Deadline: 30 April 2019

The CrowdStrike Foundation is currently accepting its first tranche of proposals for its Small Grant Program to support the cybersecurity community with grants toward worthwhile open source projects.

The foundation seeks to support work on tools that will have a meaningful impact on difficult cybersecurity problems and will ultimately support the entire cybersecurity community.

The crowdstrike foundation funds research to explore new ways to detect, deter, and defeat dangerous nation-states, e-crime actors, and hackers and expand the knowledge base available to the cybersecurity community across the globe.

The foundation partners with universities, nonprofits, students, and researchers on a critical array of research in cybersecurity and ai and recently announced its 2019 small grants program.

The foundation believes that some of the most interesting and impactful cybersecurity projects arise from within student groups, nonprofits, academic centers, and other areas where dedicated people are focused on solving specific problems. Many of these entities can achieve much with a partner and a little outside support. If this applies to applicant’s work, they want to hear from them.

Topics and scope

• The CrowdStrike Foundation welcomes proposals that will yield demonstrable progress on a complex cybersecurity problem. They are particularly interested in supporting efforts that will yield a tool that:
  • Assists malware analysis (can be Hybrid Analysis plugins)
  • Assists Machine-Learning based malware classification
• The CrowdStrike Foundation encourages proposal submissions from small, innovative entities that have not traditionally received institutional support. The initial grant performance period must be one year or less.

Funding Information

The CrowdStrike Foundation will review all competitive RFP responses and fund those that most closely align with the Foundation mission. The Foundation tentatively envisions funding 3 proposals in the USD$5,000-$10,000 range, but awards will ultimately be based on the volume and strength of individual proposals. Awards may be renewed upon mutual agreement.

Eligibility and Assessment Criteria

• The Foundation will assess proposals from Grant Applicants based on their individual merit, with particular emphasis on:
  • Potential for positive impact for the cybersecurity community
  • Project achievability over proposed performance period
  • Alignment with Foundation ethos and goals
• The Small Grant Program is available for US and foreign tax-exempt entities, including educational institutions, qualified under §501(c)(3) and §509(a)(1), (a)(2), or (a)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Individuals, government agencies, for-profit businesses, and private foundations are not eligible for the Program.

Submission Details

• There is no specific template, but respondents must include the following information in RFP responses:
  • Individual point of contact
  • Institutional affiliation
  • Proposal summary (1 – 2 paragraphs)
  • Proposal detail, including performance timeline
  • Links to any supporting documentation IRS ruling or determination letter
  • certifying tax exempt status meeting eligibility criteria
• Complete RFP responses should not exceed 5 pages

How to Apply

Applicants can apply via email at the address given on the website.

For more information, please visit https://www.crowdstrike.org/research.html