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urbit.org/development/grants.md
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2title = "Grants Program"
3weight = 20
4template = "doc.html"
5aliases = ["/docs/using/creating-a-development-ship/", "/docs/getting-started/contributing"]
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8## Grants Program {#grants}
10The [Urbit Foundation](https://urbit.org/blog/first-steps-towards-urbit-org/)
11runs a [Grants program](https://grants.urbit.org), where you can earn address
12space ([stars](@/docs/glossary/star.md)) in exchange for contributing to the
13project.
15Grants come in four different flavors at present: [bounties](#bounties),
16[proposals](#proposals), [scholarships](#scholarships) and [gifts](#gifts).
18If you're curious about grants, join the conversation in Landscape at
19`~wolref-podlex/foundation` or book some time to [talk with
20us](https://calendly.com/wolref/30min).
22### Bounties {#bounties}
24[Bounties](https://grants.urbit.org/bounties) are specific, tightly-scoped
25pieces of work that we at the Urbit Foundation think are of high value to the
26ecosystem at large. They're frequently development-focused, but also often
27relate to marketing, community-building or technical writing.
29Bounties are usually competitive—worker requests should provide plenty of
30information about why the requester is right candidate for the job.
32### Proposals {#proposals}
34Where Bounties are put forward by the Foundation,
35[Proposals](https://grants.urbit.org/proposals) come from the community. These
36are things that our community thinks Urbit needs, and span a wide range of
37topics: we've got [books being
38written](https://grants.urbit.org/proposals/1590647060-a-book-about-urbit),
39[videos being
40produced](https://grants.urbit.org/proposals/1350087489-urbit-explainer-video),
41help with [production of
42events](https://grants.urbit.org/proposals/1751024973-urbit-event-series),
43[marketing](https://grants.urbit.org/proposals/1395578140-smol-future-sustained-knowledge-sharing-and-marketing)
44and
45[documentation](https://grants.urbit.org/proposals/1888977136-graph-store-documenation-guide),
46and
47[ambitious](https://grants.urbit.org/proposals/21131866-webrtc-gall-agent-and-external-app)
48[development](https://grants.urbit.org/proposals/1760204192-urbit-lfs)
49[projects](https://grants.urbit.org/proposals/337545546-urbian-a-customized-linux-distribution-for-urbit-appliances)
50all happening. If you've got skills and time to put into Urbit, we'll put you to
51work.
53Proposals are more likely to be approved if their relevance to the project is
54made clear, their scope is clearly defined, the proposer is qualified, and it's
55obvious that a lot of thought has gone into the idea.
57If you've got an idea and want some help turning it into a proposal, book some
58time with us [here](https://calendly.com/wolref/30min).
60### Scholarships {#scholarships}
62Scholarships are the newest addition to the grants program that pairs
63contributors with core Urbit developers to tackle infrastructure projects. These
64generally take the form of contributions to
65[Arvo](@/docs/system-overview/arvo.md) or
66[Vere](@/docs/system-overview/vere.md).
68Tackling a scholarship requires an advanced understanding of Urbit. It's
69expected that you've got a demonstrated command of the Hoon language or other
70part of Urbit through existing contributions on our repositories or successfully
71completed grants.
73New scholarships are posted within the Foundation group in Landscape
74(`~wolref-podlex/foundation`), and you can sign up for the waitlist using [this
75form](https://airtable.com/shr6Xmo55h8dZ0O46).
77### Gifts {#gifts}
79Not every contribution is made with a plan or according to a specification.
80Sometimes people just fix issues, help newcomers, or promote the project because
81they want to.
83Roughly every six months we [give
84out](https://urbit.org/blog/urbit-grants-and-mid-2019-gifts/) a [bunch of
85address space](https://urbit.org/blog/gifts-q3-2020/) to those that have helped
86the project without asking for anything in return, just because we want to. It
87just feels good, man.