Open Technology Fund Surge and Sustain Fund 2026

The Open Technology Fund Surge and Sustain Fund pays the server costs of established open source tools that help people reach the uncensored internet. It does not pay staff time or new development. Those requests go to the Internet Freedom Fund. Payment is monthly: an agreed cost per monthly active user, times the verified number of users, up to a ceiling set in the contract. The page does not state a dollar maximum.

The fund looks for tools that already keep a large user base online in places with heavy blocking, including China, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, Russia, and other closed information environments. Applicants must show that the tool is open source, share the latest security audit if they have one, disclose ownership, publish a privacy policy that limits personal data, and provide monthly unique user counts by country.

Anyone 18 or older can apply, as can a for profit or nonprofit organization, with no nationality rule on the page. The fund cannot support applicants in countries under United States trade restrictions or export sanctions, or people and groups barred from United States government funding.

The request for applications opened on 15 September 2026. Questions go to ssf@opentech.fund by 28 September 2026. A concept note is due by 11:59 PM EDT on 15 October 2026, through the OTF application system. Selected applicants are then invited to send a full proposal. The proposal date is sent with that invitation. OTF expects contracts for successful applicants to start on 1 April 2027.