Micro-granting in India – BoF at IndiaFOSS/2026

I have proposed BoF (Birds of Feather) session and discussion at IndiaFOSS/2026. The proposal is yet to be approved as of today. I am logging the same content here for readers of my blog post and also for record keeping. I will update in both places if there are any changes.

Background

I am Thejesh GN. In 2018, I started a yearly micro-grant of ₹1,00,000 in memory of my mother, called the Nagarathna Memorial Grant (NMG). The idea was to support meaningful work with no strings attached.

The reason for the grant can be anything that matters to the applicant and the people around them. While I personally prefer Free and Open Source Software, Creative Commons, and public-interest work, that is not a requirement.

Over the years, the size of the grant has grown from ₹1 lakh to several lakhs, thanks to friends and supporters joining in. In 2026, the grant reached its largest size yet ₹5.6 lakhs with many people contributing and supporting the process.The idea is also not to grow beyond ₹10 lakhs as of now. Personally, I would consider any grant handling more than ₹10 lakhs/year in 2026 is not a micro grant. Even with the growth, the core idea remains unchanged, small, direct, trust-based support for meaningful work.

2027 will mark the 10th year of the grant. This BoF is an opportunity to discuss how we can encourage more micro-grants in India.

IndiaFOSS 2026 is happening on September 26th and 27th at NIMHANS, Bengaluru. It is a Free and Open Source Software festival organized by the FOSS United community. There are student discounts and There also diversity scholarships available, so please do apply:

Key Focus

• Explore how micro-grants can enable meaningful creative, public-interest, community, and FOSS projects
• Discuss how to build communities around micro-funding and peer-to-peer support
• Understand the challenges involved and ways to overcome them
• Encourage more people to start and run small independent grants

Brief

In India, most funding for creative, public-interest, and open projects comes through large institutional grants. While those are important, micro-grants ( small, decentralized, peer-to-peer gifts or funding ) can often be more accessible, flexible, and liberating for both the giver and the receiver.

This BoF is an open discussion for FOSS contributors, creators, artists, writers, researchers, and community organizers to discuss about

• the usefulness of micro-grants,
• the realities of running them,
• and how we can encourage more people in India to participate in or start their own micro-funding initiatives.

Possible Discussion Points

1. What is micro-funding?
2. Who can fund, and who can receive?
3. How small is “small”?
4. What are the challenges?
5. What makes it rewarding or fun?
6. How do we encourage more people to participate?

Discussion Format

Round-table discussion.

We will begin with a short introduction to micro-funding and why it matters, followed by an overview of how NMG has worked, lessons learned, and challenges faced over the years.

The session will then open into a broader discussion and brainstorming on possible discussion points mentioned above.

Moderators

• Thejesh GN
• Will update

Note

I will make small changes to this as I gather more feedback on the session. But the core remains the same.

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