NEAR Foundation grants in 2026: is anything still open?
Updated 5 min readBy the web3grant editors
NEAR Foundation grants are no longer offered as a direct program. As of October 2026, near.foundation/grants and near.org/grants return 404, and the Foundation's closest successor, NEAR Protocol Rewards, last took applications for Cohort 3, with a July 7, 2025 deadline. NEAR's official funding page now lists ecosystem programs run by community groups and partners instead.
Key takeaways
- The NEAR Foundation has no open direct grant program: both of its grant URLs returned 404 when we checked on October 1, 2026.
- NEAR Protocol Rewards paid builders monthly in NEAR, from $100 to $10,000 a month, based on a score from GitHub and onchain activity. Its last cohort closed applications on July 7, 2025.
- The Foundation's temporary grants for House of Stake governance proposals were paused in December 2025.
- Funding listed on near.org, such as DevHub bounties, Potlock rounds and Meta Pool grants, is run by community groups and partners, not the Foundation.
- No NEAR program is among the 99 in our directory; for AI work, multichain programs such as Sentient's Open Source AGI Grants are open.
Does the NEAR Foundation still give grants?
No. When we checked on October 1, 2026, the NEAR Foundation had no direct grant program you could apply to. This is where each NEAR funding route stood:
| Route | Run by | Status as of October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Direct NEAR Foundation grants | NEAR Foundation | Grant pages return 404 |
| NEAR Protocol Rewards | NEAR Foundation | No cohort since Cohort 3 (deadline Jul 7, 2025) |
| Grants for House of Stake proposals | NEAR Foundation | Paused in December 2025 |
| DevHub bounties, Potlock rounds, Meta Pool grants | Community groups and partners | Listed on near.org; not verified by us |
NEAR's official funding page lists only ecosystem programs. Even the temporary grants the Foundation offered for House of Stake governance proposals were paused in December 2025, so they are not a route for new builders either. Our research ledger records NEAR Foundation grants as replaced, one of 123 programs we checked in October 2026 that are not in our directory. Our guide to Web3 grant programs closed in 2026 covers the others.
What was NEAR Protocol Rewards?
NEAR Protocol Rewards was a NEAR Foundation cohort program that replaced one-off grants with monthly payments based on measured progress. The Foundation described it as a way to turn one-time grants into ongoing funding that grows with a project's impact.
How were projects scored and paid?
Each project got a score from 0 to 100:
- 80 points from GitHub activity: commits, pull requests, reviews and issues.
- 20 points from onchain use: transaction volume, contract calls and unique wallets.
The score set a monthly reward tier of $100, $500, $1,000, $3,000, $6,000 or $10,000. You had to submit a weekly deliverable to receive it, and rewards were paid in NEAR tokens only, at a published exchange rate. The program site reports more than $200,000 in total rewards across 20 active projects.
Recent cohorts focused on AI on NEAR: AI-powered DeFi, autonomous agent frameworks and AI and machine learning infrastructure.
Is Protocol Rewards coming back?
Nothing says it is, and nothing says it has ended. As of October 1, 2026, the Protocol Rewards site still showed "Apply for Next Cohort" with no dates, its footer read 2025, and the program's GitHub repository was last updated in September 2025. Cohort 3's deadline was July 7, 2025, with results on July 21 and kickoff on July 28, and no 2026 cohort had been announced.
Until a new cohort appears with dates, treat Protocol Rewards as inactive.
Where can NEAR builders find funding now?
The realistic routes are the community and partner programs listed on near.org, and multichain programs that fund work whatever chain it runs on.
Ecosystem programs listed on near.org
NEAR's funding page lists DevHub bounties, Potlock rounds and Meta Pool grants. Community groups and partners run them, not the NEAR Foundation, and we have not verified their current status, amounts or deadlines. Check each one's own page for a live application and a date before you start.
Search results also mention a "$20M NEAR AI Agent Fund". That is described as an investment fund, not a grant program, and we could not verify it.
Programs in our directory that fund AI and open-source work
Since recent Protocol Rewards cohorts focused on AI, these two open multichain programs are the closest fit for many NEAR builders:
- Open Source AGI GrantsSentient FoundationUndisclosedAnytime
- Tether Grants and BountiesTether$1.5K–$5KAnytime
Sentient Foundation's Open Source AGI Grants come from a $42M program for open-source AI models, tools and apps, and at least one essential part of your project, such as the model, weights, code, data or evals, must be openly available. Tether pays task-based grants of $1,500 to $5,000 in USDT or bitcoin for work on its open stack, including QVAC for local AI. Neither is tied to NEAR, so the work has to fit each program's own focus.
For more, see Web3 AI grants and our guide to decentralized AI grants, or browse the full grant directory.
How to check a NEAR grant listing before you apply
Many pages online still describe NEAR Foundation grants as open. Before you spend time on an application:
- Open the link. If it points to near.foundation/grants or near.org/grants, it is dead: both returned 404 on October 1, 2026.
- Look for a date in 2026 or later on the program's own page, not on a third-party list.
- Check who runs it. Programs on near.org/funding are run by partners and community groups, each with its own rules.
- Never pay to apply or share a seed phrase. Our guide on how to find Web3 grants covers how to vet a listing, and how to apply for Web3 grants covers what comes next.
FAQ
Is NEAR Protocol Rewards still accepting applications?
Not as far as we can tell. NEAR Protocol Rewards last took applications for Cohort 3, with a deadline of July 7, 2025. As of October 1, 2026, its site still said "Apply for Next Cohort" without dates, its footer read 2025, its GitHub repository was last updated in September 2025, and no 2026 cohort had been announced.
How much did NEAR Protocol Rewards pay?
NEAR Protocol Rewards paid monthly, not per grant. A project's score from 0 to 100, based 80% on GitHub activity and 20% on onchain use, set a tier of $100, $500, $1,000, $3,000, $6,000 or $10,000 a month. Rewards were paid in NEAR tokens at a published exchange rate, and builders had to submit weekly deliverables.
Does the NEAR Foundation fund AI projects?
Not through an open program as of October 2026. Recent NEAR Protocol Rewards cohorts focused on AI on NEAR, including AI-powered DeFi, agent frameworks and AI infrastructure, but no cohort has run since July 2025. A "$20M NEAR AI Agent Fund" appears in search results as an investment fund, and web3grant could not verify it.
Who runs the funding listed on near.org?
The funding listed on near.org, such as DevHub bounties, Potlock rounds and Meta Pool grants, is run by NEAR community groups and partners, not by the NEAR Foundation. Each sets its own rules, amounts and deadlines. web3grant has not verified their current status, so check each program's own page for a live application before you apply.
Programs in this guide
Where each one stands today, soonest deadline first.
Related guides
- Base grants in 2026: what Base offers builders nowBase grants as of October 2026: the $5,000 Builder Grant Program, what we could and could not verify about Season 2, and other funding for Base builders.
- Decentralized AI grants for open models and onchain agentsDecentralized AI grants from 13 programs in our directory, for open models, GPU compute, agent payments and AI data, with sizes, tokens and what is paused.
- DFINITY developer grants: still closed, and where to applyDFINITY developer grants have been closed since about November 2025. What DFINITY said in September 2026, and where Internet Computer builders can apply now.
- Polygon grants in 2026: what replaced Community GrantsPolygon grants as of October 2026: Community Grants ended after Season 2 in April 2025, investments replaced them, and where Polygon builders can apply now.