What Is the ENS Grants Program? A Complete Beginner’s Guide

The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) has transformed how we interact with blockchain addresses by replacing long hexadecimal strings with readable names like alice.eth. But the ecosystem behind ENS doesn’t stop at naming. The ENS Grants Program is a community-driven initiative that provides funding to developers, creators, and projects that build tools, content, and infrastructure for the ENS ecosystem. If you’ve ever wondered how to get involved or secure funding for your ENS-related idea, this beginner’s guide covers everything you need to know.

Read on to learn what the ENS Grants Program is, how it works, who can apply, and how it supports the broader Web3 landscape—one grant at a time.

1. The Basics: What Is the ENS Grants Program?

The ENS Grants Program is a formal funding mechanism established by the ENS DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization). Its core mission: allocate community treasury funds to projects that expand the utility, adoption, and decentralization of the ENS ecosystem. Unlike traditional venture capital, these grants are non-dilutive—meaning you don’t give up equity.

The program operates through a transparent, community-voted process. Proposals are submitted via the ENS governance forum, reviewed by specialty committees, and approved via on-chain voting by token holders. Funds come from the ENS DAO treasury, which collects registration fees and secondary market revenue.

Think of the ENS Grants Program as a community piggy bank that invests back into projects that benefit all ENS users. Whether you’re building a dapp that integrates .eth domains, creating educational content, or developing an infrastructure tool, this program could be your launchpad.

• For developers: Build new subdomain services, resolvers, or metadata plugins.
• For creators: Produce videos, guides, or tutorials that onboard new users.
• For researchers: Fund security audits or scalability studies for ENS contracts.
• For community managers: Create translation hubs or regional ambassador programs.

2. Who Can Apply? Eligibility Criteria Explained

The ENS Grants Program is open to individuals, small teams, and established organizations from any country. There’s no strict geographical restriction, but your project must clearly benefit the ENS ecosystem. Beginners are welcome, though having some familiarity with blockchain tech improves your chances.

A successful applicant typically demonstrates at least three of these qualities:

• Clear, specific goals linked to ENS (e.g., “a .eth email resolver” rather than “something Web3”).
• Relevant experience or a strong rationale why you’re the right person/team.
• Realistic budget request—micro-grants start at $5,000, larger grants go up to $200,000+.
• Open-source ethos: code, outputs, or data should be freely available.
• Sustainability plan: how will the project continue after grant funds run out?

If you’re unsure where to start, try exploring an existing ENS project first. Use an ENS lookup tool to see how domains are managed, registered, and transferred—this will give you real insight into user needs and pain points that a grant might address.

3. The Grant Lifecycle: From Idea to Funding

Step 1: Ideation and research. Spend time on the ENS governance forum (discuss.ens.domains) observing past proposals. Learn what templates and formats work best.

Step 2: Craft a formal proposal. This must include the problem statement, detailed deliverables, team background, timeline (3–12 months), and an itemized budget. Proposals that share mockups or test contracts have a far higher approval rate.

Step 3: Community feedback. Submit your proposal as a “temperature check” thread. Community members ask questions, suggest improvements, or voice objections. You should incorporate this feedback into a revised version.

Step 4: Committee review. After polishing, the proposal moves to the Grants Committee - a small group of elected experts who vet for feasibility, value alignment, and budget reasonableness. They may request further changes.

Step 5: On-chain vote. If the committee approves, the proposal goes to an on-chain vote by ENS token holders. Voting lasts 72 hours. Quorum requires at least 1,000,000 YES votes.

Step 6: Execution and reporting. Once passed, funds are released in tranches (typically 40% upfront, 30% at midpoint, 30% after final completion). Grantees submit progress reports and milestone deliverables.

Total time from initial draft to first funding usually ranges from 6 to 14 weeks. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, but the process ensures high quality and legitimacy of funded projects.

4. Top Project Examples Funded by ENS Grants

Seeing past winners will help you identify your own opportunity. Here are 5 representative grants from 2023–2024:

• Hamza.ml (Domain Lending): Created a protocol to lend premium .eth names as collateral for DeFi loans.
• SimplyRin (ENS+Agora): Built a dashboard to track ENS proposal voting metrics and delegate activity.
• hannls.eth (Name Wrapper Guide): Produced a deep-dive technical guide covering the then-new ENS Name Wrapper standard.
• Blockful (ENS Translation Hubs): Translated official ENS documentation into 8 languages to enable non-English-speaking builders.
• ENS Bounties Network: Created a bounty platform for developers to submit small fixes and get paid instantly.

