To help sustain and improve open financial networks that allow anyone and everyone to protect their own privacy, on their own terms. While our primary focus is the Zcash protocol and blockchain, we also support broader applications of zero-knowledge proofs and other approaches to financial privacy.
The Zcash Foundation’s grantmaking is built around one core aim: sustaining open financial networks that let people protect their privacy on their own terms. Its current work centers on the Zcash protocol and blockchain, with support also flowing to broader zero-knowledge proof applications and other financial privacy tools. Recent grants show a mix of research, education, and open-source development, including repeated support for 37 Laines in Santa Monica, California, and The Tor Project Inc in Winchester, New Hampshire. Those awards sit alongside funding for infrastructure and protocol-adjacent work such as ZecHub Inc, Red-Dev Inc, and Vergara Technologies LLC. The foundation’s pattern suggests ongoing ecosystem support rather than one-off sponsorships, with multiple recipients appearing across several years. It also backs community-facing education and participation efforts, reflected in grants to organizations such as Blockchain Training Alliance Inc and The Foresight Institute. Across the recent record, the Zcash Foundation uses grantmaking to support both technical development and the people and institutions working around privacy-preserving digital systems.
A clear share of the Zcash Foundation’s funding goes to research and development tied to privacy technology. It gave $320,944 to The Tor Project Inc for Research & Development and $60,000 to Duke University for Research and Development. It also funded FathomX Inc with $33,750 for Research & Development, showing interest in technical work beyond the core Zcash stack. Education is another recurring lane. The foundation awarded $100,000 to GACE Inc for Education and $50,000 to Blockchain Training Alliance Inc for Education, while The Foresight Institute received $17,500 for Education. Some grants combine education with technical work, as with ZecHub Inc, which received support for both Education and Research & Development. The presence of these purposes across different organizations points to a grant portfolio that supports both knowledge-building and implementation.
The typical grant size sits in the mid-five-figure range: the 25th percentile is $42,850, the median is $67,720, and the 75th percentile is $151,778. The record also shows repeat support for several recipients across multiple years, including 37 Laines, The Tor Project Inc, 2Z Inc, Vergara Technologies LLC, Red-Dev Inc, ZecHub Inc, Blockchain Training Alliance Inc, and The Foresight Institute. That pattern suggests follow-on funding is common. The foundation is not a fund for individuals, and it does not make program-related investments. Its grant structure includes public and recurring programs, with Zcash Community Grants and other grant rounds referenced as accepting unsolicited proposals in some cases.
$1.7M
$23.4M
$3.8M
$8M
Most grants fall between $43K and $152K, with a median of $68K.
25th Percentile
$43K
Median
$68K
75th Percentile
$152K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Andrew Miller
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The grant record is entirely U.S.-based, with 30 grants going to recipients in the United States. California appears most often among recipient states, led by recipients in Santa Monica, Cucamonga, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, and San Francisco. Other repeated recipient locations include Winchester, New Hampshire; Worthington, Ohio; Excelsior, Minnesota; and Cheyenne, Wyoming. The Zcash Foundation’s giving is national rather than confined to its headquarters state, and no grants in the recent sample went to recipients in Virginia.
Its grantmaking supports financial privacy, blockchain protocol development, cryptographic research, open-source software, community grants, and privacy-preserving humanitarian aid. Recent awards also cover education and research and development tied to Zcash and related privacy technologies.
The middle of the distribution is in the mid-five-figure range: the 25th percentile is $42,850, the median is $67,720, and the 75th percentile is $151,778.
Yes. Several recipients appear across multiple years, including 37 Laines, The Tor Project Inc, 2Z Inc, Vergara Technologies LLC, Red-Dev Inc, ZecHub Inc, Blockchain Training Alliance Inc, and The Foresight Institute.
Some programs do accept unsolicited proposals. The Zcash Community Grants program is described as accepting unsolicited submissions, and the Zcash Foundation Grant Program and General Zcash Foundation Grants are also marked as accepting unsolicited proposals.
