By Ana Gonzalez RibeiroWriting for pleasure is great, but writing for money has its appeal doesn't it? What's even better is writing, getting paid for it and learning during the process. This is what fellowship opportunities offer. If you look around and browse a bit on the web, you'll find tons of these opportunities. I only learned about fellowships by accident one day as I was browsing through my American Society of Journalists and Authors subscription.For those of you who are not familiar yet, a writing or journalism fellowship, as it's often called, is a type of grant awarded to a fellowship applicant. The award enables the writer to research a project and write about it while receiving a housing, living and in some cases a healthcare stipend.One of the larger awards is the . This fellowship pays a $60,000 stipend paid in 10 monthly installments. It also pays money for housing, childcare, health insurance and school related expenses. This is one of the best and most competitive fellowships to get accepted into, but don’t let that intimidate you from applying- give it a shot. There are a large number of fellowships available with various degrees of funding and requirements, so look around until you find your perfect match.The Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism offers a short-term fellowship to help journalists learn how to use online tools such as social media, to develop sources and research. The fellowship includes a housing and travel stipend. Print, broadcast and online journalists with 5 or more years experience at a U.S. news organization can apply. The program also counts internship and freelance work if you've worked at least 20 hours a week.For those interested in science, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution of Ocean Sciences offers a journalism fellowship that introduces journalists to oceanography and ocean engineering topics. It is a 1-week program open to professional writers, producers and editors working in print, broadcast, radio and Internet media. Freelancers should show a substantial portfolio of work according to the program. Fellows receive travel allowance and room and board for one week.Journalism Jobs.com lists many currently available fellowships and the International Center for Journalists has a number of fellowships available for journalists in the United States and around the world.The Columbia Journalism Review offers the Encore Fellowship. It is a new program designed to help recently downsized journalists or late-career professionals transition to encore careers. According to its press release, the program is "the first of its kind in the news industry." The purpose of the initiative was to " provide downsized professionals with a writing position as well as support to help them choose how best to use their experience in the years ahead." The work from selected fellows will be featured in the Columbia Journalism Review magazine and on CJR.org. The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting Fellowship is provided by The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. This is a non-profit organization, which supports independent international journalism. If you are interested in reporting about environmental issues, struggles for resources around the world, human rights abuses, ethnic tensions or related topics, then this might be a good fit. The fellowship provides travel grants to cover costs for international reporting projects. Retired adults interested in grant writing can apply to the ReServe Grant Writing Residency Program. The program trains retired journalists to become grant writers while they work under supervised placements at non-profit organizations. It is a 10-month program.Dag Hammarskjöld Scholarship Fund for Journalists focuses on bringing professional journalists from developing countries to New York where they cover the United Nations during the U.N. General Assembly each year. Association of Healthcare Journalists. This independent, nonprofit organization has a number of fellowships. According to their site, their goal is to advance public understanding of health care issues.Writer 2.0 also has a nice compilation of 25 journalism fellowships.So there you have, fellowships, fellowships and more fellowships! Good luck and may all your writing wishes come true.
Ana Gonzalez Ribeiro, MBA writes for Investopedia.com, Mint.com and Bankrate.com. Her informative articles have been published in various print magazines, news outlets and websites including Huffington Post, Fidelity and Forbes.com. She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Writers Association and founder of Ace the Journey. Interested in contributing a guest blog post of your own? Check out the guest blogger guidelines.