Local Impact Mini-Grants

The program is open to registered and unregistered organisations as well as individuals. Eligible applicants include community organisations, nonprofits, cooperatives, civil society and advocacy groups, local fintech startups, social enterprises, and individual practitioners with a concrete project plan. Applications are welcome from any geography.

NOTE: The Interledger Foundation must comply with the economic and trade sanctions program administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. These sanctions have been imposed on specific countries, individuals, and entities that appear on OFAC's List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (the "SDN List").

The Interledger Foundation is prohibited from providing most goods or services to residents of sanctioned countries or their governmental entities or to SDNs without an applicable U.S. government authorization or exemption.

The grants cover work across four areas:

• Open payments and digital financial access
• Open source and open innovation
• Financial inclusion and fintech ecosystems
• Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI/DPG) and related themes

Eligible activities include meetups and community conversations, workshops and demos, hackdays and participatory learning sessions, local ecosystem gatherings, research, storytelling, and awareness campaigns, and content.

Activities can be hosted independently or in collaboration with existing local groups, such as coworking spaces, open-source communities, hacker spaces, universities, incubators, accelerators, or civil society networks. This list is not exhaustive: if your activity creates space for local learning and connection around open payments or digital financial access, it is worth applying.

Grant funds must go toward direct project activities. Eligible uses include:

• Meetups, community conversations, and local ecosystem gatherings
• Workshops, demos, hackdays, and participatory learning sessions
• Research, storytelling, and awareness campaigns
• Content and materials on open payments and digital financial infrastructure
• Facilitator compensation and organizer stipends
• Travel and logistics tied directly to project delivery

General operating expenses, such as compensation for the organisers, and capital expenditures, are not eligible. The intention of the Local Impact Mini-Grants is to primarily provide flexible community activation mini-grants to support local events where communities are already doing such initiatives in their locale.

Applicants submit a short application via Submittable that includes a completed application form, a 2-page concept note, and a budget and timeline document outlining key milestones.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis between July 6 and November 11, 2026, with priority review given to projects completing before December 31, 2026. Applications are reviewed as they come in; you don't need to wait for the window to close. Submitting early improves your chances of receiving an award within this cycle.

Projects must be completed within 6 months from accepting the grant. 

Applications are welcome from any geography. Projects serving communities in the Global South, rural areas, or peri-urban regions are a priority for this funding cycle. As a US-incorporated foundation, ILF is required to comply with sanctions administered by OFAC. Applicants from countries subject to US sanctions are not eligible.

Both individuals and organisations can apply, registered or unregistered. What matters is a concrete project plan and direct connection to the community the project is serving.

Successful applicants will typically be required to provide the following:

• Project Introduction Blog: a blog post introducing the project and initiative to the community. This post may also outline ways the community can support the successful implementation of the project.
• Final Summary Blog: a blog submitted summarizing the activities carried out. The blog should include key performance metrics, such as the number of participants who benefited from the program, project outcomes, and feedback or lessons learned during implementation.

Applicants are also encouraged to include photos, documentation, or event materials in their submission. These contributions help the Interledger community learn from and build on each initiative.

No prior experience is required. However, applicants should demonstrate:

• Interest in learning about Interledger technologies
• A plan to introduce local members to the ecosystem
• Willingness to explore open payments concepts

Yes, on a case-by-case basis. To promote diversity across geographic regions and communities, priority will be given to underrepresented regions.

Before starting your application, applicants can explore Interledger documentation, developer resources, community events, online discussions, and educational materials on open payments. Links to these resources are generally available on the grant application guideline and the grant application resources.

Contact us via the Grant Inquiry Form for direct support or join our Interledger Slack community and join #local-impact-grants channel. You can also email us at LIG@interledger.org. For general questions about our grantmaking approach, review the Grantmaking FAQs in the resource folder.