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Grants for student founders and builders

Funding open to students and early-stage builders — grants, startup credits and contests that welcome people without a company or revenue. Bursary matches the ones you qualify for and writes the application.

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Start here · fastest to claim

No company needed, rolling deadlines, low effort — the quickest wins on this list.

The Awesome Foundation
$1,000
1517 Fund Medici Project Grant
$1,000+ cash grant
GitHub Student Developer Pack
$200+ in credits + free pro dev tools
12 programs · updated 2026-07-12
Thiel Fellowship
$250,000 over two years
Truly non-dilutive (no equity), but you must be 22 or younger and skip or leave school; about 20-30 spots a year. Award raised to $250K (verified 2026).
No company needed
National Geographic Society Grants
Level I up to $20,000; Level II up to $100,000
Individuals 18+ apply directly; funds science, conservation, storytelling, education or tech; themed calls carry their own deadlines.
No company needed
O'Shaughnessy Fellowship
up to $100,000
Equity-free, open worldwide to individuals 13+ with no entity required; annual cycle (2026 round closed Apr 30) so apply when the next opens, expect ~40+ hrs/week.
No company needed
Emergent Ventures
$1,000 - $50,000
Mercatus/Tyler Cowen grants + fellowships for ambitious "zero to one" ideas, ages 13+. For-profit OK, a quick path to revenue is a plus. Short written rolling app; dedicated tracks for India, Africa, the Caribbean, and Ukraine.
No company needed
VentureWell E-Team Program
up to $25,000
Students only: requires a team of 2+ currently enrolled at a US institution plus a faculty advisor, for science/engineering inventions with commercial intent; no fee.
No company needed
NeuroGolf 2026 (IJCAI-ECAI)
$10,000 + $8,000 top student team
Solo/remote on Kaggle; smallest neural nets that solve ARC-AGI transforms, submit in ONNX; $10K to whoever holds 1st longest.
No company needed
Z Fellows
$10,000 (optional investment)
One-week cohort with founders of billion-dollar companies plus an optional $10K investment (at a $1B cap); open to all ages and stages including high-school dropouts, college students, and people with day jobs. Rolling, multiple cohorts a year, final day in person in SF or NYC.
No company needed
The Awesome Foundation
$1,000
$1,000 micro-grant, no strings attached, awarded monthly by autonomous local chapters worldwide (many cities plus a global online chapter) to anyone with a project. For-profit OK, no incorporation or nonprofit status required — one short form. Highest odds per minute.
No company needed
1517 Fund Medici Project Grant
$1,000+ cash grant
Truly non-dilutive; high-school, college students or dropouts in North America only; apply by emailing a 5-minute Loom video.
No company needed
GitHub Student Developer Pack
$200+ in credits + free pro dev tools
Free for verified students at accredited schools; sign up with your school email. Bundles a $200 DigitalOcean credit, $100 Azure credit, MongoDB Atlas $50, free JetBrains IDEs, GitHub Pro and 100+ partner offers. Renews while you stay enrolled, no entity needed.
No company needed
Microsoft Azure for Students
$100 Azure credit, no credit card
$100 in Azure credit with no credit card required, plus free access to 25+ services. For full-time students 18+ at an accredited degree-granting institution; verify with your school email. Renews $100 each year you stay enrolled.
No company needed
Major League Hacking 2026 Season
varies by event (sponsor prizes)
Free no-fee student hackathons worldwide (in-person and digital Global Hack Week) with sponsor prizes; geared toward students though many accept all levels.
No company needed
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Frequently asked questions

Who qualifies for student grants?

Funding open to students and early-stage builders — grants, startup credits and contests that welcome people without a company or revenue. Bursary matches the ones you qualify for and writes the application.

Can I get startup funding while I am still in school?

Yes. Several grants, credits and fellowships are built for enrolled students and recent grads with no company or revenue needed. A few, like the Thiel Fellowship, require leaving school. Bursary flags which is which.

How much funding is available?

Programs on this list go up to $250,000. Bursary ranks them by what you actually qualify for.

How many programs are on this list?

12 verified programs, re-checked continuously.

Is it free to apply?

Most are free to apply. Bursary reads the fine print and flags any program that charges a fee before you start.

Do I need a registered company?

Not for all of them. Bursary matches programs to your situation and tells you which require a registered entity and which accept individuals.

Browse more: Startup credits · Grants for founders · Grants for creators · Small business grants · Non-dilutive funding · Hackathons & prizes · AI startup funding · Free AI credits · Grants for women · Startup accelerators · No LLC needed · Minority founder grants · Cover your AI bill