Apply for funding
We support projects that contribute to an open, resilient, trustworthy, sustainable and human-centered internet. Are you working on open hardware, open software, open data or open standards? We financially support organisations and people who are developing open solutions that empower users on all layers of technology.
What we offer
We provide grants between 5.000 and 50.000 euro — with the possibility to scale them up if there is proven potential. In addition to these grants, depending on the fund in question, grantees can benefit from a variety support services such as security and accessibility audits, mentoring, testing expertise, and copyright & licensing advice. As a philanthropy, we do not pay commercial rates — we provide a cost-recovery based mechanism, allowing people to freely work on what they believe in.
How to apply
We have back-to-back open calls, so you can always submit a proposal. There is a deadline on the 3rd of every odd month. We do our best to offer a low-threshold application mechanism. We've kept the application form short so as not to waste your time.
Eligibility
In principle anyone can apply: individuals, research organisations, non-profits, public institutions, companies of any size and type, etc. However, do read the eligiblity section of the fund you are applying for, as specific conditions may apply. All projects must be free/libre/open source: all scientific outcomes must be published as open access, and any software and hardware developed must be published under a recognised free and open source license in its entirety.
Active funds
New funds will become active after the summer. We're currently transitioning from our Next Generation Internet programmes to the Open Internet Stack. The upcoming funds are announced on our homepage.
Open Social Fund
Promoting W3C ActivityPub and beyond
The goal of the Open Social Fund is to help to restore balance in the social media landscape of today and tomorrow. By redecentralising this part of the internet and handling the functionality required as a native part of the world wide web, we help make this technology to be more robust and healthier for users. The Open Social Fund is intended to be complementary to the funding of R&D work, funding auxiliary efforts not within the scope of our larger funds
Research and Higher Education Technology Fund
Today we make the internet of tomorrow
Financial cuts and the 'publish or perish' paradigm are increasingly impacting the capability of the research and education community to contribute to the future of the internet - while the internet needs their talent and ideas more than ever. The Research and Higher Education Technology Fund was created to help fund small initiatives that can make a noticeable difference to the users and providers of Research and Education networks.
Acknowledgements
NGI Zero funds are made possible with financial support from the European Commission's Next Generation Internet programme, under the aegis of DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology.
