PSF Grants Program

Grant Proposal Requirements

Timeframe: We require that applications be submitted 6 weeks before the event/project start date - this gives us enough time to thoroughly review, ask questions, and have enough time to send you the funds.
Types of grants the PSF funds: Our current focus is on in-person/virtual events, virtual sprints, meetup.com fees, and Python diversity/inclusivity efforts. Grants for non-Python specific events will only be considered where there's a clear Python component to the event, and the grant will only be for the Python component of the event. The PSF does not fund:

Hackathon-style events
Swag production/disbursement or prizes
Personal travel requests
Initiatives or events unrelated to Python or the PSF’s charitable mission
Other portions of grant requests as determined by the GWG or the Board

Grant amount: If the grant is funding several components of a project, please provide a breakdown of the cost of each component. Please note that the PSF may only be able to provide partial funding for a proposal. Be sure to include a breakdown of the amount you are requesting. We prefer to see what you plan on using the funds for. Additionally, a budget of the event/project work is helpful to see expected expenses and revenues. Here is a template budget anyone can use. If remaining funds will be used to support regional Python efforts, please tell us about it.
Event requirements: If your request is for a workshop/training, we would like to know more about the mentors and educational content. We prefer a high staff:student ratio of at least 1:10 (one staff per ten students). We require a curriculum with learning outcomes for participants as well. An outline is not sufficient, we would like to see code repositories, worksheets, presentation slides, etc. The amount of hours that participants will receive hands-on training is also required. If it is for a conference, we require a link to the schedule(s) (should include speaker info), registration page, and information about your sponsors/potential sponsors. We recommend waiting to submit your request until all these components are in place.
Development projects: We would like to know an expected timeframe for major milestones of the work being completed. This can be described as text or via an attachment. We also provide a place for mapping out your milestones in our budget template.
Code of Conduct: Please submit a link to your event's/project’s code of conduct, it is required. Refer to this code of conduct best practices guide for events for tips on how to set up a code of conduct for your event.
Reporting: Any event/project that receives funding from the PSF is required to submit a report. The PSF would like to see how the grant was used, so we ask to receive a report on the event, project or program that was funded. These reports are useful for us to gauge the impact we are having and how the event went. For subsequent events, we require past reports in order to consider further requests. A report template is provided to approved grants. If your event/project has a blog, social media post, or pictures that relate to the grant, we'd love to see those links, too.
Frequency: The PSF will only fund up to two events per city and/or organizer within a given year. For example, if Python Workshop Mars was to request funding for a third workshop in one year, we will most likely decline it unless they show evidence in their grant request that a third workshop/training is necessary. Additionally, if event organizer Jesse asks the PSF for a third grant request in one year, we will most likely decline it unless they show evidence in their grant request that a third workshop is needed.
Trademarks and Logos: Please read our Trademark policy and Trademark FAQs. These cover the permitted uses of the Python logos or any similar logos and the use of the words "Python" or "PyCon" and how you should proceed. If you have questions about your intended use of the trademarks or want to ask for approval for using a "PyCon" conference name or a logo derivative, please contact the PSF Trademarks Committee by email. All conferences, projects, or user groups that create new logos or names using "PyCon" are required to obtain approval from the Trademarks Committee.

Resources for Virtual Events

The PSF has created a web page listing free resources for folks that want to organize virtual events. We recommend being familiar with these resources before you submit your grant request - they may be of use to your event/ project.

How to Submit

Please submit grant proposals via our online form at least 6 weeks prior to the event so the Grants Work Group has enough time to review your request.

In order to access the form, you may first have to create a free account on the psfmember.org website.

Grant Proposal Tips

We recommend reading through our FAQ for additional information before you submit your application.
Proposals should be for specific projects with a clear objective, rather than support for ongoing activities. Proposals should be brief (a few pages of text at maximum).
For information on disbursements of payments, see https://www.python.org/psf/paymentoptions/

Office Hours

The PSF Grants Program Office Hours is a text-only chat based office hour hosted on the Python Software Foundation Discord at 1-2PM UTC (9AM Eastern) on the third Tuesday of the month. (Check what time that is for you.) The server is moderated by PSF Staff and is locked in between office hour sessions. If you’re new to Discord, check out some Discord Basics to help you get started.

Questions?

If you have questions about your submission please reach out to grants@pyfound.org.

Example Conference Grant Proposal

Grant Title: PyCon 2020

Date: April 15, 2020

Event’s website: https://us.pycon.org/2020/

Grant amount & budget: $2000 total ($1500 for virtual platform support, $500 for accessibility support). To thank you for your sponsorship, we will place the PSF logo on our site and offer you 3 free tickets to PyCon to distribute as you see fit. We have attached an overview of the conference budget, which includes a breakdown of conference tickets and sponsorship revenue, as well as all of our expected expenses.

Grant objective: PyCon will be taking place this April, and sponsorship from the Python Software Foundation would be much appreciated. In an effort to keep our ticket prices affordable and accessible to many, we've secured corporate sponsorship to cover equipment costs and speaker support, and are hoping that the PSF will be able to help us pay for our virtual platform and some accessibility such as captioning.

Grant beneficiaries: We are expecting 300 attendees this year. We will also be recording the talks, and will make them available online a few days after the event.

Regional Support: The proceeds from the PyCon conference help run our local User Group throughout the year and also help us kick off planning for next year's PyCon conference.

Link to Conference Schedule(s): https://us.pycon.org/2020/online/, https://us.pycon.org/2020/events/edusummit/, https://us.pycon.org/2020/hatchery/mentoredsprints/, https://us.pycon.org/2020/hatchery/trainers/, https://us.pycon.org/2020/hatchery/beginnersdata/

Link to Registration Page: https://us.pycon.org/2020/online/

Link to Conference Prospectus: https://us.pycon.org/2020/sponsors/prospectus/

Code of Conduct: https://us.pycon.org/2020/about/code-of-conduct/

Percentage of Python: 100%

Follow-up Activities: We will post a summary of PyCon on our blog and mention that the PSF sponsored the event. The conference will be posting all recordings to our YouTube channel so they will be made available to everyone. We will also submit the required post-event follow up form.

Recent Grants

You can find historical grant approvals in the Python Software Foundation Resolutions web page.