# MakeMode — Grant Target List

> Non-dilutive funding map (Door 1 in `PLAYBOOK.md`). Owner: Emma (with the TU Delft
> AI initiative as co-applicant where possible). Status verified June 2026 — re-check
> call deadlines before applying; they move.

## The strategic split (read first)

> ⚠️ **Read this caveat with the split below.** It was written when NLnet was open and we
> assumed Sovereign Tech Fund would take an application framed around our engine. Neither
> holds: NLnet has closed for good, and STF funds base technology with downstream dependents.
> The strategic split is still the right *framing*, but it currently has no funder behind it,
> so weight the plan toward WBSO, RVO/AiNed, and customer revenue instead.

Open-source funders (NLnet, Sovereign Tech Fund) fund **open digital base technology**,
not proprietary products. So frame applications around the **open-source EU
provider/engine work on `opencode`** (the sovereign inference adapter, audit logging,
no-telemetry fork) — *not* the MakeMode desktop product. The product wrapper is funded by
customers + equity; the **sovereign infrastructure layer is grant-fundable.** Two
different fundable artifacts.

## Tier 1 — pursue now (fast, high-fit)

| Source | Amount | Status / timing | Fit | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **WBSO** (R&D wage-tax credit, RVO) | **36%** of the first €391,020 of S&O wage + other R&D costs, 16% above that; **40%** in the first bracket for technostarters | Rolling; apply once BV exists | Software development qualifies. For a 5–7 person engineering payroll this is €50–100k a year, structural and repeatable — **the largest reliable non-dilutive line we have** | File the moment the BV is registered. This is the one that pays every year |
| **Sovereign Tech Fund** (DE) | €50k–€1M | Rolling | ⚠️ **Weaker fit than this doc used to claim.** STF funds open *base* technology — libraries, protocols, dev tools — scored on prevalence, relevance and vulnerability, meaning downstream dependents we do not have. An end-user application fails the first screen. Only fundable if framed as a genuinely reusable component (the EU inference adapter, the auditable opencode fork) **and** that component has real outside adopters | Do not lead the funding plan with this. Revisit once the adapter has users who are not us. Note the **EU** Sovereign Tech Fund is an OpenForum Europe proposal for the 2028–2034 MFF and does not exist yet |
| **~~NLnet / NGI Zero Commons Fund~~** | — | **CLOSED for good** (verified 2026-08-01). The thirteenth call was the final one and closed 1 June 2026; NLnet is not accepting proposals while it transitions to a successor programme, **Open Internet Stack** | Was ideal for the provider/fork | Stop waiting for a reopening — it isn't coming. Track Open Internet Stack instead, and treat Sovereign Tech Fund as the live open-source line |
| **TU Delft internal / Delft AI Initiative** | Varies (valorization, seed) | Via Emma's affiliation | Insider channel; doubles as the credibility stamp | Emma: map what the AI initiative can fund or co-apply for |
| **AiNed — Breaking Barriers / MIT / XS** (NL Growth Fund) | XS small; MIT mid; Breaking Barriers = startup accel | Multiple instruments live | National AI program explicitly funds SME/startup AI adoption | Emma: identify which AiNed instrument fits a v0 pilot |

## Tier 2 — medium effort, strong fit

| Source | Amount | Status / timing | Fit | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **RVO MIT-regeling** (MKB innovatiestimulering) | Feasibility ~€20k; R&D collab larger | Annual calls | Dutch SME innovation; pairs with a knowledge-institution partner (TU Delft) | Apply with TU Delft as partner |
| **Eurostars** (Eureka, SME R&D) | Up to ~€500k | Recurring cut-off dates | Needs an international partner; good if you add an EU institution | Later — once a second-country partner exists |
| **SURF innovation funding** (non-stimuleringsregeling) | Varies | The old open-education scheme is **dead**; SURF still runs other innovation/pilot funding | Education-IT sector body; relevant for SURFconext-era pilots | Check current SURF calls via the TU Delft contact |

## Tier 3 — big, slow, later

| Source | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **EIC Accelerator** (European Innovation Council) | Up to €2.5M grant + equity | Deep-tech blended finance; high bar, long process. For post-pilot scale-up |
| **Horizon Europe** (Cluster 4 Digital; education calls) | Large consortia | Slow, partner-heavy. Worth it only via a consortium TU Delft already sits in |
| **Digital Europe Programme** | Large | EU digital sovereignty/skills — thematically perfect but consortium-scale |
| **Nationaal Groeifonds** (beyond AiNed) | Very large | National strategic fund; only reachable via a coalition |

## Recommended sequence

1. **WBSO** the moment the BV exists (cheapest money, funds Emma's hours).
2. **RVO MIT-regeling and AiNed** with TU Delft as partner — the realistic mid-size money for
   a product company. With NLnet closed and Sovereign Tech Fund a poorer fit than we thought
   (see Tier 1), there is **no easy open-source grant line right now**, and the plan should
   stop assuming one.
3. **Emma maps TU Delft / Delft AI + AiNed** instruments — the warm, insider channels.
4. **Watch Open Internet Stack**, NLnet's successor programme, for its first call.
5. Tier 2/3 only once there's pilot evidence + a partner network to apply with.

**SLIM is not on this list, and that is deliberate.** SLIM reimburses an **mkb employer** 60%
of what it spends developing its own staff — it is never income for a training supplier. It
belongs in the sales toolkit, as the thing that makes our programme 60% cheaper for an SME
customer, and it lives in `BUDGET-OWNERS.md` under the SME buyer for that reason. Two further
limits worth holding: universities and hogescholen are not mkb, so SLIM does nothing for the
education wedge, and `opleidingskosten` are explicitly niet-subsidiabel, so it only works
pitched as *invoering van een L&O-methode* (#773). Second 2026 window: **10 Aug – 7 Sep**.

The pilot evidence (published links, activation, quotes — see `PLAYBOOK.md` §4) is the
single asset that strengthens *every* application above. Run the pilot, then apply from
strength.

## Sources
- [NLnet funding](https://nlnet.nl/funding.html) · [NGI Zero Commons Fund — final call closed 1 Jun 2026](https://nlnet.nl/commonsfund/) · [the closing announcement](https://nlnet.nl/news/2026/20260601-call.html)
- [Sovereign Tech Fund](https://www.sovereign.tech/programs/fund) · [apply](https://apply.sovereigntechfund.de/)
- [AiNed (NWO)](https://www.nwo.nl/en/researchprogrammes/national-growth-fund/ained) · [AiNed XS Europe call](https://www.nwo.nl/en/news/ained-xs-europe-call-to-explore-promising-artificial-intelligence-ideas)
- [SURF (note: open-education stimuleringsregeling ended 2022)](https://www.surf.nl/en/open-and-online-education-incentive-scheme)