ICANN Grant Program

The ICANN Grant Program is a funding initiative and ICANN department for allocating nTLD auction proceeds among efforts that support creativity and innovation that furthers ICANN's vision of a single, open, and globally interoperable Internet.

Overview

The fund supports efforts that benefit the development, distribution, and evolution of the Internet's unique identifier systems and supporting structures; provide underserved populations with capacity development and infrastructure support; advance open access, innovation, and open standards; and address diversity, participation, and inclusion across developing regions and in under-represented communities.

Requirements

The Cross Community Working Group on New gTLD Auction Proceeds recommended to the ICANN Board that the program be required:

• to be consistent with ICANN’s Mission as set out in the ICANN Bylaws.
• to not provide its funds toward the private benefit of individuals.
• to not be used for political activity. ICANN is barred from engaging in any activity that intervenes in a political campaign for a candidate for public office and has limits on the amount of its budget that can be used for lobbying purposes.
• to take conflicts of interest into consideration.
• to remain fully accountable for the proceeds and their assigned purposes.
• to implement thorough mechanisms of evaluation, monitoring, and oversight before, during, and after disbursement.

Specifications

The Senior Vice President of Planning and Chief Financial Officer runs the ICANN Grant Program department.

The program cycle moves through five stages:

1. Planning

   This phase consists of setting up the department and the Independent Panel, generating outreach material, and designing the first cycle.

2. Application Window

   This period starts with a call for proposals and ends with preparation for evaluation.

3. Due Diligence, Assessment & Selection

   This phase is comprised of eligibility reviews (administrative, applicant, and application), application assessments and recommendation process, a consolidation of the applications to be funded, and submission of selected applications to the Board for review. The ICANN Board will not decide the outcomes of individual applications; rather, it will decide on the entire slate of applications recommended for funding. The Board will either approve or reject the funding for the entire slate of recommended applications based on whether the cycle was in accordance with the Grant Program processes and procedures.

4. Award

   Awardees are notified, contracts are made between ICANN and the successful applicants, funds are distributed, and program rule compliance begins.

5. Post Award/Cycle Close

   During this period, ICANN publishes reports on the program and winners and reviews the program, the cycle, and the winners' use of funds.

Timeline

In 2012, the New gTLD Program received 1,930 applications, which resulted in 234 string contentions where two or more applicants sought the same or similar top-level domains. As of December 2022, 16 of the 234 contentions have been resolved via Auctions of Last Resort conducted by ICANN’s authorized auction service provider. ICANN refers to the proceeds generated from these auctions as “New gTLD Auctions Proceeds." The 2012 Applicant Guidebook outlined that auction proceeds would be reserved and earmarked until the uses of funds were determined and ensured to align with ICANN’s Mission and Core Values and maintain its not-for-profit status.

In December 2016, the Cross Community Working Group on New gTLD Auction Proceeds (CCWG-Auction Proceeds) was created to identify processes and mechanisms for allocating the proceeds.

In June 2022, the ICANN Board approved the CCWG-Auctions Proceeds' recommendations.

In December 2022, ICANN Organization began implementing the recommendations of this CCWG with the designing of the ICANN Grant Program.

As of June 30, 2022, the total net auction proceeds fund amounts to US$ 210 million.

In mid-April 2023, the ICANN organization issued a request for information (RFI) to identify vendors to provide support services for the ICANN Grant Program. ICANN is looking specifically for vendors to: assemble and manage the Independent Application Assessment Panel; conduct eligibility checks of applications; offer or manage components of grant management software, inquiries from activities of the applicant, audits and reports on granted applications, and/or conduct process or cycle evaluations for future improvements. The RFI has a deadline of May 5 and will be followed by an evaluation of responses and a follow-on request for proposal starting on June 5 2023.

Cycles

First Cycle

• Up to USD 10 million to be awarded overall
• Awards ranging from USD 50,000 up to USD 500,000
• Phase 1 (planning): 2023
• Phases 2 & 3 (application window, assessment): 2024
• Phases 4 & 5 (funding awarded, review): 2025