Grants and funding for creators
Funding open to content creators, independent media makers and solo builders — grants, credits and contests that do not require a company or a team. Bursary matches the ones that fit your work and writes the application.
Check what you qualify for →Start here · fastest to claim
No company needed, rolling deadlines, low effort — the quickest wins on this list.
34 programs · updated 2026-07-12
Kaya AI India Hackathon 2026
$350,000 in prizes
Online hackathon by Kaya — IoT, Machine Learning/AI, Enterprise. 1,435 registered. Verify eligibility (some are region-locked).
No company needed
Sundance Institute Documentary Fund
$25,000 to $100,000
Feature-length only (52+ min), budget under $1.2M; 2026 cycle closed, next open call early 2027.
No company needed
National Geographic Society Grants
Level I up to $20,000; Level II up to $100,000
Individuals 18+ apply directly; funds science, conservation, storytelling, education or tech; themed calls carry their own deadlines.
No company needed
O'Shaughnessy Fellowship
up to $100,000
Equity-free, open worldwide to individuals 13+ with no entity required; annual cycle (2026 round closed Apr 30) so apply when the next opens, expect ~40+ hrs/week.
No company needed
Emergent Ventures
$1,000 - $50,000
Mercatus/Tyler Cowen grants + fellowships for ambitious "zero to one" ideas, ages 13+. For-profit OK, a quick path to revenue is a plus. Short written rolling app; dedicated tracks for India, Africa, the Caribbean, and Ukraine.
No company needed
Creative Capital Award
up to $50,000
Unrestricted project grants for individual artists (visual/performing arts, film, literature); US-based artists only, annual open-call cycle.
No company needed
Slack Agent Builder Challenge
$42,000 in prizes
Online hackathon by Salesforce — Beginner Friendly, Enterprise, Low/No Code. 4,243 registered. Verify eligibility (some are region-locked).
No company needed
Reddit’s Games with a Hook Hackathon
$40,000 in prizes
Online hackathon by reddit — Beginner Friendly, Gaming, Web. 2,764 registered. Verify eligibility (some are region-locked).
No company needed
W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography
$30,000
Photographers worldwide 18+ (non-students) for documentary work; $50 entry fee (waivers for underrepresented photographers); no AI-generated imagery.
No company needed
Gold House Futures (Gold Art Prize)
Up to $25,000
Applicants must identify as Asian and/or Pacific Islander; cash lives in the Gold Art Prize track, not base membership.
No company needed
Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant
~$11,000 (15,000 CAD)
Emerging representational artists only (painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing); 4 review cycles a year, no fee.
No company needed
Verizon Small Business Digital Ready
$10,000
No revenue gate. Finish 2 free courses to unlock the application.
No company needed
Amber Grant (WomensNet)
$10,000
Women-owned only (50%+); US/Canada; pre-revenue and idea-stage OK; $15 application fee; three $10K monthly + year-end $50K.
No company needed
IFundWomen Universal Grant
Varies ($10,000+ typical)
Women-founders only; one 10-minute application matches you to rotating partner grants; free.
No company needed
Hello Alice Small Business Grants
$5,000 to $25,000 (varies)
Rotating hub of partner grants (open ones change weekly); free account required; some need prior-year revenue.
No company needed
Fund for Investigative Journalism Grant
up to $10,000
For freelance/staff investigative journalists; no fee, but full proposals need a US-outlet letter of commitment (seed grants up to $2,500 skip that requirement).
No company needed
Backblaze Generative Media Hackathon: Build with Genblaze on B2
$10,000 in prizes
Online hackathon by Backblaze — Machine Learning/AI, Music/Art, Voice skills. 730 registered. Verify eligibility (some are region-locked).
No company needed
CockroachDB × AWS Hackathon - Build with Agentic Memory
$8,750 in prizes
Online hackathon by Cockroach Labs — Machine Learning/AI, Databases, DevOps. 1,284 registered. Verify eligibility (some are region-locked).
