ARIN Community Grant Program

The ARIN Community Grant Program provides financial grants in support of initiatives that improve the overall Internet industry and Internet user environment. ARIN will award grants to support qualified operational and research projects that advance ARIN’s mission and broadly benefit the Internet community within the ARIN region. ARIN has funded 21 projects since the program’s launch in 2019. In 2024, the ARIN Community Grant Program has a budget of US$60,000 to provide funding to successful applicants in varying amounts, between US$1,000 and US$20,000, and based on project need.

Who should apply?

We only accept grant applications from organizations working on projects that are noncommercial in nature, meaning they serve the public or achieve a public good, and not for commercial projects that have a primary goal of generating profits or financial gain. Commercial projects are not eligible for ARIN Community Grants and will not be considered.

Representatives from nonprofits are encouraged to apply. A few types of organizations we invite to apply for a grant include, but are not limited to, the following:

• nongovernmental organizations
• nonprofit educational bodies
• academic and research institutions
• open-source groups

Eligibility Guidelines

To be eligible for a grant, projects must:

1. Align with ARIN’s Mission and strategic goals. Projects must fit into one or more of the following categories:

• Internet technical improvements
  • Promote and facilitate the expansion, development, and growth of the global Internet infrastructure consistent with the public interest
  • Enhance the benefits of Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) and its development and/or global deployment.
• Registry processes and technology improvements
  • Enhance registry processes and technologies that contribute to a globally consistent and highly usable Internet Number Registry System.
• Informational outreach
  • Advance the Internet on topics such as, but not limited to: IPv6 deployment, routing security, Internet research, and Internet governance.
• Research
  • Related to ARIN’s mission and operations.

2. Broadly benefit the Internet community within the ARIN service region.

3. Be noncommercial in nature.

Information for Applicants

• Grants are not designed to fund local Internet access, scholarships, tuition, humanitarian aid, donations, or political reform.
• Preferential scoring will be given to projects with an implementation timeline for completion within a 12-month period yet produce long-term results of a sustainable nature beyond the funding year.
• Only one application per organization will be considered per year, but organizations may reapply yearly and receive funding up to two consecutive years.
• While the outcomes of a project may be global in scope, there must also be specific benefit within the ARIN region. While localization is acceptable, projects must broadly benefit the ARIN service region on a larger scale as well.
• Project application must include sufficient detail for evaluation of the proposed benefit to the ARIN region, for example:
  • Research funding requests should document a specific use case.
  • Software project proposals should include a software requirement document or mockup.
• If code or data will be generated, applicant must explain the data management plan with a preference for open-source projects (although not necessarily required).
• If ARIN staff will be involved in a project, applicant must specify the resource commitment.
• Applicant should include a specific budget breakdown, and no more than 5 percent of the budget can be used for promotional purposes, administrative overhead, travel, or equipment.

Sample projects that could receive funding (for illustrative purposes only):

• Nonprofits improving network resiliency by using ARIN resources in underserved communities
• Development of open-source tools that demonstrably improve the security and management of ARIN resources
• Providing training to improve adoption and awareness of ARIN resources
• Research related to analyzing data made available by ARIN to the public

2024 Timeline

• Applications accepted 22 April-23 June
• Reviews conducted by the Grant Selection Committee during July/August
• Applicants notified of application status in mid-September
• Grant recipients announced in late September
• Funds disbursed in late September, upon completion of ARIN documentation
• Project update reports due March 2025
• Final project reports due September 2025

What to expect when applying

Applications must be submitted through the designated online form and must be completed by the announced deadline.

First, you must create a SurveyMonkey Apply account and verify your email address before beginning your application. You will be asked to provide the following information: applicant details, project overview, project details, project budget, outcomes and impact, sustainability, and project compliance and disclosure. If you so choose, you may upload supporting documentation in the application form. By submitting the application, you indicate that you are willing to sign the Grant Recipient Agreement if your project is selected for funding. We shall collect, process, and share all data, including personal data, in relation to the ARIN Community Grant Program in accordance with the ARIN Privacy Statement.

