Fediverse Multimedia Grants

Convener: Evan Prodromou (@evanprodromou@socialwebfoundation.org)

Website: https://socialwebfoundation.org/2026/10/07/call-for-proposals-fediverse-multimedia-grants/

Notes

• Evan:

  • 2 goals:

    • Get creators using the fediverse

    • Help publishing platforms get better for creators

  • Looking for a creator and a platform collaboration in the grant application

  • Goal to have granted creators publishing by December 1, 2026

• Julian: Are you interested in creators as single entities, or open to projects that enable group discussions (e.g. a better fb groups)? Does it apply to forum software?

  • Evan: Aim is for multimedia: YouTubers, TikTokers, Instagrammers, podcasters to have that content on the fediverse. There might be a way for forum-centric community UX.

• Johannes: Glad to see this grant program existing. How are you planning to show that these creators are successful on the fediverse? “Look at them, they have done it. If you’re a creator too, you should do it too.” Would like to put examples on FediForum Connect as a showcase of creators being successful to validate the space.

  • Jeremiah: Would love to promote the outcomes. All grants from the Interledger Foundation have public interim and conclusion reports to ensure that successes and learning are shared. Evan and I have been discussing how we can promote the stories that come out of the grants.

• Marci: Discovery is a big problem that platforms solve for creators. Creators come and don’t get engagement today. Need more help in this area.

  • “Trusted content” sources of discovery

  • Tiered access to the creator and creator’s insider community as a monetization method

  • Also need a payment strategy, like Blacksky, Blackcash

  • Bet On Her app has a social feed powered by Bluesky

  • Discovery, traffic, monetization, and embeddability / options for further distribution

• Kirsten: I use federated software. The goal for the publication is discovery. Is this the kind of thing to apply with?

  • Evan: Program is intended for software developer and creator, so partner with the software you use. Also looking to bring in established publisher on other platform to try to find success on the fediverse.

• Gilles: Is the program focused only on public content? A band using Signal for coordination, but working on app that helps structure that better. Had another idea of sharing content privately within the group. Sharing content could be boosted by following the instagram model for bandreoom recordings: Record, easy filter, post. Some of the content shared in the band may be posted outside the band group too as public content.

  • Evan: This grant program is seeking ways for publishers to reach people on the fediverse. The goal is more for more rich media that can be found by broader audiences on the fediverse.

• Anthony: Who should apply exactly?

  • Evan: You use OwnCast, so talk with Gabe (developer behind OwnCast), and you would apply as a team, collaborate over time so the publishing platform gets direct user feedback. Collaboration is a success factor for this program.

  • Jeremiah: The +1 Principle: get a content creator posting to the fediverse in addition to wherever they are already popular.

• Are you hoping that artists will bring their audiences to the fediverse? Or are you offering artists more engagement in the fediverse?

  • Evan: The hope is both. We’d hope the creator would mention it on their other platforms.

  • Are you looking for artists who have found success in the algorithmic feed world?

    • Evan: I think both. Those who have learned to play the game and game the system might be a habit that’s not successful on the fediverse, so it’s a different type of engagement.

  • Marci in chat: This is again about discovery. Can the SWF help with a discovery strategy for creators who participate. I think that’s what she’s askibg.

    • Jeremiah in chat: Suuuure would love to know how Mastodon’s Fediscovery project is going right about now….

  • One idea is that person who gets the funding then brings attention to others who didn’t to help with discovery.

    • Kirsten in chat: You gotta do the cohort stuff! As someone who went through a startup accelerator, that was actually the most valuable part.

• Anthony: Can people be part of multiple applications?

  • Evan: I think people could come in on multiple teams, but unlikely to fund a bunch of people on the same software.

• Johannes: Idea to put selected content creators into a starter pack

• Is this grant worldwide?

  • Evan: Worldwide in US dollars, wherever the US governments allow a US non-profit to work with. For non-English creators, we want to make sure there is good enough collaboration with the software developer.

• Johannes: An artist wants 3 features and shares that with developer, but go beyond the scope of the software, that may go to the ecosystem to solve at the network level. I assume you will collect those ideas.

  • Evan: We expect publishers to publish, not wait for a feature to exist, using the feedback along the way to improve the software over the course of the grant.

• Do you have a specific type of software in mind?

  • Evan: there are creators who work in the microblog space

  • Main outcome: more creative content on the fediverse. Getting creators using the tools.

  • Second: improving those tools for the next cohort of creators to have a better platform to do the work they do

  • Multimedia focus for now, but would love to see more games in a future iteration

• Anthony: Are there any kind of stipulations on the amount of content?

  • Evan: Timeframe is 6 months. Expectation is a series of production. The big thing is impact on the fediverse’s multimedia ecosystem.

• Marci: Does this have to be on ActivityPub

  • Evan: Yes