ICANN has opened the application window for its grant program, according to Domain Incite. As is known, during the first stage of the new gTLDs program, more than $217 million in auction proceeds was added to the corporation’s budget after applicants for new gTLDs failed to reach agreement with one another. The fate of these funds, reserved in ICANN’s special fund, was the subject of heated debate for a long time, but the final decision – to allocate them to the grant program – satisfied everyone to a greater or lesser degree.
Grants of $50,000 to $500,000 will be allocated to non-profit organizations for projects that align in some way with ICANN’s technical and internet governance missions. In this first phase, up to $10 million will be distributed. ICANN takes the strictest measures to prevent grants from being allocated to organizations affiliated with ICANN employees or individuals involved in ICANN projects. ICANN interim president and CEO Sally Costerton took to social media to urge her followers to spread the word about ICANN grants, and to to reach out to as many people as possible.
The application window will be open until May 24, 2024. Next, all applications will be reviewed by a special expert group, and the final decision on funding will be made by the ICANN board, presumably in December 2024. Successful applicants are expected to begin their funded projects within 60 days of receiving the money, so presumably the first results of the program will be visible in about a year from now.
