The EF’s Grants Program launched in 2018 and has developed over time to develop into the Ecosystem Assist Program (ESP), offering grants and help to builders that assist the Ethereum ecosystem thrive. Our mission is to allow work that strengthens Ethereum’s foundations and empowers future builders, in domains equivalent to developer tooling, analysis, group constructing, infrastructure, and open requirements.
In 2024 alone, ESP awarded near $3M in funding to 105 initiatives and initiatives that got here by our open grants program webforms. These grants, that are one a part of ESP’s bigger portfolio, supported a various vary of labor, equivalent to Commit-Increase (developer tooling), BundleBear (information and analytics), Web3Bridge (training), ZK Playbook (analysis), and Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress (group occasion).
Over the previous three years, now we have streamlined our processes to enhance effectivity. Nonetheless, as an open grants program with a lean staff and broad scope, the excessive quantity of inbound purposes has consumed most of our time and sources, leaving restricted capability to pursue new strategic alternatives. As we glance forward, we’re coming into a brand new chapter the place we’ll discover adjustments that enable us to raised focus our efforts, help the group extra meaningfully, and proceed rising along with the ecosystem.
Evolving with Ethereum’s Development
The EF lately articulated its imaginative and prescient and launched adjustments to its Ecosystem Growth construction, reflecting a broader shift in the way it engages with the Ethereum ecosystem. This second presents a well timed alternative to discover the subsequent iteration of ESP. Because the Ethereum ecosystem grows in scale, complexity, and visibility, our funding strategy should evolve alongside it.
To align extra carefully with the EF’s up to date ecosystem improvement technique, we’re refining ESP’s priorities and strategy. As a part of this transition, now we have briefly paused open grant purposes. This transformation will allow us time to revamp in a means that redirects our focus towards strategic initiatives, transferring from a reactive mannequin to a extra proactive one which additionally helps the priorities of different EF groups.
We are going to proceed funding Ethereum public items and accepting purposes, however with a brand new strategy to be outlined in a future put up. Our core values stay unchanged:
Allocate sources to vital initiatives and initiatives that strengthen Ethereum’s resilience and usabilitySupport public items and open-source work that advances the Ethereum ecosystemFocus on domains equivalent to developer tooling, core and shared infrastructure, analysis, group sources, and different public items
What’s Subsequent
Whereas open grant purposes are paused, the ESP staff will proceed supporting our lively grantees and stays accessible by Workplace Hours—for these in search of non-financial help equivalent to steerage, mission suggestions, or help to find helpful sources. Please notice that in this era, we won’t be reviewing new grant purposes.
We are going to share an replace on ESP’s refined priorities and strategy in This autumn 2025. Within the meantime, you possibly can comply with the newest EF grant bulletins and grantee mission progress on our socials: @EF_ESP X (Twitter), @ef-esp Farcaster, @ef_esp Lens, and @ef-esp Bluesky. For an entire checklist of EF grants, try the quarterly Allocation Replace posts revealed on the ESP weblog.
We stay deeply dedicated to supporting the Ethereum ecosystem and the general public items that maintain it. Whereas these adjustments mark a brand new chapter for ESP, we’re energized by the alternatives forward to raised help the unimaginable builders, researchers, and contributors driving Ethereum’s progress. The way forward for Ethereum is a shared journey, and we’re excited to maneuver ahead with you!
