SFFILM Rainin Grant Program

The SFFILM Rainin Grant, administered by SFFILM in partnership with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, is the largest grant in the United States specifically designed to support independent narrative feature films that address social justice issues. These issues can include themes related to human and civil rights, gender and disability rights, anti-discrimination, sexual identity, and other current social challenges. The program emphasizes content that has strong social value, aims to inspire change, and benefits the Bay Area filmmaking community both professionally and economically. The grant provides funding of up to $25,000 per project and is open to filmmakers both in the U.S. and internationally. Grants are awarded annually in three specific stages of production: screenwriting, development, and post-production. Each stage carries specific expectations and deliverables. The screenwriting grant supports time and resources to develop the script and includes a four-week residency at SFFILM’s FilmHouse. The development grant targets projects progressing toward financing and casting, and also includes a residency. Post-production grants support editorial work or specific sound and color needs and do not require residency. To be eligible, applicants must be at least 18 years old and serve as a screenwriter, director, or producer in a key creative role. Projects must be feature-length narrative films with total budgets not exceeding $3,000,000. Short films and documentaries are ineligible. The project may not be a work for hire, and applicants may reapply if they show significant progress since their last submission. The 2025 grant cycle opened on March 4, 2025. The regular deadline is May 16, 2025, with a $30 fee, and the final deadline is May 30, 2025, with a $50 fee. Finalists are expected to be notified in September 2025, with recipients announced in October. Finalists must submit additional materials including director and producer statements, script treatments, budget details, and work samples depending on the stage of production for which they are applying. Applications require a logline, bios, project synopsis, thematic relevance to social justice, and a statement on how the project benefits the Bay Area film community. Script samples, visual samples, and budget top sheets are also required or strongly encouraged. Filmmakers affiliated with SFFILM or the Kenneth Rainin Foundation are ineligible. All inquiries should be directed to grants@sffilm.org. Application fees are waived for SFFILM members, and while the grant does not provide additional travel stipends, recipients may use the award to cover such expenses.