Professional Development Opportunities for BC Journalists

Scroll down below to see who the recipients are of the 2026 Professional Development Grants.

Since 2001, the Jack Webster Foundation has provided grants for BC journalists and journalism educators to pursue professional development in writing and editing, photography, documentary filmmaking, creative non-fiction, investigative journalism, newsroom leadership, and more.

Our grant recipients have taken courses at universities including UBC, Simon Fraser, Royal Roads, McGill, and the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, and organizations such as Editors Canada and Investigative Editors and Reporters.

The Jack Webster Foundation announces the grant recipients annually in the spring. Recipients will have until the end of February of the following year to complete their professional development programs.

“Poynter was wonderful. I can’t emphasize that enough. I have a lengthy list of notes on my computer from it that I am trying to incorporate into my work. The instructors were friendly and impressive in their knowledge. I loved the classes and got a lot from the extracurricular work as well. One of the best professional experiences of my career.”— Tyler Harper, Nelson Star
“The Poynter course was truly incredible. It was transformative, empowering, and genuinely uplifting and it exceeded my expectations in every way.” – Erin Haluschak, CHEK News