Golden Globe Foundation Awards Grants to SMC Journalism & Film Programs

Golden Globe Foundation Awards Grants to SMC Journalism & Film Programs

Awards Support Scholarship to Build Diverse Pipeline of Future Journalists & the Production of Capstone Short Film for College’s Award-Winning Film Program, Part of $3 Million Granted by GGF to 86 Nonprofits

SANTA MONICA, CA—The Golden Globe Foundation (GGF, “Foundation”) has given the Santa Monica College Foundation two grant awards to support the award-winning Santa Monica College (SMC) film production and journalism programs. The Foundation provided a renewed grant award of $17,000 for SMC journalism students who work for/intern on the award-winning student-run media outlet The Corsair and $43,000 to help fund the film production program’s capstone class, “Making the Short Film.”

The grants for 2025-2026—which were announced on Sept. 18—builds upon support given by the GGF in previous years; in total thus far, the Foundation has awarded SMC Foundation over $455,000 to aid the college’s journalism and film production programs, as well as SMC’s Meal Project, which provided students experiencing food insecurity with meals to help them accomplish their educational goals without experiencing severe hunger.

The grant awards given to the SMC Foundation are part of  contributions made by the Foundation to a diverse group of 86 nonprofits that “provide a multitude of resources and services to programs that educate, enrich and empower the next generation of filmmakers and storytellers, colleges and universities, underserved communities, film restoration projects in the United States and abroad, free speech protections, along with providing financial aid, assistance and resources to journalists worldwide.”

Funding for GGF’s philanthropy is made possible from revenue generated by licensing fees from the Golden Globe® Awards.

“The Golden Globe Foundation is proud to continue its longtime commitment to philanthropy by providing financial support to a wide range of impactful nonprofit programs,” said Adam Tanswell, President, Golden Globe Foundation, in a press release announcing the grant awards for 2025-2026. “This year’s grantees play significant roles in empowering and enriching their communities. We are delighted to fund these meaningful initiatives in arts, culture, education, journalism, and press freedom during a time of increasing need.”

The Foundation’s $43,000 fellowship grant to SMC’s film program helps to fund the capstone class, Film 33 (“Making the Short Film”), a hands-on student learning experience in which students under the direct mentorship and guidance of faculty produce a professional-level short film, enabling them to gain greater exposure, access to cutting-edge technology, and entry into a career in applied filmmaking. In 2025, Moviemaker Magazine once again ranked the SMC film program as one of the 30 best film schools in the U.S. and Canada alongside AFI Conservatory, UCLA, Columbia University, NYU, and others. This was SMC’s third appearance on the list, recognized as “one of the most affordable options for learning the ropes while studying near the epicenter of the entertainment industry.”

The SMC student short films funded by the Foundation have won major awards and been invited to prestigious festivals both in the U.S. and overseas. These include “Out of Touch” (Best Short Film, Prague Independent Film Festival), “The Attempt” (Best Short Film, Vienna Independent Film Festival), “Old Cliff Rising” (Best Student Film, Prague Independent Film Festival), “Broken Layers” (Best Student Film; The American Pavilion’s Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at Cannes Film Festival), “The War Within” (Best Student Film, California Women’s Film Festival), “Leaving the Factory” (Winner, Russo Brothers Italian American Film Forum), “Wow!” (Golden Remi, WorldFest Houston International Film Festival), and “Ends and Means” (Official Selection, LA Shorts International Film Festival), among others. To learn more about SMC’s film production program, visit smc.edu/film.

To date, the Golden Globe Foundation has funded 31 SMC journalism program scholarships for students to develop real-world experience by working as part of The Corsair’s staff. Members of The Corsair—which helps students develop storytelling techniques, build their career portfolios, and think critically in real-world settings—commit hundreds of hours to the newsroom each semester.  Many SMC students who are interested in training for careers in journalism face immense economic challenges. These scholarships, awarded at the end of each spring semester, have enabled a more diverse range of talented journalism students to engage in this important academic and career development opportunity.

Of the 31 students who have received the Golden Globe Foundation scholarship, most have moved on to four-year universities including UCLA, Howard University, Loyola Marymount University, and CSU LA, CSU Long Beach, CSU Fullerton and CSU Northridge. Some have taken leadership roles in their transfer school's newsrooms. Scholarship winners have also produced media content for outlets including The Forward, Fearless Records, 70 Faces Media, KPFK 90.7 FM, AfroLA, YR Media, and the City of Hawthorne and more. The Corsair won more than 100 awards and honors this past academic year, including surpassing The Stanford Daily for best all-around student newspaper in the Society of Professional Journalists regional competition announced in May. To learn more about The Corsair and the journalism program, see: smc.edu/journalism. The Corsair is online at thecorsaironline.com.

Other higher education institutions receiving support, in addition to Santa Monica College, include American Film Institute, Cal State Long Beach, Mt. San Antonio College, California Institute of the Arts, Loyola Marymount University, and more.

Golden Globe Foundation is also providing financial support to a number of worthy programs and special projects including $400,000 to the NAACP Hollywood Bureau, $100,000 to Cinematheque Francaise for the restoration of the 1927 classic, “Napoleon”, $75,000 to IndieCollect for the restoration of six independent films and a collaboration with National Association of Theatre Owners California Nevada to provide a movie pass and screening series to Los Angeles first responders and their families in recognition of their extraordinary service during the devastating wildfires.

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About the Golden Globe Foundation:

Golden Globe Foundation was created in 2023 following the sale of the Golden Globes to Eldridge Globes, LLC. The proceeds of that sale and existing resources of the organization allow the Foundation to fulfill a longtime history of entertainment-related charitable giving. The Foundation and its predecessor, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, maintain longstanding support to a diverse range of nonprofit organizations including programs empowering the next generation of filmmakers, colleges and universities, film restoration projects in the United States and abroad, underserved communities, and providing financial aid, resources and services to journalists worldwide. Over the last three decades, the licensing fees from the Golden Globe® Awards have enabled the Foundation to contribute $60 million to these charities. Learn more at ggfdn.org or contact: Greg Goeckner, media@GoldenGlobes.org.

About Santa Monica College:

Santa Monica College is a California Community College accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). For 34 consecutive years, SMC has been California’s leading transfer college to UCLA, UC Berkeley, and other University of California campuses. The college also tops in transfers to the University of Southern California and Loyola Marymount University and is the top feeder west of the Mississippi to the Ivy League Columbia University. As the leading job trainer in Los Angeles’s Westside, the college offers robust career education opportunities, with over 110 degrees and certificates in traditional and emerging fields. SMC provides news and cultural enrichment through its NPR radio station KCRW (89.9 FM), the Eli & Edythe Broad Stage at the SMC Performing Arts Center, and lifelong learning through distinctive programs such as its Emeritus Program for older adults.