About the Surge and Sustain Fund
The Surge and Sustain Fund supports user costs for open-source VPN and circumvention solutions serving users in highly restrictive censorship environments.
As internet censorship continues to escalate globally, more users than ever are relying on circumvention technologies to counter censorship and access the free and open internet. In response to this increasing demand, OTF has established the Surge and Sustain Fund to provide leading circumvention tools with the resources they need to sustain their current users and respond to growing demand for their tools.
In many authoritarian countries, it is cost-prohibitive for citizens to access secure, trustworthy and effective circumvention tools. The Surge and Sustain Fund supports user-carrying costs for non-monetizable users of secure, open-source circumvention tools to ensure that people living in countries where censorship is common have access to these critical anti-censorship technologies. The fund is aimed at supporting the top tools operating with large user bases and adhering to the best community standards.
Application Process and Award Information
Applications to the Fund go through a two-stage application process.
OTF awards performance-based contracts signed directly with the applicant or applicants. Payment will be dispersed on a monthly basis at an agreed upon rate per user and will be based on the actual number of monthly active users, subject to ceiling thresholds as determined by OTF. All payments are made in U.S. dollars and will comply with local laws, regulations, and ethics rules.
Successful applicants are paired with an OTF program manager who will oversee all project monitoring and evaluation for the duration of the contract. Monitoring and evaluation assessments are based on predetermined and agreed-upon metrics, deliverables, and goals as laid out by the applicant in the project proposal.
The Surge and Sustain Fund will not cover any staff time or development efforts (please direct all applications for new software development to the Internet Freedom Fund), but instead covers only the additional marginal costs associated with providing circumvention services to demonstrably served monthly active users (MAUs) in designated highly censored countries, for example: China, Russia, Iran, and Myanmar.
Eligibility
Individuals or organizations (for-profit or nonprofit) of all ages irrespective of nationality, creed, or sex are eligible to apply. Individuals must be age 18 or older to be eligible to receive funding.
OTF is not able to support applicants within countries that the United States has trade restrictions or export sanctions as determined by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Additionally, OTF is not able to support applicants who are currently debarred, suspended, or otherwise not eligible to receive funding from the United States Government.
Small businesses, minority-owned organizations, and/or women-owned business enterprises are encouraged to apply.
Deadline – 30th October, 2024
