Funding the Commons
Funding the Commons PBC is a US Public Benefit Corporation that convenes builders, researchers, funders, and policymakers through global conferences, hackathons, and builder residencies to accelerate coordination infrastructure and funding mechanisms for public goods.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersWilmington, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Funding the Commons does
Funding the Commons is a US-domiciled Public Benefit Corporation (Funding the Commons PBC) founded in November 2021 that operates as an event-based convening platform for the public goods funding ecosystem. Rather than building software products, the organization runs in-person conferences, hackathons, and month-long builder residencies across cities including San Francisco, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Bangkok, Tokyo, Taipei, Paris, Lisbon, Bogota, and New York, with the explicit aim of accelerating coordination infrastructure — funding mechanisms, governance systems, and programmable tools — for shared resources such as open-source software, digital public infrastructure, and scientific research. Its March 2026 "Intelligence at the Frontier" event at Frontier Tower in San Francisco drew 1,000+ participants across 229 sessions and is its largest gathering to date.
The organization's "core technology" is its convening platform itself: a multi-format programming model combining talks, panels, workshops, hackathons, and unconference sessions, curated around themed tracks such as RealFi (Funding Systems, Financial Access, Coordination Infrastructure, Identity & Trust, AI for Public Use, and Climate & Commons Governance). It serves a horizontal audience of builders, researchers, funders, policymakers, civic-sector organizations, and multilateral institutions, with notable speakers including Vitalik Buterin, Juan Benet, Jaan Tallinn, Audrey Tang, and Yuriko Koike. Distribution is exclusively event-driven — no commercial product distribution, no API, no SaaS module — supplemented by always-on Media Lab content (YouTube archive, Spotify podcast, newsletter).
The business model is sponsorship-and-donation based, not product-based. Revenue streams consist of event sponsorships from Web3 and adjacent foundations (Protocol Labs, Filecoin Foundation, Ethereum Foundation, NEAR Foundation, Stellar Development Foundation, Human Tech/Holonym Foundation), institutional partnerships (UNICEF Office of Innovation, Internet Archive, Metagov), event co-hosting arrangements (DevConnect, Web3Privacy Now, Frontier Tower), and donations through Open Collective. Events are free to participate in; no ticket pricing or SaaS pricing exists. The disclosed leadership team is small (David Casey, Director; James Farrell, CTO; Beth McCarthy, Program Director; Tereza Bizkova, Team Member), and there is no disclosed venture capital, parent company, or institutional investor, consistent with its PBC structure and mission-driven posture.
Funding the Commons firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Funding the Commons
- Legal name
- Funding the Commons PBC
- Website
- https://fundingthecommons.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Funding the Commons PBC is a US Public Benefit Corporation that convenes builders, researchers, funders, and policymakers through global conferences, hackathons, and builder residencies to accelerate coordination infrastructure and funding mechanisms for public goods.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Funding the Commons industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Public Goods Funding Events and Community Convenings
- NAICS
- Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Capacity Building & Nonprofit Infrastructure Funders (BPAGAKAO)
Keywords
Where Funding the Commons is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wilmington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Funding the Commons business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Event Sponsorships: Funding derived from organizational sponsors including Protocol Labs, Filecoin Foundation, Ethereum Foundation, UNICEF Office of Innovation, NEAR Foundation, Stellar Development Foundation, and other Web3/crypto organizations that sponsor conferences and hackathons.
- Donations and Support: Direct donations through Open Collective platform to support development and coordination of future residencies and events.
- Event Partnerships: Partnership arrangements with organizations for conference content, venues, and programming including Buenos Aires (DevConnect), Berlin (Web3Privacy Now), and San Francisco (Frontier Tower).
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Funding the Commons product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Funding the Commons organizes and runs a global conference series, hackathons, and month-long builder residencies that convene builders, researchers, funders, and policymakers around coordination infrastructure for public goods funding. It also operates a Media Lab that produces and distributes interviews, analysis, and recorded talks from its events via YouTube, Spotify, and newsletters. The organization does not sell software products; its core deliverables are in-person convenings, hackathon programming, and educational content.
Product overview
Funding the Commons is an organizational entity that hosts conferences, hackathons, and residencies focused on advancing coordination infrastructure and funding mechanisms for public goods. It is not a software product company but rather an event-based community platform that convenes builders, researchers, funders, and policymakers. The organization does not offer traditional SaaS products or software modules; its offerings consist of in-person gatherings (such as the Intelligence at the Frontier conference series held at Frontier Tower in San Francisco, Buenos Aires forums, and Berlin forums), hackathons, builder residencies, and a Media Lab for content dissemination. The organization facilitates connections between technologists, researchers, and funders working on public goods funding infrastructure without providing standalone digital products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Funding the Commons Conference Series A global conference series bringing together builders, researchers, funders, and policymakers to advance coordination infrastructure for public goods funding, with programming that includes talks, panels, workshops, hackathons, and unconference sessions held in-person across multiple continents and supplemented by virtual editions.
- RealFi Hackathons Virtual and in-person hackathons focused on public goods funding infrastructure, RealFi (real-world finance) solutions, and coordination tools, with tracks covering funding systems, financial access, coordination infrastructure, identity & trust, AI for public use, and climate & commons governance.
- Builder Residency Program A month-long immersive residency experience for builders and hackers focused on public goods funding infrastructure, impact evaluators, and impact certification systems.
- Funding the Commons Media Lab An open-access content production and distribution platform producing interviews, analysis, and field dispatches on public goods funding and coordination infrastructure, distributed via a YouTube channel (@Funding-the-Commons), a Spotify podcast, an email newsletter, and Telegram community.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 1,000 participants across 229 sessions at a single event (SF 2026)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Funding the Commons
Customer profileSegments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Funding the Commons technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Funding the Commons partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- UNICEF Office of InnovationcoreUNICEF Office of Innovation is a key partner, with Chris Szymczak from UNICEF stating excitement about the relationship with Funding the Commons based on shared values around technology for good.
