Up to $50,000 Research Software Grant

The Research Software Catalyst Fund, supported by Schmidt Sciences and Fulcrum Science and chaired by Karthik Ram at UC Berkeley, gives exploratory grants of up to $50,000 for work that helps make research software written with generative AI trustworthy. Think verification tools, agent workflows for routine maintenance, writing sprints, training and playbooks. Individuals, informal teams, institutions and non-profits anywhere in the world can apply with a five-page proposal, and no university affiliation is needed.

What you get:

• A grant of up to $50,000, covering what the work costs; most are expected to land between $15,000 and $50,000
• Funding for a project of three to six months, anticipated to run April to September 2027
• Travel to bring a distributed team together for a sprint or workshop can be included
• Up to 10 percent of the budget for overheads
• Payment straight to individuals or unincorporated groups through Hack Club Bank, no institution needed

What you'll do:

• Write a proposal of up to five pages in plain language: what you will do, who is involved, a simple budget and a three to six month schedule
• Deliver a public output, such as a tool, curriculum, dataset, document or report, released under an open licence (OSI-approved for software, CC BY or CC0 for everything else)
• Write a short note on what you learned at the end

Key dates:

• Applications opened October 30, 2026
• Applications close December 31, 2026
• Panel review January to March 2027
• Decisions by mid-March 2027
• Projects run April to September 2027 (anticipated)

More information:

• A larger Catalyst Impact Fund, up to $200,000 for 9 to 12 months, is planned to open in 2027; some declined proposals may be invited to revise for it
• The fund welcomes scope, budget and eligibility questions by email before you write

What you get:

• A grant of up to $50,000; most expected between $15,000 and $50,000
• A three to six month project, anticipated April to September 2027
• Travel for a team sprint or workshop can be budgeted
• Up to 10 percent overheads, inside the $50,000 maximum
• Payment to individuals or unincorporated groups through Hack Club Bank

What you'll do:

• Submit a proposal of up to five pages with a simple budget and a three to six month schedule
• Deliver an openly licensed public output: a tool, curriculum, dataset, document or report
• Write a short note on what you learned

Key dates:

• Applications open: October 30, 2026
• Application deadline: December 31, 2026
• Review period: January to March 2027
• Applicants notified: mid-March 2027
• Anticipated project period: April to September 2027

More information:

• Catalyst Impact Fund (up to $200,000, 9 to 12 months) planned to open in 2027, nothing to submit yet
• No individual feedback on proposals
• One deadline, so submit your strongest idea; declare involvement in related proposals

• Open to individuals, informal teams, institutions and non-profits worldwide
• No institutional affiliation required
• Not open to LLCs, companies or other for-profit organisations
• Not open where US sanctions law prevents payment, including countries or regions under comprehensive US sanctions
• Cannot fund policy or advocacy work, or work that mainly benefits a private company or individual
• Work must advance trustworthy AI-assisted research software and leave an openly licensed public output
• Unlikely to fund ongoing salaries, compute or hardware as the substance, or a package for a single project