Does my idea have to match one of the workshop's areas?
No. The Edinburgh workshop report and Reflections from Edinburgh show what the community has already prioritised, and the ADSA and US-RSE position statement gives the wider context. They are there to orient you, not to constrain you.
Do I need to have been at the Edinburgh workshop?
No. The workshop shaped the thinking, but the call is open. Proposals from people with no connection to it are read on exactly the same terms.
Do I need an institution to receive the money?
No. The fund is fiscally hosted at Hack Club Bank, which can pay individuals and unincorporated groups as well as institutions.
Can I apply from outside the United States?
Yes. Applications are welcome worldwide, and the fund can make international payments.
How much should I ask for?
Ask for what the work costs, up to $50,000. Most exploratory grants are expected to land between $15,000 and $50,000.
Can I include travel?
Yes. Travel to bring a distributed team together for a sprint or workshop is a legitimate cost.
Can I include overheads?
No. The fund does not support indirect costs. Budgets can include any direct costs required to support the proposed work.
Can I submit more than one proposal?
There is a single deadline, so put your strongest idea forward. If you are involved in two related proposals, tell us in both.
Who reviews the proposals?
A panel of five to seven community members. Anyone with a proposal under review does not serve on the panel.
How long until I hear back?
We aim to make a decision within a month of the late-October 2026 deadline.
What happens if my proposal is declined?
You get a short written reason. Some declined proposals may be invited to revise for the impact fund when it opens.
When does the impact fund open?
Late 2026. It is not open yet, and there is nothing to submit for it. Details will be published on this site.
What do you expect at the end of a grant?
A public output — a tool, a curriculum, a dataset, a document, a report of what happened — and a short note on what you learned. There is no long reporting burden.
How do outputs have to be licensed?
Openly. Software must be open source under an OSI-approved license, and non-software outputs — documents, curricula, playbooks, data — must be released under CC BY or CC0. Outputs should also live somewhere publicly accessible — code on a platform such as GitHub or GitLab, and documents, data, and other files archived on a service such as Zenodo. The intent is that everything the fund pays for enters the commons, free for anyone to use and build on.
Still stuck? [email protected]