The Ethereum Foundation revealed that it awarded approximately $3.9 million in grants to various blockchain startups and developers within the blockchain ecosystem in Q2 2020.
According to a blog post published today, the development was part of the Ethereum Foundation’s ongoing Ecosystem Support Program (ESP).
On the list, a total of 28 projects within the blockchain ecosystem, including FOSS Responders, OpenEthereum, UNICEF Crypto Fund, were among the beneficiaries of the latest ESP grants. At press time, it was not clear how much fund each project received from the grant.
UNICEF Crypto Fund benefits from the ESP grant
Launched in October last year, the UNICEF Crypto Fund was developed to support open-source technologies that could benefit young people and children.
The crypto fund was originally designed to receive, hold, and disburse donations in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).
In celebration of the development, the Ethereum Foundation made a donation of 100 ETH valued at $18,000 at the time, as the foundation noted that the UNICEF Crypto Fund would further “improve access to basic human rights.”
According to the charity organization, the Ethereum Foundation’s initial donation will be deployed to provide internet connections for schools in specific locations, a project that was headed by GIGA initiative.
ESP’s evolution
The ESP grant was formerly known as the EF grant program. It was introduced to provide financial support for several projects on the Ethereum blockchain to facilitate the development of decentralized applications (dapps) and smart contract technology.
However, the initiative has evolved in recent times, with the ESP team adding both financial and non-financial support for firms.
The ESP uses a public inquiry process, which requires new projects within the Ethereum ecosystem to file their proposals on a template. The team noted that these proposals are usually accompanied by interviews to identify the best form of support to render.
