Bagel Fund

🪙 Quick Facts

• Grant Type: 100% Non-Dilutive Microgrants
• Funding Range: $100-$500
• Eligibility: Young builders (typically 14-18 years old)
• Process: Application + 15m interview
• Contact: aridutilh@gmail.com

👀 Mission

Bagel Fund is friend group working in tech that wants to support young people working on cool ideas. This fund provides microgrants ($100-500) to ambitious young builders.

💰 Funding Details

Bagel Fund offers $100-500 in non-dilutive funding with no strings attached. The fund takes no equity, ownership, or future right to invest.

What Gets Funded

1. Budgets that demonstrate research, resourcefulness, and skill
2. Real problems that need scrappy solutions
3. Projects that can go from 0 to 1 with <$500

What Doesn't Get Funded

1. Budgets with vague requests, ad/subscription money, or fiver/contractor funds
2. Non-unique AI wrappers, product dupes, or social clubs
3. Projects with existing grants, VC money, or where applicants can make $500 themselves

Builders working on compelling projects can apply through this short form. Applicants will be contacted via email if their project is a good fit.

📜 Example Recipients

The fund has supported:

• Lauren, 20, creating a mind-reading EMG/EEG device for non-verbal communication
• Siddharth, 20, making affordable autonomous micro drone swarms
• Neerav, 17, building small solar-powered planes that fly forever
• Anirudh, 17, developing controllers for soft robots navigating inside humans
• In-Woo, 18, working on a clinical decision-support tool for Canadian pharmacists
• Maxwell, 13, building a radio tracking system for high-altitude balloon experiments
• Saras, 17, creating an on-ear heart attack detection wearable
• Carlos, 19, researching novel chemical processes for mine waste repurposing
• Ashna, 17, developing a novel CRISPR delivery method in plants
• Charles, 14, building high-altitude UAVs
• Mason, 18, making a 2-octave electric piano
• Harish, 15, working on an energy-saving smart home platform
• Santiago, 21, building a 4-wheel independent steering car
• Yash, 19, creating a computer from scratch
• Sunir, 19, building self-driving RC cars
• Aaryan, 16, using computer vision to detect falls in elder care
• Advait, 18, building Teleoperation robots
• Arielle, 20, working on Apple Tree cloning
• Winston, 17, increasing AI literacy for students K-12

📝 Application Guide

Written Application

Share a project you led. What was your biggest mistake & what did you learn from it?*

What are you building now & why does it matter?*

Previous recipients built UAVs, gene-edited plants for longevity, energy-saving smart home platforms, and more. Lead with the problem, its significance, and how your solution is the best.

How much funding are you requesting?*

Grants are available up to $500.

Please provide an itemized budget.*

Highlight needs vs. wants. Paying others to do your work (Fiver contractors, web developers, etc) should not be listed under "needs".

What will the funding help achieve?*

Describe specific goals or benchmarks the funds will help reach.

What are your plans for future funding?

Bagel Fund supports builders who work on projects driven by a desire to learn and make an impact. For many recipients, this is their first grant experience. Applicants are encouraged to research "best practices" for their specific domain. The Model Grant Application provides examples from successful first-time grant writers.

📻 Interview-Prep Resources

Selected applicants should prepare:

• Review the Model Grant Application to understand evaluation criteria

• Be ready to discuss:

  • Project technical details and implementation plan
  • Specific use of funds
  • Long-term vision beyond the grant
  • Previous projects and lessons learned

• Bring any prototypes or demos if available

🤝 Community

Join LFG to connect with grant recipients such as:

• Yash Karthik, building a computer from scratch using just logic gates
• Sunir Kishan, working on a Self Driving RC Car
• Aaryan Sing Kushwah, creating a monitoring system for senior citizens to prevent injury during sleep

Additional Resources

• Program FAQ
• Twitter
• Ari's Quarterly, launch announcement
• LFG Community