No company needed
Arm Create: AI Optimization Challenge
$8,000 in prizes
Online hackathon by arm — Machine Learning/AI. 1,220 registered. Verify eligibility (some are region-locked).
No company needed
Halstead Grant
$7,500 cash + $1,000 merchandise
Silver jewelry designers only, within 5 years of first sale; portfolio plus 15 business questions.
No company needed
New Music USA New Music Creator Fund
$3,000 to $5,000
Individual music creators 21+ with 3+ years professional experience; students ineligible, recent cycles regionally limited; annual cycle reopens in fall.
No company needed
Galaxy Grant (Hidden Star)
$4,250
Women and minority business owners only (any stage incl. idea); US-only.
No company needed
ElevenLabs Startup Grants
33M characters free for 12 months (~$4,000)
Under 25 employees with a monetized product; agencies excluded, and you must display the ElevenLabs Grants badge for 12 months.
No company neededNeeds website
Foundation for Contemporary Arts — Emergency Grants
$500 to $3,000
Needs a committed, dated public presentation of experimental work; social-media content alone does not qualify; 3-year wait between awards.
No company needed
Speculative Literature Foundation Grants
$500 to $1,500
Six free-to-apply grants for speculative-fiction writers, each with its own annual window; several restrict by background (working-class, 50+, South Asian, underrepresented).
No company needed
The Awesome Foundation
$1,000
$1,000 micro-grant, no strings attached, awarded monthly by autonomous local chapters worldwide (many cities plus a global online chapter) to anyone with a project. For-profit OK, no incorporation or nonprofit status required — one short form. Highest odds per minute.
No company needed
HerRise MicroGrant
$1,000 per month
Women only (incl. women of color), US-registered 51%+ women-owned business under $1M revenue; $15 admin fee.
Needs company
1517 Fund Medici Project Grant
$1,000+ cash grant
Truly non-dilutive; high-school, college students or dropouts in North America only; apply by emailing a 5-minute Loom video.
No company needed
The Freed Fellowship Grant
$500 (+ $2,500 year-end)
Any US micro/small business; $19 application fee; one $500 monthly, all fellows eligible for year-end $2,500; no nonprofits.
No company needed
The Pollination Project Seed Grant
Up to $500 seed grant
Social-impact/community-benefit project, volunteer-led with no paid staff, total budget under $10K; no fee, reviewed monthly.
No company needed
Framer for Startups
Framer Pro free for 1 year
New pre-seed/seed users only; must not already have an active plan or published project.
No company needed
Field of Vision — Short Doc Commissions
Commission (varies)
Short nonfiction with a real access/journalistic angle; all levels, no entity, but generic social video will not land — you pitch a story.
No company needed
NYFA Fiscal Sponsorship
Fundraising vehicle (non-cash)
Not cash itself: the vehicle that lets a solo creator raise tax-deductible funds + qualify for grants needing a 501(c)(3) sponsor; $150 fee + 8% of funds raised.
No company needed
The Gotham — Fiscal Sponsorship
Fiscal sponsorship + labs (non-cash)
NYC-based; rolling intake for fiscal sponsorship of any project; cash labs require early-career doc directors, sponsorship is open to anyone with a project.
No company needed
Find the ones you qualify for
Tell Bursary who you are in one sentence. An AI matches you and drafts each application free.
Find my money →Frequently asked questions
Who qualifies for grants for creators?
Funding open to content creators, independent media makers and solo builders — grants, credits and contests that do not require a company or a team. Bursary matches the ones that fit your work and writes the application.
Can I get a grant as a solo creator with no company?
Yes. Many creator grants and contests accept individuals on the strength of your work alone, with no LLC or team required. Bursary flags the few that ask for a registered entity first.
How much funding is available?
Programs on this list go up to $350,000. Bursary ranks them by what you actually qualify for.
How many programs are on this list?
34 verified programs, re-checked continuously.
Is it free to apply?
Most are free to apply. Bursary reads the fine print and flags any program that charges a fee before you start.
Do I need a registered company?
Not for all of them. Bursary matches programs to your situation and tells you which require a registered entity and which accept individuals.