Mozilla Foundation Grants

Overview

Mozilla Foundation is the nonprofit behind the Mozilla Project, and its grantmaking funds people building alternatives to the technology defaults set by a handful of companies. The portfolio is not a single open call: it runs named programmes, including an incubator for community-rooted products, a fellowship for people reimagining technology, a fund for artists working with technology, and a challenge aimed at how computing is taught. Money is only part of the offer. Grantees are paired with coaching and join a peer community that continues after the grant period.

Who it's for

It fits builders, educators, artists and organisers whose work pushes toward a more open, accountable and privacy-respecting internet, and who can show a real constituency rather than a concept. Mozilla states that it steps in early, where markets reward speed over care, and stays through the stretch where promising work runs out of runway. Each programme has its own audience: a classroom project belongs in the education challenge, a product in the incubator.

What you get

Grantees receive project funding plus hands-on support: coaching from people who have built products, organisations and movements, and a cohort of peers facing similar problems. The community is the durable part. Mozilla points to gatherings such as MozFest as the place where partnerships form, and describes the relationship as continuing well beyond the money. Some programmes add a public platform for the work, which matters for small teams that need credibility with funders and collaborators.

How to apply

Start at the grantmaking page and identify the programme that matches your work, then follow that programme's own application route; there is no universal form across the portfolio. Mozilla also runs a short form for people who are unsure where they fit, which is the sensible first step if the programme boundaries are unclear. Expect questions about the problem, the community you serve, why your approach is different and what the grant would make possible. Decisions and timelines are set per programme, not centrally.

Timing

Periodic. Each programme opens and closes its own call rather than sharing one annual window, and the portfolio changes as programmes start or conclude. There is no single deadline to plan around. Check the grantmaking page and the specific programme page for the current call status.

How to stand out

Pick the programme by the work, not by the largest budget: an education project routed into an artist fund reads as a mismatch. Write the community evidence first: who was consulted, what they asked for, what changed. Mozilla's language is about serving people rather than shipping features. If no programme fits, use the general form and describe the gap precisely. Keep the first version short and concrete.

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