Writers Emergency Assistance Fund

IMPORTANT COVID-19 NOTICE

Coronavirus-related WEAF funds are only available to those who cannot work because they are currently ill or caring for someone who is ill. Funds are not available to those who have lost work because publishers and/or clients are no longer assigning due of the pandemic. All other guidelines outlined below still apply. 

ASJA is receiving four times the number of WEAF applications as usual. Please review our guidelines carefully before applying. We want to help as many applicants as possible, and our WEAF review team is made up of professional freelance writers who are also struggling during this crisis. Please be cognizant of our staff and volunteer time by considering carefully whether or not your application meets our criteria. 

The Writers Emergency Assistance Fund helps established freelance writers who, because of illness, disability, a natural disaster, or an extraordinary professional crisis are unable to work. A writer need not be a member of ASJA to qualify for a grant. However, applicants must establish a record of past professional freelance nonfiction writing over a sustained period of years, which means qualifications generally similar to those of ASJA members. WEAF does not award grants to beginning freelancers seeking funding for writing projects, nor does it fund works-in-progress of any kind.

Since 1982, WEAF has awarded more than 160 grants totaling approximately $400,000. Among the recipients have been writers of diverse backgrounds and interests, with an impressive list of honors and credentials among them. Each year, many such talented and deserving men and women appeal to WEAF, which is often their last hope for help.

WEAF was formerly the Llewellyn Miller Fund and is administered through the Charitable Trust of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, which has 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt status. Contributions are fully tax-deductible, and can be made online or by check.