[Update, June 30: The MOSS Committee has distributed all of the funds which were allocated to the COVID-19 Solutions Fund and the fund has been closed. To read more about the awardees see here and here].

Mozilla is announcing today the creation of a COVID-19 Solutions Fund as part of the Mozilla Open Source Support Program (MOSS). Through this fund, we will provide awards of up to $50,000 each to open source technology projects which are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in some way.

The MOSS Program, created in 2015, broadens access, increases security, and empowers users by providing catalytic funding to open source technologists. We have already seen inspiring examples of open source technology being used to increase the capacity of the world’s healthcare systems to cope with this crisis. For example, just a few days ago, the University of Florida Center for Safety, Simulation, and Advanced Learning Technologies released an open source ventilator. We believe there are many more life-saving open source technologies in the world.

As part of the COVID-19 Solutions Fund, we will accept applications that are hardware (e.g., an open source ventilator), software (e.g., a platform that connects hospitals with people who have 3D printers who can print parts for that open source ventilator), as well as software that solves for secondary effects of COVID-19 (e.g., a browser plugin that combats COVID related misinformation).

A few key details of the program:

We are generally looking to fund reasonably mature projects that can immediately deploy our funding, early stage ideas are unlikely to receive funding.

We generally expect awardees to use all funds within three months of receiving the award.

We will accept applications from anywhere in the world to the extent legally permitted.

We will accept applications from any type of legal entity, including NGOs, for profit hospitals, or a team of developers with strong ties to an affected community.

Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis.

The MOSS committee will only consider projects which are released publicly under a license that is either a free software license according to the FSF or an open source license according to the OSI. Projects which are not licensed for use under an open source license are not eligible for MOSS funding.

For more information about the MOSS program, please visit: Mozilla.org/moss.

ABOUT MOSS

The Mozilla Open Source Support (MOSS) awards program, created in 2015, broadens access, increases security, and empowers users by providing catalytic funding to open source technologists. In addition to the COVID-19 Solutions Fund, MOSS has three tracks:

Track I – Foundational Technology: supports open source projects that Mozilla relies on, either as an embedded part of our products or as part of our everyday work.

Track II – Mission Partners: supports open source projects that significantly advance Mozilla’s mission.

Track III – The Secure Open Source Fund: supports security audits for widely used open source software projects as well as any work needed to fix the problems that are found.

Tracks I and II and this new COVID-19 Solutions Fund accept applications on a rolling basis. For more information about the MOSS program, please visit: Mozilla.org/moss.