How applications will be evaluated

The Grant Selection Committee will review all qualified applications and evaluate according to the ARIN Community Grant Program selection criteria. The Grant Selection Committee or ARIN staff may request more details or modifications to any part of the application at any time during the selection process. Selection Committee scoring will be conducted through an online platform that calculates an average score based on the points given by each Selection Committee member. The Committee shall provide its recommendations in writing to the Board of Trustees and shall include a summary of the justification for each recommended proposal. The Committee is not obligated to spend its entire budget. The Board of Trustees will then make the final selection. All decisions made by the Board of Trustees are final, and all Community Grant Program communications and deliberations regarding the applications shall be kept confidential.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be scored on a 50-point scale as follows:

• Alignment with eligibility guidelines (1-5 points)
  • Project focuses on Internet technical improvements, registry processes and technology improvements, informational outreach, or research
  • Project broadly benefits the Internet community in the ARIN region
• Relevance and reach (1-10 points)
  • Application provides clear objectives and details how they will be met through project work
  • Project innovatively addresses a specific problem
  • Project makes a unique contribution to building a better Internet community within the ARIN region
  • Desired outcomes will have a positive, meaningful, and far-reaching impact on the overall Internet industry or Internet user environment
• Impact (1-15 points)
  • Project results can be scaled, replicated, or applied to a significant portion of the ARIN community
  • Project adds long-term value and outcomes can be sustained beyond the end of the ARIN funding
  • Project includes involvement of a diversity of actors in implementation – e.g., community members, volunteers, partner organizations
  • Project application sufficiently documents the potential benefit to the ARIN region
• Budget (1-10 points)
  • Clearly stated and carefully considered funding requirements
  • Budget includes all costs with enough detail to understand the project’s financial requirements. If applicable, contributions from other sources and/or the applicant are present and include a breakdown of how the ARIN grant money will be allocated
  • Expenses appear reasonable and customary
  • Funding request is not commercial in nature, nor for local Internet access, scholarships, tuition, humanitarian aid, donations, or political reform
  • Funding request includes no more than 5 percent for promotional purposes, organizational overhead, travel, or equipment
• Likelihood of success (1-10 points)
  • Proposed project solves the problem identified. Objectives and timeline are practicable.
  • Outcomes are specific, achievable and can be measured quantitatively and qualitatively
  • Anticipated completion falls within a 12-month period
  • Project team includes sufficient leadership, project management experience, and organizational capacity to deliver

Current Grant Selection Committee

The Grant Selection Committee shall include two members of ARIN staff, one to be appointed Committee Chair. The Committee shall also include four (4) individual representatives from General Members or ARIN-elected individuals, who shall be appointed by the staff committee members. The Committee must submit feedback for inclusion in a year-end program report for the Board of Trustees upon completion of work. Committee members are not precluded from serving successive terms.

Current Grant Selection Committee

• Joe Westover, ARIN staff, Committee Chair
• Michael Abejuela, ARIN staff
• Peter Harrison, ARIN Board of Trustees
• Chris Tacit, ARIN Board of Trustees
• Anthony Delacruz, ARIN General Member
• Kate Gerry, ARIN General Member

Post-Grant Selection Process

Applicants will be notified directly of grant selection status upon the ARIN Board of Trustees’ final decision.

Successful applicants will be required to log in to their Survey Monkey Apply account to accept or decline the grant. Upon acceptance, applicants are required to submit a signed Grant Recipient Agreement and to provide information related to the issuance of funds.

All grant recipients will be announced on ARIN’s website including organization name, project title, project summary, full or partial project description, and grant amount. Funds will be dispersed following the public announcement of successful applicants.

