The Ecosystem Support Program's Next Chapter

Since 2018, the Ethereum Foundation’s Ecosystem Support Program (ESP) has provided grants to strengthen Ethereum’s core infrastructure, tools, and community resources. As the ecosystem has matured, the sheer volume of open grant applications has limited the team’s ability to focus on high-impact, strategic initiatives. To better align with the EF’s evolving priorities, ESP is temporarily pausing open applications to redesign its funding approach.

Key Ideas

Shift from Reactive to Proactive Funding: Moving away from reviewing large volumes of unsolicited proposals, ESP will focus on proactively funding initiatives that align with EF team priorities and address critical ecosystem needs.
Ongoing Commitment to Public Goods: ESP will continue supporting open-source projects and public goods in areas like developer tooling, research, infrastructure, and community resources, with a more targeted strategy. A detailed update is expected in Q4 2025.

Why It Matters?

Developers and entrepreneurs have chances to align future proposals with EF’s strategic priorities—such as interoperability and UX improvements outlined in recent protocol updates—to increase funding success. They can prepare by mapping their projects directly to these goals and by leveraging ESP Office Hours for feedback and non-financial support during the pause.