Alumni Grants
Former grant recipients have the opportunity to apply for ongoing career support.
PURPOSE
The purpose of the DPPF Alumni Grant is to assist with career development by providing funding for a project or to facilitate working with colleagues or mentors. Funds may be spent on such line items as training, travel, lodging, and/or equipment and supplies required for a specific project (but not solely for equipment or supplies). The proposed activities must directly relate to advancing your photography career, and receipts must be provided to document usage.
ELIGIBILITY
Photographers who were previously awarded a DPPF Grant are eligible to apply. Photographers who receive an Alumni Grant are ineligible to reapply.
GRANT DETAILS
Grants are intended to fund projects and career-development experiences that are not already underwritten by other funding or employment. The maximum Alumni Grant amount is $2,500.
2024 Alumni Grant Recipient
Sara Kempner
In October of 2024 I made the decision to self-fund a trip to Utah to photograph one of the biggest mountain bike competitions in the world, Red Bull Rampage. Rampage is the most extreme freeride mountain bike competition that exists, and is considered the pinnacle of events for bike photographers like myself.
The event in 2024 was extra special because it was the first time women were invited to compete and I was determined to document that piece of women’s mountain biking history.
Originally I had planned on self-funding the two week trip from where I live in BC, Canada to Virgin, Utah.
The trip would have definitely come at a large financial sacrifice to me.
But my hope was that having a portfolio of images from this globally known event would help further my career in terms of visibility, experience and credibility within the industry.
On day two of my drive down to Utah I received word that DPPF was funding my trip through an Alumni Grant. The relief and excitement I felt was immense!
Receiving the funds took away all of the stress and doubt that I’d been feeling, and allowed me to fully focus on photography.
Having my travel expenses covered also afforded me the peace of mind to enjoy the experience of being there. Aside from creating a body of work from Rampage, I was also able to network and establish new industry connections while I was there.
I am incredibly grateful to have received a DPPF Alumni Grant as photographing at Rampage definitely helped advance my career and gave me added confidence in moving forward with my bike photography.
And while I didn’t know Doug personally, I think he would be pretty stoked that I was there too! Thank you to everyone at DPPF, I am so honoured to be a part of this community.