The Southern Documentary Fund (SDF) is a media advocacy group founded in 2002 to support documentary filmmakers in the southern United States. The documentaries of those supported by the foundation have covered topics such as civil rights, the environment, and LGBT interests. ¹ It is funded by federal agencies including the National Endowment for the Humanities ² and the National Endowment for the Arts. ³ The SDF has also received funding from left-of-center organizations including the MacArthur Foundation, ⁴ Creative Capital Foundation, ⁵ and the Ford Foundation. ⁶

Advocacy

The Southern Documentary Fund (SDF) offers a fiscal sponsorship program for projects produced within or cover topics occurring in the Southern United States.  ⁷

SDF has previously supported the production of documentaries including The Black Future Manifesto, Meant To Be Maddie on transgender children,” ⁸ and Sister Senators promoting abortion access. ^{9 10}

Filmmaking grants are offered on an annual basis to documentary makers while the grants are supported by the MacArthur Foundation, ¹¹ which has provided financial support for the SDF since 2018. ¹²

Funding

In 2023, the Southern Documentary Fund (SDF) reported $1,416,684 in total revenue, almost 40 percent of which was from government grants. ¹³

Since 2016, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded SDF roughly $1,025,000 for documentaries about the Appalachia region. ^{2 14}

Since 2019, the federal National Endowment for the Arts  ¹⁵ has awarded over $200,000 in grants to SDF. ³

Other donors to the SDF include the North Carolina Arts Council, the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, ⁴ Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism, the Sustainable Markets Foundation, and the Proteus Fund. ¹⁶

In 2022 and 2023, the Creative Capital Foundation awarded a total of $45,000 to SDF for project support. Since 2019 the Ford Foundation has awarded SDF $270,000 in grants. ^{6 5}

Leadership

Clint Jukkala is the executive director of the Southern Documentary Fund (SDF). Jukkala earned a master’s degree in fine arts from Yale University in 1998 then worked as an art professor at Yale University for 11 years. He moved to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and held administrative positions, including executive dean for over 10 years, before joining the SDF as executive director in November 2023. ^{17 18}

Ellen Stolzman is the board president for SDF. She has held several positions with CBS, Simon & Schuster, and HBO Video. ¹⁹

Steven Channing and Cynthia Hill are the co-founders of SDF. Both are documentary filmmakers.  Channing earned a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina and began his career as a professor at the University of Kentucky. Hill is a North Carolina-based documentary filmmaker. ^{20 21 22}

1. “Championing Southern Stories.” Southern Documentary Fund – About. Accessed May 16, 2025. https://southerndocumentaryfund.org/about/
2. National Endowment for the Humanities – Award Search. Southern Documentary Fund. Accessed May 16, 2025. https://apps.neh.gov/publicquery/default.aspx
3. National Endowment for the Arts – Grants Search. Southern Documentary Fund. Accessed May 16, 2025. https://apps.nea.gov/grantsearch/
4. Southern Documentary Fund homepage. Accessed May 16, 2025. https://southerndocumentaryfund.org/
5. Creative Capital Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Schedule I.) 2021, 2022.
6.  Ford Foundation Grants Database search. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/?search=southern+documentary+fund
7. “Fiscal Sponsorship.” Southern Documentary Fund. Accessed May 16, 2025. https://southerndocumentaryfund.org/programs/fiscal-sponsorship/
8. “Supported Projects.” Southern Documentary Fund. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://southerndocumentaryfund.org/projects-by-filter/
9. “The Black Future Initiative.” Southern Documentary Fund. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://southerndocumentaryfund.org/the-black-futures-initiative/
10. Sophie Brams. “Upcoming ‘sister senators’ documentary to be previewed during Charleston event.” News 2. March 19, 2025. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://www.counton2.com/news/local-news/upcoming-sister-senators-documentary-to-be-previewed-during-charleston-event/
11. “Filmmaking Grants.” Southern Documentary Fund. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://southerndocumentaryfund.org/programs/filmmaking-grants/
12. Southern Documentary Fund Expands Filmmaking Grants.” Southern Documentary Fund. August 21, 2024. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://southerndocumentaryfund.org/southern-documentary-fund-expands-filmmaking-grants/
13. The Southern Documentary Fund. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Part VIII.) 2023.
14. “About the National Endowment for the Humanities.” National Endowment for the Humanities. Accessed May 16, 2025. https://www.neh.gov/about
15. “What Is the NEA?” National Endowment for the Arts. Accessed May 16, 2025. https://www.arts.gov/about/what-is-the-nea
16. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer search. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/30419743/202413199349314661/IRS990ScheduleI
17. “Clint Jukkala Joins Southern Documentary Fund as New Executive Director.” Southern Documentary Fund. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://southerndocumentaryfund.org/clint-jukkala-joins-southern-documentary-fund-as-new-executive-director/
18. LinkedIn – Clint Jukkala. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/clint-jukkala-4672761b/
19. “Ellen Stolzman Biography.” IMDB. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13065708/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
20. “Steven A. Channing Biography.” IMDB. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1848056/bio/
21. “Cynthia Hill Biography.” IMDB. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1653705/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
22. “Co-founders.” Southern Democracy Fund. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://southerndocumentaryfund.org/about/board/