Web3 Foundation grants ended: how to get Polkadot funding

Which other Polkadot grant programs closed?

The W3F Grants Program was not the only Polkadot funding route to end. These were checked between October 1 and October 2, 2026:

The Polkadot Open Source Developer Grants bounty (OpenGov bounty #59) was wound down by referendum 1871 in March 2026. Its final report says 59 proposals were submitted, 10 were approved for $248,000 and 8 were completed, with $220,500 paid out in total.

Polkadot Fast-Grants, a treasury bounty, closed its intake on November 3, 2025. Its curators said they would finish existing reviews and milestones and then reassess, and no restart had been announced as of October 2, 2026. Our guide to Polkadot Fast-Grants has the details.

Moonbeam, a Polkadot parachain, announced on July 3, 2026 that it was moving its GLMR token to Base. The Moonbeam and Moonriver parachains stopped on July 31, 2026, and the remaining treasury moved to the Moonbeam Foundation, so forum grant proposals can no longer be funded onchain.

How do you get Polkadot funding now?

You ask the Polkadot treasury directly. OpenGov is Polkadot's onchain governance system: anyone can submit a spending referendum, and DOT holders decide it by public vote, with no foundation or committee in between. This is the route W3F itself points to. For more programs, see Polkadot grants.

You choose one of six treasury tracks based on the amount you need:

The decision deposit runs from 1 DOT on the Small Tipper track to 1,000 DOT on the Treasurer track, and larger tracks have longer confirmation periods. Spends can be paid in DOT, USDC or USDT and can be scheduled as several payouts over time. Past recipients include ParaSpell, Polkadot-API and Snowbridge. We estimate about 5 weeks from submission to a result.

Many recent requests are rejected. Publishing a detailed draft and building support with delegates before you go onchain matters. Our guide to blockchain treasury funding explains how treasuries differ from foundation grants, and how to write a DAO funding proposal covers the draft.

What about Kusama?

Kusama, Polkadot's canary network, has its own treasury and W3F-funded bounties, and both are open:

• Polkadot OpenGov TreasuryPolkadot OpenGovUp to $12MAnytime
• Kusama OpenGov TreasuryKusama OpenGovUp to $1.8MAnytime
• Kusama Vision BountiesWeb3 FoundationUndisclosedAnytime

Kusama OpenGov Treasury

The Kusama treasury works like Polkadot's, but KSM holders vote. Its six tracks run from Small Tipper (up to 8.25 KSM) to Treasurer (up to 333,333.33 KSM). Decision periods are 7 days on the tipper tracks and 14 days on the others, followed by a confirmation period of up to 7 days. The decision deposit runs from about 0.03 KSM to 33.33 KSM.

Recent approved spends went mostly to infrastructure and services, such as public RPC providers, system chain collators and the Subscan explorer, plus a few builder projects like Bloque. Several 2026 requests were rejected, so post a draft and gather feedback first.

Kusama Vision bounties

Kusama Vision is W3F's plan to turn Kusama into a testbed for privacy and other experimental technology. It funds three bounties from a shared pool of 10M DOT, each an onchain bounty on Kusama with its own curators, website and application form:

• Zero Knowledge Proofs: ZK libraries, selective disclosure and ZK identity, private governance, private DeFi and post-quantum proof systems. It publishes RFPs and asks teams to build on Polkadot Hub's Revive stack (Solidity and EVM, or PVM) rather than ink!.
• Proof of Personhood: sybil-resistant ways to prove you are a unique human without revealing who you are.
• Art and Social Experiments: work by artists, researchers and collectives on privacy, digital sovereignty and surveillance, typically up to $10,000 per project.

Grants are agreed in US dollars and paid in DOT on Kusama Asset Hub, in installments set for each project. You need a Kusama Asset Hub address with a verified identity on the Kusama People chain.

Next steps

1. Decide between a treasury proposal and a Kusama Vision bounty. If your work is ZK, personhood or privacy art, the bounty has curators and a form; otherwise, it's a treasury referendum.
2. For a treasury request, pick the smallest track whose cap covers your budget.
3. Post a public draft with budget, timeline, deliverables and an accountability plan, and ask delegates for feedback.
4. Submit onchain only when the feedback is in. The basics of a strong application are in our guide on how to write a grant proposal.

FAQ

Is the Web3 Foundation still funding projects?

Yes, but not through open grants. Since January 2026 the Web3 Foundation funds a small number of strategic initiatives, such as Decentralized JAM, helps review proposals in Polkadot OpenGov, and funds the Kusama Vision bounties for zero-knowledge proofs, proof of personhood and art from a shared pool of 10M DOT. Its general Grants Program no longer accepts applications.

How much can you get from the Polkadot treasury?

The Polkadot OpenGov Treasury's largest track, Treasurer, can approve up to 10,000,000 DOT in one referendum, about $12 million at late-September 2026 prices. Smaller tracks cap requests at 250, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000 or 1,000,000 DOT. Spends can be paid in DOT, USDC or USDT, and every request needs an onchain vote of DOT holders to pass.

What replaced Polkadot Fast-Grants?

Nothing has formally replaced Polkadot Fast-Grants, which closed its intake on November 3, 2025 and had not restarted as of October 2, 2026. For small amounts, the Polkadot OpenGov Treasury's Small Tipper track (up to 250 DOT) and Big Tipper track (up to 1,000 DOT) are the onchain routes, decided by a public vote of DOT holders.

Can I still apply through the W3F Grants-Program GitHub repository?

No. The Web3 Foundation's Grants-Program repository on GitHub was marked closed on January 6, 2026 and says it is not accepting new applications. A pull request there is no longer a grant application. The repository itself points builders to the Polkadot treasury, where funding is requested through an OpenGov referendum.

How long does a Polkadot treasury proposal take?

web3grant estimates about five weeks for a Polkadot OpenGov Treasury request, from submission to result, though Polkadot publishes no fixed review time and larger tracks have longer confirmation periods. On Kusama, decision periods are 7 days on tipper tracks and 14 days on the others, plus up to 7 days of confirmation. Time spent on a public draft comes first.