Grants and Bounties

TL;DR: The TON Foundation runs two complementary programs—Grants and Bounties—to fund developers building user‑friendly applications on TON. Grants support new or migrated products (up to $10 K for fresh builds, up to $50 K for migrations), while Bounties reward contributors who test, debug, or create content, with payouts ranging from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands.

Grants#

Grants are awarded to projects that add new features, tools, or applications to the TON ecosystem. Eligible initiatives include security improvements, functional extensions, and integrations that can attract Telegram users to TON or enhance DeFi infrastructure. Projects that merely replicate existing functionality are excluded.

Application process

1. Preparation – Draft a user‑acquisition plan and a post‑grant support strategy.
2. Submission – Complete the proposal on Questbook (team details, milestones, competitor analysis, etc.).
3. Feedback – The TON Foundation contacts promising teams via Telegram; final terms are recorded in the Questbook comments.

Priority grant categories

• Telegram Mini Apps (TMA) – SocialFi, utility, community‑management, and brand‑management mini‑apps inside Telegram.
• GameFi – Social games delivered as TMA or standalone PC/mobile titles with strong social mechanics.
• Open‑source / commercial projects – Initiatives that improve TON infrastructure or provide valuable services.

Grant sizes

Tips for a successful application

1. Clearly define the problem and its significance.
2. Demonstrate the team’s relevant experience and past achievements.
3. Outline a concrete user‑acquisition and retention plan.
4. Break the project into stages with measurable KPIs and a detailed budget.
5. Describe post‑grant support and potential additional funding sources.
6. Highlight any novel technologies employed.

Open‑source requirements

• The code must be fully open source and not depend on proprietary software.
• Proposals should avoid mentioning specific tokens; the focus must be on software development or research.

Examples of grants awarded in 2023

• TonJump – First Telegram Mini App game featuring user‑generated content.
• PlayWallet – Mini‑app enabling cryptocurrency payments for gaming platforms such as Steam.
• DeDust.io – Development of a decentralized exchange (DEX) for the TON DeFi ecosystem.
• Kit42 – Mini‑app providing analytics and management tools for Telegram contacts, messages, and channels.
• TON Raffles and DAOLama – Funding for Web3 platforms and NFT‑related mini‑apps.

Bounties#

Bounties reward contributors in cryptocurrency and Soulbound Tokens (SBT) for testing new features, finding bugs, creating educational content, or other valuable contributions to TON development.

How to participate

• Complete existing tasks – Choose a bounty from the public list and submit a solution.
• Propose a new task – Create a GitHub issue in an appropriate category (e.g., developer tools, education, infrastructure). If the community approves, the task is added to the bounty pool and the proposer receives a reward.

Submission workflow

1. Select an issue from the GitHub issue list.
2. Propose an implementation plan, remuneration, and deadline.
3. Await committee assignment.
4. Submit the solution via Questbook.
5. The committee reviews the work and issues rewards in TON.

Example bounty metrics (Q4 2023)

• Completed tasks: 27 (total payout $50 K)
• Approved tasks: 44 (total payout $60 K)
• Proposals processed: 77

Notable bounty awards

• Native Python bindings for TON – $12,000
• C# library for TON Connect 2.0 – $2,100
• Cryptocurrency donation service – $2,000
• ADNL over TCP implementation in C# – $2,250
• Tact lexer for Pygments – $400
• NFT fractionation standard – $1,200
• Educational materials for TON Wiki – starting award $5,000

See also#

• TON Foundation
• TON Connect
• Telegram Mini Apps
• Inal Kardanov on Building
• TON DEX