One of the greatest things we love about our jobs is the volunteers.
The Internet Society is jam packed with amazing, passionate, and brilliant volunteers who are driven – from their core – by the belief that the Internet makes the world better.
It’s really astounding what they do.
They look at some of the world’s toughest problems – from poverty, to hunger, to access to education – and figure out how the Internet can play a part in solving them.
It’s because of their work that farmers are learning new ways to grow more food, over 4000 children in Mali are connected via solar powered computers at school, to breaking the barrier of loneliness and isolation faced by low-income seniors in Harlem New York.
And while there is a growing myth that the world is getting worse, ISOC’s volunteers are out there making it better.
It’s because of these people – who make up our Chapters – that we revisited our Community Grants Program and decided it was time to, well, reboot.
Today I’m proud to announce the launch of Beyond The Net – the Internet Society’s new funding program. It has new funding levels and even more of an emphasis than ever on our Chapters.
Have a look to see if you qualify.
Projects that we fund come from three areas:
- Access and development
- Security and tech
- Internet governance
We’re focused on those areas because that’s the best way to have the biggest impact.
We fund projects from Chapters, Chapters that want to work together, or members who don’t have a Chapter where they live.
You can apply for grants ranging from 3 500USD to 30 000USD.
If you’re interested – sign up to become a member. Here’s a little more about the group internet defenders that you’ll be joining:
We’re optimists.
We believe that by doing these things we can help people around the world have the chance to be all they can.
We love making friends
One of the best things about our community is the ability to BE a community.
We Push for New Solutions
Sometimes fixing the hard stuff means you have to think differently. We like the ideas that probably sound a little crazy but have a strong plan to back them up.
We Know That Sometimes It’s Just Not Going To Work
Some projects we fund won’t work out. We expect that. We’re making bets on things that others just won’t make.
We share the results, learn from one another, and adjust our strategy.
We Know Can’t Do It Alone
We know that big ideas take teamwork. We make a point of partnering with local organizations that can help see our ideas through.
So there you have it.
We have thousands of stories out there to be celebrated. Add yours to the bunch. Become a member, join a Chapter, apply for Beyond the Net.