Community Grants Program Project Grants

Apply here

Summary #

Purpose of award: To support specific packages of work that benefit Rust.

Award amount: $2,500 to $15,000.

Application window: 3rd October to 31st October 2022.

Selection decisions: By end of November 2022.

Applicants informed of the outcome: 9th December 2022.

Projects start: 1st January 2023.

Please do read the Project Grant FAQs for more information about the program.

Application support #

We would like the Rust Foundation Grants Program to be as open and accessible as possible, and realise that some may find the application form and questions daunting.

We want to give prospective grantees whatever support they might need through this process and in completing an application. If you have any questions about the grants, are unsure about if you should apply, or would like help in completing an application, then please get in touch. You can:

We also urge you to read this excellent blog post by our Project Director, Jane Lusby, on "Imposter Syndrome", which was inspired by feedback that we received from our first grants round earlier this year.

Application questions and context #

There is help text for each of the key questions that is displayed when you hover over it. Whilst this, and the copy below, is a lot to read, it will help you write a good application.

Rust Foundation Project Grants are financial awards that support specific packages of work that benefit the Rust Project directly or through education/outreach work. You can apply for a grant of between $2,500 and $15,000 USD, and ideally the work should be carried out within six months of the award being made. You can apply for a grant as an individual, or as part of a team.

Any work that benefits the Rust Project is eligible for a Project Grant. Priority will be given to those grants that will clearly deliver a significant benefit to a reasonable proportion of the Rust community.

The most important thing to focus on in the application is the description of the work that you plan to carry out, and how it will benefit Rust.

When you apply for a grant you will be asked to choose from one of three categories of project focus: Maintenance and Support; Development and Infrastructure; and Community. The areas of work under each category are:

Maintenance and Support

  • Code review
  • Documentation updates
  • Design review
  • Issue triage
  • Issue reporting
  • Bug fixes

Development and Infrastructure

  • New features and documentation
  • Performance enhancements
  • Rollups/CI/releases

Community

  • Moderation
  • Communication (e.g. writing blog posts, release notes, preparing for meetings or taking minutes)
  • Producing education materials
  • Providing educational support
  • Supporting/mentoring/guiding other contributors
  • Organizing Events / Meetups
  • Coordination and management activities

Requirements #

Individuals and teams of individuals are eligible to apply for a Rust Project Grant.

If you are applying on behalf of an organisation please email grants@rustfoundation.org so that we can discuss your proposed application before you complete the form.

Rust Foundation staff, officers, and directors are not eligible to apply for any Rust Foundation grants.

Employees of organizations that are members of the Rust Foundation who wish to apply as individuals or as part of a team of individuals should contact us at grants@rustfoundation.org prior to completing an application, in order for us to assess whether a grant award to them might represent a conflict of interest for the Foundation.

The Rust Foundation is required to adhere to laws of the United States, and as a result all Project Grant applicants must be able to receive financial transfers from the USA. Details can be found here of the restrictions to such transactions. If you have any questions about this, or would like more advice or help from the Foundation please email us - grants@rustfoundation.org - we will do whatever we can to support you in receiving money.

Apply here