If you've got an idea to build on or improve Urbit, the Urbit Foundation can fund you to make it real. We fund all sorts of projects: apps, core system work, developer tools, integrations with other technologies, community formation, and more.
Send us your proposal, and we'll let you know. We can either accept it or give you useful feedback.
Getting Help
If you need help writing a proposal, we are available for you. Please reach out via email to [email protected], DM ~tamlut-modnys on the network, or stop by the Grants Office Hours which are held Thursdays at 1pm Eastern Time in the Urbit Hacker House.
The Proposal Process
1. Write your Application
Your proposal should clearly articulate your idea and the value it will bring to the Urbit network.
Good proposals include the following:
— A detailed and clear description of the project. If you're proposing something technical, user stories can help explain what people will be able to do with your creation.
— An overview of why you are the right person for the job. A description of your background, familiarity with the project, and professional/education experience are useful.
— Milestones. Your project should be composed of milestones, each of which has a completion date, funding amount and deliverables. Funding should be denominated in Urbit stars. Each milestone can receive payout upon completion.
Generally, your proposal's first milestone should be targeted within 2 months, and proposals should have a maximum of five milestones.
For writing guidance, you can look at past completed grants here
2. Submit your Application
Using the grant application link, send in your proposal.
Each grant has a champion, an experienced community member who will help you, keep track of the grant, and be your point of contact. Usually, we will assign a champion for you. However, if you have a choice of champion in mind, please mention that in the application.
3. Get Approved
After applying, we will review your application. In some cases, we may schedule a quick follow-up interview.
4. Sign a Contract
If your application is accepted, you will undergo a quick KYC process and recieve a contract for signature.
5. Work and Get Paid
After you've finished your work on a given milestone, you can receive a payout. To do so, contact your champion and demonstrate to them that you've completed the work. After they verify your work and send their approval to the Foundation, you can submit an invoice.
Once we receive both approval and an invoice for a milestone, we will pay your reward to the ETH address you provided.
Submit your Proposal
Excited about an idea? We are always ready to fund new innovative projects. Submit your proposal today.Find a Bounty for you
Ready to work on Urbit but out of ideas? We have a variety of open Bounties ready for you to work on.Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I talk to people about grants?↓
As mentioned in the Getting Help section, you should reach out to [email protected] or stop by the Office Hours at 1pm Eastern Time every Thursday in the Urbit Hacker House.
In addition, there are several Urbit groups where you can chat with the community about your questions, such as the Hooniverse (~hiddev-dannut/new-hooniverse) for coding-related questions, [battery payload] (~dister-dozzod-lapdeg/battery-payload) for general dev questions, and UF Public(~halbex-palheb/uf-public) for general questions.
What are grants funded with?↓
Grants are usually funded with stars, which are immutable and scarce pieces of the Urbit network. 65,280 possible stars exist in the network, and they sit between the 256 galaxies which govern the network and the 4 billion planets which serve as user level identities. Stars have short, distinctive names like ~marzod or ~sonnet. Each star contains 65,536 planets of their own.
Sometimes grants may be funded with other assets on a case-by-case basis.
How much funding should I request?↓
We determine how much to value a particular grant by weighing how much work the project takes, the value to the Urbit network, and the track record of the contributor (either past Urbit ecosystem work or relevant external background).
One possible metric is to come up with an estimate for numbers of hours of work you'll do, an estimate for how much your time is worth per hour, multiply those together, and then divide it by current star prices to receive a rough estimate for number of stars (check Opensea for latest Urbit star sales if you’re unsure).
If you have a large grant that would request over 5 stars, the Foundation usually prefers to fund it in smaller grants of less than 5 stars each.
Send in your proposal with a best estimate of what you think it’s worth, and we will get back to you with an approval or a request for adjustment.
Do grants have a timeline?↓
Yes, every grant should have clear estimates for completion of milestones and the full project.
Any milestone that is more than a month behind your estimate should be communicated to your champion. We are happy to adjust timelines due to reasonable circumstances, so long as the contributor is communicative.
Grants that fall far behind timelines may be considered abandoned and subject to cancellation.
Can I modify an already approved grant?↓
Modifications to the scope of a grant that's already approved, such as adding features and compensation, or removing them, are generally possible. We know that plans can often change due to learning new things while working on a project.
Reach out to your champion or [email protected] to discuss modifications.
Can grants be cancelled?↓
Grant contracts may be terminated by either the Foundation or the grantee given 7 days notice. If you’ve changed your mind about a grant, please communicate that to [email protected].
When will I hear back about my proposal?↓
The grants team meets to look at grants on Tuesday every two weeks. After these meetings, they will inform you whether it is approved, rejected or needs some adjustments. In the latter case someone on the grants team will help you finetune your proposal so it can be reconsidered in the next round.
What does a champion do?↓
A champion is an Urbit community member who will be your point of contact for the grant. They will provide support, answer questions, and make sure that your grant is on track.
If you have an idea for someone that can champion your grant, then mention it in your writeup. Bounties usually have a champion already listed. Otherwise, the Foundation is happy to assign someone to you.
Here are some guidelines for how to engage with your champion:
Meet regularly: Many grantees find it helpful to set up a regular check-in, either once a week or every other week. Don't hesitate to reach out to your champion with questions.
Ask for connections: Champions are well-connected throughout the network and know who's who. If you need support in a particular area that is beyond your champion's expertise, they should be able to put you in touch with someone that can help. You can also leverage the Urbit community by asking in groups like the Hooniverse (~hiddev-dannut/new-hooniverse) and [battery payload] (~dister-dozzod-lapdeg/battery-payload).
Get your work reviewed: Part of your champion's job is to review your work, so let them know when you need something reviewed.
If for any reason, there are communication issues with your champion, reach out to [email protected] and we can assist.
What paperwork will I need to fill out?↓
After your proposal is approved, it will be added to this website, and the Urbit Foundation will need to get a signed contributor agreement and collect a small amount of personal information from you as part of our KYC (Know Your Customer) process.
The Urbit Foundation must comply with international law when distributing address space. We try to keep this process as minimal as we can, but there's no way to avoid it entirely without legally jeopardizing the Foundation's operations.
How does the payment process work?↓
After you've finished your work on a milestone, you should get signoff from your champion. To do this, you'll contact them and demonstrate that you’ve fulfilled the details of the milestone. This is often best done by setting up a call and doing a live demonstration. In any case, you should send them relevant instructions, github repos, or app download links.
Once they’ve approved, you can submit an invoice. When the Urbit Foundation receives approval from your champion and an invoice for the amount agreed upon in your grant or milestone, the Foundation will pay your star allocation to the Ethereum address you have provided.
We approve and issue payments within 30 days of invoice receipt and approval, although often payment is made more quickly. If you have any questions regarding getting paid or submitting an invoice, please contact accounting at [email protected], or our grants team at [email protected].
Are there any tax implications to receiving stars?↓
Every year, UF must make submissions to the IRS. We inform the IRS of any payments made to US individuals or companies — including star payments. For example, with respect to a grantee who has been paid only in stars, the figure submitted to the IRS will be the total dollar value of all stars paid to that grantee in the year. The valuation of stars differs year-on-year. If you would like to know this year’s star valuation, reach out to [email protected]
UF does not make submissions for non-US grantees. We recommend that non-US grantees research and comply with the relevant tax law in their jurisdiction.
