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Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is a California-based foundation with roots in amateur radio and the technology of internet communication. ARDC makes grants to projects and organizations that follow the practice and tradition of technical experimentation in both amateur radio and digital communication. Such experimentation has led to broad advances for the benefit of the general public – such as the mobile phone and wireless internet technology. ARDC envisions a world where enabling communications technology is ubiquitously available through open source hardware andsoftware, and where anyone has the ability to study, modify, and share it.

In an effort to bring this vision to life and to further our mission, ARDC is seeking proposals for grants. Our organization makes philanthropic grants in three broad areas:

• Support and Growth of Amateur Radio (often referred to as “Ham Radio”)
• Education in topics related to amateur radio and digital communications
• Technical Innovation.

Technical Innovation grants cover four main areas of focus:

• Amateur Radio Technology & Experimentation
• Internet Technologies
• Digital Communications
• Communication Science & Technology

We encourage grant applications that reflect one or more of the following aspirational goals:

• Broad reach
• Social over commercial benefit
• Inclusion of underrepresented groups
• Empowerment of individuals, and distribution rather than centralization
• Preservation of the right to innovate
• Innovation on business models

We require that the results of our grants – be it hardware, software, or a paper – be made as publicly available as possible, ideally through a license specified by the Open Source Initiative (OSI). Please visit here for more information about our grantmaking categories, goals, and requirements, as well as grantmaking windows, and how to apply for a grant. Our recent annual report provides a description of the grants we provided in 2020.

Grant proposals are currently accepted on a rolling basis.

Contact:
Rosy Wolfe, Executive Director
Amateur Radio Digital Communications
5663 Balboa Avenue, Suite 432
San Diego, CA 92111-2705 USA
https://www.ardc.net
contact@ampr.org