July 2, 2026
When you're building something new - a startup, an open-source tool, a Web3 protocol - you usually need money or some way of funding.
Revenue comes later. Raising a round is one path. But there's a third option that a lot of builders overlook: grants, fellowships, and startup programs.
At Entireless, we spend most of our time thinking about developers and the companies that hire them. But we also know that many of the best developers aren't only looking for a job - they're building their own things on the side, between roles, or full-time with no funding yet.
This post is for them.
We'll cover where non-dilutive funding actually lives, how to find it, and what makes an application worth submitting.
The most obvious way to fund a project is to raise a round and give up equity.
Sometimes that's the right call. But it isn't the only one.
Grants and fellowships are non-dilutive, which means:
Of course, there are trade-offs. Applications take time. Some grants come with reporting requirements or milestones. And "free money" is rarely truly free of strings.
But for early-stage builders, especially developers shipping something real, non-dilutive funding can be the difference between an idea that stalls and one that survives long enough to matter.
Before you start looking, it helps to know what you're looking at. Funding roughly falls into a few buckets:
That last category is where things have gotten especially interesting - more on that below.
Knowing the categories is one thing. Finding real, open opportunities is another.
Here's where builders typically look:
The honest truth is that this information is scattered. There's no single front door. A lot of the work is simply knowing where to look, which is exactly the gap we wanted to help close.
Once you find a program worth applying to, the application itself matters.
Reviewers read a lot of submissions. Respecting their time is half the battle.
A strong application usually has:
You don't need a perfect pitch. You need a clear one. Vague ambition loses to specific execution almost every time.
Of all the funding landscapes out there, Web3 is unusually generous with grants.
The reason is structural. Many blockchain ecosystems have treasuries, ecosystem funds, and public goods programs specifically designed to pay people to build. Protocols want developers building tools, apps, and infrastructure on top of them - and they're willing to fund it.
You'll find grant programs across major ecosystems, along with retroactive public goods funding that rewards work after it's proven useful rather than before.
For developers already comfortable shipping code, Web3 grants can be one of the more accessible entry points into non-dilutive funding. The bar is often "build something useful," not "have a polished business plan."
Because this information is so scattered, we decided to gather some of it in one place.
The Entireless grants page (https://www.entireless.com/grants) is a curated list of Web3 grants and funding programs. We put it together to save builders the hours of digging we've had to do ourselves.
It's a natural extension of what Entireless is about. We're a remote job platform for developers, and we know our audience isn't only job hunting - many of them are building, funding, and shipping their own work. A grants page fits that world.
If you're a developer, founder, or open-source maintainer looking for funding, it's a good place to start.
The money is out there. That's the good news.
The harder part is that it's fragmented, quiet, and easy to miss if you don't know where to look.
Grants, fellowships, and startup programs won't fund every idea, and they aren't a substitute for building something people actually want. But for the right project at the right stage, non-dilutive funding can extend your runway, sharpen your idea, and give you credibility - all without giving up a single share.
If you're building something and wondering where to start, take a look at our grants page. And if you're a developer looking for your next remote role while you build, that's what the rest of Entireless is for.
Either way, we're glad you're building.