Each of these projects submitted a clear value proposition, stayed within budget limits, and actively updated the community. The diversity shows that winning isn’t restricted to Solidity developers—writers, designers, and community mangers have equally strong entries.

5. How to Increase Your Chances of Winning a Grant

Submitting a strong proposal is half the battle. Here are seven tactical tips distilled from multiple successful grantees:

1. Start small. A micro-grant (under $20,000) is easiest to approve and lets you build a track record.
2. Talk to existing grantees. Join the ENS Discord (#grants channel) and DM people who received funding for similar work.
3. Show early validation. A working prototype, wireframe, or even a landing page with email signups demonstrates real interest.
4. Explain your audit plan. For smart contract projects, listing which security providers you’ll use reduces risk.**
5. Budget conservatively but thoroughly. Underbidding can look naive; overbidding can seem greedy. Compare with similar proposals for benchmarks.
6. Write clearly: Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and avoid technical jargon unless you explain it. Your audience includes non-developer token holders.
7. Plan beyond the grant. Mention how the tool or project will gain traction after funds run out (e.g., “we’ll monetize via subscription for premium ENS analytics”).

If you want another way to succeed in the ENS ecosystem without necessarily writing a grant proposal—consider testing and using tools that others have already built. Many beginners find that case study by exploring advanced domain lookups, expiration monitoring, and bulk operations. This hands-on familiarity will dramatically improve your grant conversation and proposal credibility.

6. Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Applying

One of the top reasons proposals fail? Vagueness. Don’t say “I’ll create an ENS educational channel.” Specify: “I will produce 6 animated YouTube videos covering how to register, manage, and trade ENS names, targeting 100,000 total views within 6 months.”

Other frequent mistakes:

• Ignoring the forum culture. If you submit out of the blue without having previously participated in discussions, community suspicion rises.
• Unrealistic scope. Don’t promise 20 features with a 2-person team. Prove you can deliver 3 core things exceptionally well.
• Opacity about code dependencies. If your project relies on another protocol, explain that relationship upfront.
• Weak reporting structure. If you don’t show how you would report progress (monthly updates are standard), voters may assume you’ll ghost them.
• Missing open-source alignment. ENS DAO deeply values open-source code. Proprietary black-box solutions typically receive fewer votes.

7. The Future of ENS Grants: What’s New in 2025

The grants program is evolving. Recent announcements indicate several upcoming features you should know about:

• Streamlined micro-grants: A new fast-track process for requests below $10,000, skipping the full committee review for minor expansions.
• Project-specific committees: Soon developers focused on ENS ZNS (Zero-knowledge Name Service) may have their own subcommittee, allowing faster evaluation.
• Grants as a skill: ENS DAO plans to host open workshops every quarter to teach proposal writing and presentation skills.
• Retroactive track: Projects that already delivered high-value open-source code can apply for “retro-grants” covering milestones already completed.

If you want to learn more, the official ENS governance portal and social channels provide ongoing updates. But the most effective way to join the conversation is simply to own and use ENS names yourself—become a power user, then apply your experience to build for others.

Conclusion: Take the First Step toward ENS Grant Funding

To summarize: The ENS Grants Program is the primary way the ENS DAO distributes community funds to create tools, content, and services for the .eth ecosystem. Anyone can apply—you just need a clear idea, reasonable budget, and alignment with ENS’s mission of universal decentralization. Although the approval journey requires proving your proposal via the forum, committee review, and an on-chain vote of token holders, the rewards include not only budget but also visibility, community goodwill, and meaningful contribution to a foundation infrastructure layer of the internet.

Your next move:

1. Visit the ENS governance forum and read five past proposal threads.
2. Setup an ENS name (start cheap—under 5 characters cost more but short names aren’t mandatory).
3. Use practical tools like the link above to understand daily domain management workflows.
4. Draft your problem statement and share it on the grants Discord channel for early feedback.

The ENS Grants Program rewards initiative, transparency, and real utility — not just grand technical promise. If you’ve read this far, you already have a head start over 90% of curious beginners.