// 00_readme
Funding the version that ships.
Micro-grants for emerging artists. $1,000 and $2,500 for the last mile — studio time, mastering, venue deposits, release costs. No equity, no royalties, no rights taken. Ever.
granted to date
$0
public since day one
projects shipped
0
counted only when they land
on hand
$0
every dollar in and out
// 01_the_problem
The last $1,000
Every artist we know has a project at 99%. The gap between almost done and out in the worldis small, boring, and brutal — and it is not a talent gap. It’s a cash-flow gap: mundane costs, due at exactly the moment wages can’t absorb them, blocking the one thing every career compounds on — shipped work.
mastering
the line between “demo” and “release” — unmastered songs don’t get a second listen
$75–300/track
venue deposit
due weeks before a single ticket sells; the show that doesn’t happen builds nothing
$200–600
the mix nobody re-budgeted
mix eleven is why the file is called final_final_v12.wav — and why it never ships
$300–800
// 02_how_it_works
Four steps, no games
01
One-page application
15 minutes, links not uploads. Tell us the work and what the money finishes.
02
A real answer within 30 days
A “no” comes with a reason, and you can reapply next cycle.
03
Half now, half when it ships
We pay your studio or venue directly when we can. Deliverables, not surveillance.
04
Your work in the Shipped gallery
With the real cost breakdown, if you opt in. Every dollar stays public.
// 03_principles
Artist-first, in writing
- 01
We take nothing. No equity, no royalties, no rights, no recoupment. Ever.
- 02
The application is one page and the answer comes within 30 days.
- 03
Money goes to the work: we pay your studio, your venue, your engineer directly whenever possible.
- 04
Half now, half when it ships. Deliverables, not surveillance.
- 05
Every dollar in and out is public.
- 06
A “no” comes with a reason, and you can reapply next cycle.
- 07
Grants are income; we tell you about the 1099 up front so April doesn’t surprise you.
// 04_latest
Latest from the fund
shipped
shipped_projects/
First cohort ships early 2027.
// 04_open
The first open application window opens November 1, 2026.
applications close the last day of each month · decisions by the 15th