Reddit launches $1 million fund to support user-driven projects
The platform will award anywhere from $1,000 to $50,000 in funding.
You'll finally have a chance to host that r/legaladvice happy hour, or take your friends from r/animalpics to the zoo. Reddit is investing $1 million in its Community Funds program, which aims to help users get their projects and ideas off the ground.
The program will officially open for applications in June, at which point Reddit’s entire community will be invited to apply. The platform will award anywhere between $1,000 and $50,000 to help users launch their projects, events and other ideas. The only conditions are that the projects benefit a certain Reddit community and don’t promote an outside company, product or project. Other than that, the sky appears to be the limit. Reddit lists several example projects, including online conferences, talks, outdoor festivals, concerts, workshops, magazines and short films.
Reddit first tested out the Community Funds concept last October, with a pilot run that funded 13 different projects, including a community billboard contest, a digital conference for historians, Christmas gifts for families undergoing financial difficulties and a comic book contest.
“Community Funds aligns with our mission of bringing community, belonging, and empowerment to everyone in the world. We believe that empowering communities to do more by awarding funds to support their best ideas is one way we can accomplish this,” said Reddit in its blog post announcing the program.
Projects will be selected based on their “creativity, feasibility, and community impact”, according to Reddit. Interested applicants should look out for more submission details and guidelines from Reddit, which it plans to release in the upcoming weeks.