Reporting Requirements for Grant Recipients

Grant recipients are required to provide written reports on project status and outcomes. The first project update report is due by the end of March 2025 and will be submitted through the grant recipient’s SurveyMonkey Apply account. We also ask that recipients present an update on the project in person or virtually at the spring ARIN Meeting as well as fill out a brief survey to help us improve the Community Grant Program experience. A final written report is due in September 2025 and will be submitted via email. Reports should explain how the project performed in terms of the objectives laid out in advance, including specific details on how funds were spent, outcomes, number of individuals reached, and how the Internet industry benefited in the ARIN region in terms of Internet technical improvements, registry processes and technology improvements, informational outreach, or research. Grant recipients can also expect those project results to be shared with the ARIN community in a blog post.

ARIN Community Grant Program Application Questions

Applicant Details

• Main Contact: Full Name, Email, Phone Number, Title, Organization, Additional Information
• Application Organization: Name, Address, URL, Type, Is your organization a nonprofit?, Region, D&B D-U-N-S Number, About the Organization
• Application History: Have you applied for ARIN Community Grant in the past? If yes, did you receive a grant?
• Referral: How did you hear about the ARIN Community Grant Program?

Project Overview

• Project Title
• URL (if applicable)
• Organization Logo (optional)
• Project Summary: Concise project description in 200 words or less. Will be shared publicly if selected for a grant.
• Project Objectives: What specific 1-3 objective(s) is the project aiming to achieve?

Project Details

• Project Description: Detailed project description, including specifics on how you will achieve objectives. Include the problem your project is addressing and describe the groups that will be the direct and indirect beneficiaries of the project’s outcomes. How does this project improve the overall Internet industry and Internet user environment?
• Ability to Deliver: Describe briefly relevant experience of key personnel or organizations.
• Senior Participant(s) Biography: Brief bio of senior participant(s) involved in the project work.
• Project Timeline: Include any deliverables, e.g., reports, tools, presentations, etc.
• Do you expect to ask for a resource commitment from ARIN staff?: If so, from whom and to what extent?
• Will code or data be generated as part of this project?: If so, please explain your data management plan. Will this be an open-source project?
• Optional Upload: Additional supporting information

Project Budget

• Funding Request: How much funding are you requesting (in US dollars)?
• Budget: Describe anticipated program expenses by major category. Include summary of financial controls on access to grant funds.
• Dependencies: Are there any third-party dependencies or will this project receive funding from any other source(s)? If constrained by confidentiality agreements, describe the breakdown of the share of funding sought from ARIN and the general nature of the other funding sources. Budgets must include a breakdown of costs. If part of a larger project, indicate how ARIN grant money will be allocated.
• Optional Upload: Budget information

Outcomes, Impact, and Sustainability

• Beneficiaries: Who specifically will benefit from the project and how?
• Impact Demonstration: Provide a cost/benefit analysis or a quantifiable social impact statement
• Long-term Benefit: Detail how the project will create long-lasting benefits. How will project outcomes be made available, sustainable, or replicable?

Project Compliance and Disclosure

• Category: Which category does the project fit into (select all that apply): Internet technical improvements, registry processes and technology improvements, informational outreach, or research. Describe how the project fits into the category selected.
• Benefit to the ARIN Region: How does the project benefit the Internet community within the ARIN service region? How many people in the ARIN region will it reach and in which geographic areas?
• Timeline: Does the implementation timeline for completion fall within a 12-month period? If no, how long with the project take to complete?
• Recognition: If selected, how will you recognize the ARIN Community Grant Program in relation to your project?
• Potential Conflicts: Does the project involve any persons (or their family members) who are an ARIN employee, trustee, officer, or anyone who serves on any ARIN committees or council? If yes, provide details.

We encourage applicants to clearly demonstrate how your project meets the eligibility guidelines and selection criteria throughout the application form to improve your project’s chances of being selected. Please email us at apply@arin.net if you have any questions concerning the ARIN Community Grant Program.