An Ecodia initiative

The Next World Grant

Up to$150,000of software, built free. Yours to keep.

Software, designed, built and supported on Ecodia’s Studio, with your own AI Friend. Given free to one Australian for-purpose organisation.

Apply nowApplications close 30 September 2026
One winnerNo costYou own it

What the winner gets

01

The build

The website, member or donor portal, campaign tools, or the digital project you have never been able to afford. Built properly.

02

Your own Friend

An AI teammate for your organisation, built in from day one. It knows your work and helps your people and your community.

03

Three years on the platform

Hosting, support and updates on Ecodia Studio for three years, at no cost. It keeps getting better after launch.

Value up to $150,000. Given in full. Yours to keep.

Who can apply

  • An Australian not-for-profit, charity, or social enterprise with a genuine social or environmental mission.
  • You have an ABN.
  • You are not already an Ecodia client, so it stays fair.
  • You can work alongside us on the build through 2027.

You do not need

DGR status, or even charity registration. If your work helps people or the planet, and you could not otherwise afford to build this, you are exactly who this is for.

How to apply

1
Tell us the big thing you wish you could build.The ambitious project you could never justify on your own budget. What it is, who it helps, and why it matters.
2
We shortlist with our judges.A panel of sector voices helps choose, so it is fair and it is real.
3
One winner, announced in October.Then we build it with you across 2027, and share the progress.

How we choose

  • Need. Whether software genuinely solves the problem.
  • Good done. How much it helps the people you serve.
  • Ambition. Something substantial that would change what your organisation can do.
  • Fit. How well we can build and support it on the platform.

A judging panel of sector leaders, announced soon.

Built on Studio, powered by Friend

The winner is built on the same platform Ecodia uses for every organisation we work with. That is why the support lasts three years and the project keeps improving. It is the whole point: real software, that stays alive, in the hands of the people doing the work.

The timeline

Applications openNow
Applications close30 September 2026
Winner announcedEarly October 2026
Built with youAcross 2027

Know an organisation that needs this?

The right build can change what a small team is able to do. Send it to an organisation you care about, it takes ten seconds.

Email

Nominate an organisation

Cannot apply yourself? Name an organisation that should, and we will invite them. Every nomination helps us reach the teams who need this most.

Your application

Tell us the big thing you wish you could build.

What it is, who it helps, why it matters, and roughly how big it is. Do not worry about polish. Tell us the ambition.

Confidential to Ecodia. We never share or build your idea without you.
Eligibility

One entry per organisation. We read every application ourselves.

The fine print

  • One entry per organisation.
  • Open to Australian not-for-profits, charities and social enterprises with an ABN and a genuine social or environmental mission. Existing Ecodia clients are not eligible, so the selection stays fair.
  • The project needs to be something we can build and support on Ecodia Studio and Friend. We will tell you honestly if an idea sits outside what the platform can do.
  • The value is up to $150,000 of software and platform time, delivered as a build, not as cash. The winner owns the software we build for them.
  • We scope the winning project together to fit the year, so it is ambitious and still deliverable across 2027.
  • The winner agrees to be named publicly and to a short, plain written agreement covering the scope, the selection, and that the winner owns the build.
  • What you tell us about your project stays confidential to Ecodia. We publish themes from what we learn across all applications, never a specific organisation's idea, and only with your consent.
  • Not open to political parties, or to work that promotes harm or discrimination.
  • Ecodia's decision on the winner is final.

Good software is usually locked behind budgets that mission-driven organisations do not have. Ecodia exists to change that.

The Next World Grant is an Ecodia initiative. Ecodia builds apps, websites and systems for for-purpose organisations across Australia.

Start your applicationSee the work