Grant Strategy¶
BNI's open-source, social-good mission aligns with several major funders. All grants below fund open-source technology for underserved communities.
Timing
Apply after receiving the 501(c)(3) determination letter, or via Open Collective fiscal sponsorship before that. Open Collective's fiscal host status satisfies most grant eligibility requirements.
Priority targets¶
| Funder | Focus | Typical grant | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mozilla Technology Fund | Open internet, privacy, security | $50K–$200K | Annual cycle, competitive; strong fit for MPowerUP's privacy-first P2P architecture |
| Knight Foundation | Journalism, community, technology | $25K–$150K | Good fit for MPowerUP as community infrastructure |
| Patrick J. McGovern Foundation | AI for good, social impact | $100K–$1M | Strong AI + social good mandate |
Secondary targets¶
| Funder | Focus | Typical grant | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Foundation | Social justice, digital equity | $100K–$500K | Multi-year grants available |
| Open Society Foundations | Civil society, democracy | $50K–$300K | Strong fit for vulnerable population focus |
| Chan Zuckerberg Initiative | Health, education, community | $50K–$500K | Broad mandate |
| Protocol Labs | Decentralized web, IPFS/libp2p | $10K–$100K | Direct alignment with MPowerUP Phase 4 (Helia IPFS, OrbitDB) |
First application recommendation¶
Mozilla Technology Fund or Knight Foundation — both have strong precedent funding peer-to-peer privacy tools for underserved communities. MPowerUP Phase 1 provides a concrete working artifact to demonstrate in the application.
Grant writing assets¶
Before applying, prepare:
- [ ] 501(c)(3) determination letter (or Open Collective fiscal sponsor letter)
- [ ] One-page executive summary of BNI mission and MPowerUP
- [ ] Theory of change diagram (see Mission & Vision)
- [ ] Budget narrative — what the grant funds specifically
- [ ] Demo video or TestFlight link for MPowerUP
- [ ] Letter of support from a partner organization