Are you a member of the Mozilla alumni community with a project or idea for connecting with fellow alumni or connecting your work with the world?
Alumni interested in applying must submit a registration by 1 October 2024.
The Mozilla Foundation is excited to announce that applications are now being accepted for Alumni Connection Grants!
Mozilla’s alumni program aims to support and engage the global community of alumni, who are past participants of Fellowship or Awards programs working on a wide range of pressing topics within many intersecting movements. The thread that links us all is a vision for a world where technology serves the public interest.
The work of building, supporting, and sustaining an alumni network contributes to Mozilla’s objective of building collective power via relationships, infrastructure and strategic pathways. Critical to this work are strong relationships and networks, which are rooted in connection.
We are excited to offer flexible, experimental awards of up to $15,000 USD for alumni to use for short term projects, initiatives or events.
Through this call for proposals, Mozilla seeks to explore how alumni can nurture relationships with each other, connect as a network, explore collaboration and share their impactful work with the world.
We welcome applications from any alumni of Mozilla Fellowship or Awards programs, including past participants who are individuals, small communities and teams, or organizations.
What we're looking for
The format of these awards is intended to be very open. Projects, events, workshops, meetups, or gatherings are all possibilities. Individual project support and travel funding may be supported provided the application shows how the proposal supports connection to the broader community. This list is not meant to be exhaustive. If you have a proposal that doesn’t fit within this list but matches the objectives of the call for proposals as described above, we encourage you to apply.
There are three learning questions that are guiding this call for proposals, and applications that help us explore these questions are encouraged.
- What work is already being done and where do pockets of passion and activity exist towards Mozilla’s Trustworthy AI vision and intersecting themes?
- What can we learn from alumni about working as communities of practice and as networks?
- What could it look like to support alumni across all stages of a project or leadership journey?
Eligibility
Applicants must meet the following requirements
- Be legally able to receive funds in the form of grants from the Mozilla Foundation (which is a U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit organization)
- Be working towards solving a public interest problem or issue
- Be a Mozilla Alum (a previous participant of a Fellowship or Awards program as an individual, small community, team, or organization)
- Work must begin in December 2024, and it is anticipated that projects can take up to 12 months to complete.
Awards may not be made to anyone who is currently engaged as staff at the Mozilla Foundation, Mozilla, or a Mozilla subsidiary.
If you have any questions about your eligibility, please reach out to Hailey Froese, Program Officer Alumni Engagement at [email protected].
Award Details
Awards of $3,000 to $15,000 USD each are available, from a total pool of $150,000 USD. Our goal is to provide alumni flexible and accessible resources to support their work and ideas, and this is an initial experimental effort towards this goal.
Grant terms can be flexible based on the nature of the work, but the work must begin in December 2024. We imagine most grant terms would be up to 12 months in duration.
In addition to funding, we also offer the following support and resources to Awardees:
- Cohort and Individual Support: Awardees will convene virtually as a cohort for group working and feedback sessions, peer-to-peer support, and meet 1:1 with Mozilla staff for additional support.
- Community: Mozilla helps to facilitate connections for Awardees with like-minded leaders, partner organizations, alumni, and Mozilla staff.
- Showcasing Work: Mozilla holds an annual festival called MozFest which brings together artists, activists, thinkers, and builders working from around the world who are all working towards a healthier internet. This event provides a place and an opportunity to convene, facilitate or curate in a way that helps fellows and awardees raise the issues that are most pressing for them and their communities. There will be an optional opportunity for Alumni Connection Awardees to showcase their work at MozFest.
- Communication Support: Mozilla’s Communications and Marketing Team provides a range of supports for Awardees, including developing tailored communication strategies for each project, pitching to local and international media outlets, crafting social media campaigns, and sharing with Mozilla’s website audience and email list.
After the project period Awardees will be asked to share their reflections and learnings. This will include submitting a final report, including a budget report. There will also be the option to complete the narrative reporting in a public facing, open source format in order to share learnings with the alumni community.
How to Apply
Alumni interested in applying must register their intent in this short form by 23:59 PST on 1 October 2024. Within 3 business days you will receive an email with the link to the full application form.
Key Dates & Deadlines
- 4 September: Registration of intent to apply and full application form open.
- 1 October: Deadline for registering intent to apply by 23:59 PST.
- 4 October: Deadline for submitting initial application form by 23:59 PST.
- November: Notification of decision will be communicated to all applicants. Successful applicants will begin the contracting process.
- December: Grant terms will begin.
Award Selection
Applications will be reviewed by a committee of alumni from the first cohort of Alumni Connection Grants and Mozilla staff. Awardees will be selected based on alignment with the purpose of this fund, ability to answer the learning questions, and of funds available.
Only those projects meeting the applicant eligibility and award requirements listed above will be reviewed.
All proposed grant decisions are subject to a legal review to confirm the applicant’s eligibility.
Important Notes
- All registrations and submissions must be in English.
- No responsibility is assumed for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, illegible, incorrect, inaccurate, or misdirected registrations or submissions; or for any error, human, technical, or otherwise, that may occur in the processing of submissions.
- With applicant permission, submitted applications may be shared with other projects within Mozilla, other foundations, and partner organizations.
- Neither Mozilla nor any potential grantee responding to this Call For Proposals shall be considered to have entered into an agreement, until and unless both parties have signed a separate definitive grant agreement.
- Grantees are responsible to pay their own taxes on the grants. Mozilla reserves the right to withhold taxes as it believes necessary under applicable laws, and to reduce the net grant provided to the grantee accordingly.
- Work must begin in part by December 2024.
About Mozilla
Mozilla exists to protect the internet as a global public resource, open and accessible to all. As a critical part of this mission, theMozilla Foundation has increasingly focused on the transparency and accountability of artificial intelligence in consumer technology. Throughfellowships and awards, we support innovative leaders in the realms of research, policy and technology for more trustworthy AI and a healthier internet.
Questions?
Additional Questions
Please direct questions specific to this funding opportunity to Hailey Froese, Program Officer Alumni Engagement at [email protected].
For questions not answered in the FAQ, or for assistance using Fluxx to submit your application, please email [email protected]