We are excited to release our first open Call For Proposals on a day of great historical significance. Twenty-seven years ago today, CERN, home of the web's inventor, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, released software that powered the early web into the public domain. By making the web's foundational technology free and easily accessible, CERN and Sir Tim created ideal conditions for the World Wide Web to thrive and expand into the vital public resource we depend upon today.
In the spirit of Sir Tim’s vision, Grant for the Web – a collaborative partnership between Mozilla, Creative Commons, and Coil – was launched to champion a web that provides openness and opportunity for everyone. Mozilla's mission is to protect the open web and advance internet health, Creative Commons maintains open licensing infrastructure to enable the wide availability and use of intellectual and creative works, and Coil is leading the charge to use open standards to create alternative business models for the web that respect our privacy and support creators and publishers.
With $100 million to distribute globally over five years, Grant for the Web will seed an online monetization and payment ecosystem to challenge the web’s most urgent issues: loss of privacy, centralization of power, and inequalities in online participation.
It's time for the business models on the web to evolve. For that to happen in a global way with real, lasting impact, we need organizations, companies, and people ready to experiment and build using open standards – technology designed to promote consensus, fairness, public accountability, and quality. We also need creators and publishers ready to connect with fans and audiences in brand new ways. No longer can earning revenue online be tied to proprietary platforms, companies that abuse our privacy, and 20th century revenue models. We're ready to start building what's next.
This initial public Call for Proposals will fund projects that contribute to an ecosystem of web monetized content, users, tools, and infrastructure. Through two distinct award tracks, the grant will support technology, tools, and infrastructure that innovate around the Web Monetization standard and the Interledger protocol, as well as experiments in the creation, distribution, and discoverability of monetized content. Grant for the Web will award variable amounts for projects up to six months in duration. Learn more.
How to participate: