NGI Zero Commons Fund
NLnet Foundation·Netherlands
NLnet's general-purpose open internet fund, EUR 5,000 to 50,000 per project; its thirteenth and final call closed June 1st 2026 and the successor open call is stated to reopen after the summer.
What you get
“between 5.000 and 50.000 euro's”
Can you apply
There are no categorical exclusions of persons who may not receive support from NGI0 Commons Fund. Given equal proposals, inhabitants of the EU and countries associated to Horizon Europe are given priority. However if the project is of exceptional quality and the proposer holds unique technical expertise proposals from outside of those geographic areas can be eligible as well - under the condition that there is a clear European dimension. Young people that have not yet reached the age of legal consent in their country of origin (typically 18 years old) on the date of the deadline may apply without any constraints.
When
Not open right now, and no next round has been announced.
Past rounds
- Thirteenth and final callclosed 1 Jun 2026
What NLnet Foundation funds
Dutch foundation funding free and open source software, open hardware and open standards work on the open internet, largely through the EU-funded NGI Zero programmes. Small grants against a short application form, with recurring first-of-month deadlines and results that must ship under a libre licence.
Everything NLnet Foundation funds →Details
Recorded because it is NLnet's flagship general fund and its terms are the template for the thematic calls, but it is between calls: NLnet states the thirteenth and final Commons Fund call closed on June 1st 2026, and that its "regular open call will reopen after the summer" as part of a transition to an Open Internet Stack effort. No reopening date is published. The fund also states amounts can scale well beyond EUR 50,000 where potential is proven.