Our mission is to do what is best for Ethereum's long-term success. Our role is to allocate resources to critical projects, to be a valued voice within the Ethereum ecosystem, and to advocate for Ethereum to the outside world.
As the public facing allocation arm of the Ethereum Foundation, ESP provides funding and other forms of support to eligible projects working to improve Ethereum. We focus on work that strengthens Ethereum's foundations and enables future builders, such as developer tools, research, community building, infrastructure and open standards.
Grants are direct funding, awarded following a formal application, evaluation, and input from technical advisors. Grants are not donations or equity investments. We give grants to support recipients in building things that are vital to Ethereum's success, without the need to commercialize their work, so that these resources remain free and open to all. ESP grants are separated into two categories, small grants and project grants, each with a different process and criteria.
ESP also provides non-financial support. The Ethereum Foundation has many valuable resources in addition to funding: visibility; access to a massive collective knowledge base; a creative and dedicated team; connections to leading developers, researchers and community members. Our goal is to deploy these resources as impactfully as we can. If funding isn't what's needed, builders can also book an office hours session for non-financial support such as project feedback or help navigating the Ethereum ecosystem.
There are several ways to request support from ESP. Choose an application type to see which one might be a fit for you and learn more about the process.
Before submitting, please take time to understand the criteria and expectations for each type of application, as well as ESP's mission and scope in order to make sure you provide the appropriate information and context for us to make an informed decision on how to proceed with your application.