California is the top state by grant count in the recent record. Recipient cities there include Santa Monica, Cucamonga, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, and San Francisco.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Current and upcoming funding from Zcash Foundation that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Major Grants cannot be awarded to the Blockchain Company, Electric Coin Company, or Zcash Foundation. Awards are subject to approval by the Zcash Community Grants Committee, which is selected by the Zcash Community Advisory Panel.
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tor Project Inc | Winchester, NH | $320,944In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2025 | Research & Development |
| 37 Laines | Santa Monica, CA | $300,000In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2025 | Education |
| 37 Laines | Santa Monica, CA | $300,000In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2025 | Education |
| 2Z Inc | Worthington, OH | $232,000In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2025 | Education |
| Vergara Technologies LLC | Plymouth, MN | $109,700In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2025 | Research & Development |
| ZecHub Inc | Cucamonga, CA | $79,318In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2025 | Research & Development |
| Vergara Technologies LLC | Excelsior, MN | $70,400In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2025 | Research & Development |
| Red-Dev Inc | Cheyenne, WY | $68,718In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2025 | Research & Development |
| ZecHub Inc | Rancho Cucamonga, CA | $66,722In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2025 | Education, Research & Development |
| Red-Dev Inc | Cheyenne, WY | $56,686In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2025 | Research & Development |
| Blockchain Training Alliance Inc | Temecula, CA | $50,000In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2025 | Education |
| FathomX Inc | Wilmington, DE | $33,750In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2025 | Research & Development |
| The Foresight Institute | San Francisco, CA | $17,500In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2025 | Education |
| Sternidae Industries Inc | Wilmington, DE | $14,600In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2025 | Research & Development |
| 37 Laines | Santa Monica, CA | $412,787In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2023 | Education |
| The Tor Project Inc | Winchester, NH | $316,404 | 2023 | Research and Development |
| 2Z Inc | Worthington, OH | $125,037In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2023 | Research and Development |
| GACE Inc | Grafton, WI | $100,000In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2023 | Education |
| Duke University | Durham, NC | $60,000In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2023 | Research and Development |
| Vergara Technologies LLC | Excelsior, MN | $43,800In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2023 | Research and Development |
| Alphega Solutions LLC | Aloharetta, GA | $40,000In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2023 | Research and Development |
| The Foresight Institute | San Francisco, CA | $17,500In-kind: cryptocurrency | 2023 | Education |
37 Laines
$300,000In-kind: cryptocurrencyEducation
37 Laines
$300,000In-kind: cryptocurrencyEducation
2Z Inc
$232,000In-kind: cryptocurrencyEducation
Vergara Technologies LLC
$109,700In-kind: cryptocurrencyResearch & Development
ZecHub Inc
$79,318In-kind: cryptocurrencyResearch & Development
Vergara Technologies LLC
$70,400In-kind: cryptocurrencyResearch & Development
Red-Dev Inc
$68,718In-kind: cryptocurrencyResearch & Development
ZecHub Inc
$66,722In-kind: cryptocurrencyEducation, Research & Development
Red-Dev Inc
$56,686In-kind: cryptocurrencyResearch & Development
Blockchain Training Alliance Inc
$50,000In-kind: cryptocurrencyEducation
FathomX Inc
$33,750In-kind: cryptocurrencyResearch & Development
Sternidae Industries Inc
$14,600In-kind: cryptocurrencyResearch & Development
37 Laines
$412,787In-kind: cryptocurrencyEducation
2Z Inc
$125,037In-kind: cryptocurrencyResearch and Development
GACE Inc
$100,000In-kind: cryptocurrencyEducation
Vergara Technologies LLC
$43,800In-kind: cryptocurrencyResearch and Development
Alphega Solutions LLC
$40,000In-kind: cryptocurrencyResearch and Development