- Protocol LabscoreMajor sponsor and partner organization, with Juan Benet (Protocol Labs) featured prominently as a speaker and collaborator. Co-hosted events during LabWeek23 with d:pact and Schelling Point.
- Berkeley RDIminorPartner organization working on research and development initiatives related to coordination and public goods.
- Plurality TokyominorPartner in Tokyo, with Audrey Tang (Plurality Tokyo) participating as a notable speaker and Taiwan's former Digital Minister.
- Frontier TowercoreHost venue for San Francisco 2026 Intelligence at the Frontier event - a 16-floor vertical village for frontier tech that has hosted major tech leaders.
- Internet ArchivecoreMark Graham from Internet Archive featured as a speaker at Intelligence at the Frontier, discussing digital resilience infrastructure.
- MetagovcoreResearch partner with Joshua Tan (Co-founder) and Liz Barry participating as speakers, focusing on governance and coordination research.
- Foresight InstituteminorPartner organization for Intelligence at the Frontier event, focusing on longtermism and technological advancement research.
- The Tor ProjectcoreRoger Dingledine (Co-Founder) featured as a speaker, with Al Smith noting the importance of FtC for addressing Tor Project's sustainability challenges.
- Web3Privacy NowcoreCo-host of Berlin Forum 2025 with a focus on digital privacy and Web3 infrastructure.
- DevConnectcoreHosting Buenos Aires 2025 during DevConnect, connecting local financial innovation challenges with global builders.
- GnosisminorMartin Köppelmann (Co-founder) speaking at events, with Hadar Rottenberg (Tech Lead, GoodDollar) participating.
- Open CollectiveminorNoted as a local initiative similar to Buenos Aires innovation ecosystem, enabling funding for public interest projects.
- Earth CommonscorePartner for San Francisco 2024 and Bangkok 2024 events, focusing on climate entrepreneurship, academic, and environmental stewardship.
- Hugging FaceminorApolinário Passos (Head of ML for Art and Creativity) speaking at Berlin Forum 2025.
- Dark Matter LabsminorGurden Batra (Design Technologist) participating as a speaker, focusing on systems design and adaptive tools.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Funding the Commons competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- DevConnect: Organizes Ethereum ecosystem conferences and developer events (Buenos Aires, Istanbul). Direct peer as co-host of Funding the Commons' Buenos Aires 2025 and parallel convening model for the Web3 builder community.
- ETHGlobal: Runs Web3 hackathons and developer events globally. Closely comparable model of community-led convening with builder-focused programming in the same public-goods/Web3 ecosystem.
- Schelling Point: Convenes Ethereum protocol researchers and developers around public goods funding questions. Direct peer in the public-goods funding coordination space and an existing FtC co-host.
- Web3 Summit: Berlin-based Web3 conference series convening researchers, builders, and policymakers on decentralized infrastructure. Highly comparable convening model and stakeholder audience for Funding the Commons.
- Foresight Institute: Hosts conferences and residencies on frontier technologies and longtermism. Comparable model of multi-stakeholder convening and is already a Funding the Commons partner, indicating direct category overlap.
- Metagov: Research and convening organization on governance and coordination infrastructure for online communities. Highly comparable intellectual focus on coordination mechanisms and public goods governance.
- d:pact: Public-goods funding initiative co-hosting events with Protocol Labs during LabWeek23. Directly comparable mission around funding mechanisms and coordination infrastructure for public goods.
Broad incumbents
- Gitcoin: Operates quadratic funding grants for public goods in Web3, a much larger and more established platform in the same funding-for-public-goods category. Comparable mission and audience.
- Open Collective: Operates a transparency-focused funding platform for open source and public-interest projects, with a much larger established user base. Comparable mission (sustainable funding for public goods) and is already a Funding the Commons partner/donation channel.
- Protocol Labs / LabWeek: Operates LabWeek and hosts convenings across the Filecoin/IPFS ecosystem with a much larger budget and ecosystem reach. Comparable convening function for public-goods/Web3 stakeholders; a core FtC sponsor and partner.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Funding the Commons social profiles
Digital presenceFunding the Commons financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Funding the Commons leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Funding the Commons funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Funding the Commons M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Funding the Commons
What does Funding the Commons do?
Funding the Commons organizes and runs a global conference series, hackathons, and month-long builder residencies that convene builders, researchers, funders, and policymakers around coordination infrastructure for public goods funding. It also operates a Media Lab that produces and distributes interviews, analysis, and recorded talks from its events via YouTube, Spotify, and newsletters. The organization does not sell software products; its core deliverables are in-person convenings, hackathon programming, and educational content.
Is Funding the Commons a public or private company?
Funding the Commons is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Funding the Commons founded?
Funding the Commons was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Funding the Commons based?
Funding the Commons is headquartered in Wilmington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Funding the Commons make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Event Sponsorships are the primary driver. The others are donations and Support and event Partnerships.
Who are Funding the Commons's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are DevConnect, ETHGlobal, Schelling Point, Web3 Summit, Foresight Institute, Metagov and d:pact. Broad incumbents are Gitcoin, Open Collective and Protocol Labs / LabWeek.
Does Funding the Commons have an API?
No public API is recorded for Funding the Commons.
What industry is Funding the Commons in?
Funding the Commons's product category is Public Goods Funding Events and Community Convenings. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAO, Capacity Building & Nonprofit Infrastructure Funders. Its NAICS code is 813 and its SIC code is 8600.