliance Impact Pitch are now open.
To learn more and apply, visit: jacksonwild.org/2026-media-awards
