Redford Center Inc dba The Redford Center

In filing year 2024, the organization reported 32 grants totaling $7,317,199. Grants ranged from $7,000 to $3,178,298, with a median of $25,000. The largest listed grants were $3,178,298 to BIG PICTURE RANCH LLC and $2,606,481 to GROUNDSWELL MOVIE LLC, both for documentary filmmaking. Other notable grants included $356,747 to SHANE ANDERSONSWIFTWATER FILMS LLC and $165,769 to CULTURE CROSSING LLCLISA LANDERS, also for documentary filmmaking. Its 2025 filing, the latest on this page, reports 28 grants totaling $5.9 million.

The organization’s website describes its flagship Redford Center Grants as supporting feature-length independent environmental documentaries and impact campaigns. For the 2026 cycle, selected filmmakers were to receive $40,000 and yearlong support, including mentorship, access to industry and environmental experts, a cohort fellowship, and an in-person convening. Applications for that cycle closed May 17, 2026; applicants were expected to be notified and funds awarded by October 2026. Projects must be nonfiction feature films of at least 60 minutes or docu-series, have sample footage, and not be picture locked. The project must address or intersect with an environmental issue and a proposed or activated solution, and have clear impact goals and a developed impact campaign idea. At least one applicant must reside primarily in the United States; international stories are eligible. Applicants must be 18 or older, and each project may have up to two applicants, one of whom must be the director.

The organization also offers fiscal sponsorship, which is not direct funding. Its website says it accepts applications on a rolling basis and provides fund management and distribution assistance, along with networking and promotional support. Eligible applicants are independent filmmakers or documentarians aged 18 or older who own the work’s copyright and retain artistic, budgetary, and editorial control. Projects must have an environmental focus, a positive and solutions-focused approach, innovative storytelling, and potential to broaden the audience for the issue.

Other opportunities include the NRDC Climate Storytelling Fellowship, which supports selected writing teams revising a feature screenplay or pilot incorporating climate change; its 2027 application is listed as open until December 4, 2026. The Nature Connection Pitch supports short documentaries of 30 minutes or less and includes funding and professional development. Its listed 2026 application period ran October 22 to December 16, 2025, a past cycle.

The 2024 filing states that fiscal sponsorship funds are disbursed after filmmakers provide spending descriptions and production updates; budget and project updates are required before funds are released.