GRANTS // BLACKFILE LEDGER

Eligibility is lane-based. Each program is tied to a specific persona lane. We do not fund general writing. We fund documented work that can survive verification, legal review, and publication.

• Minimum requirement: a claim with a verifiable trail. Records, logs, datasets, transcripts, filings, contracts, or defensible documentation.
• Operational requirement: you accept milestone gates. No gate, no payment.
• Security requirement: if you are at risk, use anonymized descriptors by default. Do not submit real names unless you decide it is safe.
• Conflicts: applicants with financial ties to the subject(s) under investigation are rejected.

Exclusivity exists to protect sources and prevent parallel publication collisions. If selected, you operate under strict confidentiality and publication coordination rules during the funded window.

• We can publish across the network or coordinate a controlled release on a single node.
• We reserve the right to pause publication if legal risk is unresolved or evidence quality falls below threshold.
• We do not buy silence. We buy verifiable work and lawful publication.

Payments are milestone-based and tied to deliverables. There are no monthly plans, no subscriptions, and no pricing modes. Funding is released only after measurable gates.

• Milestone gates include: evidence acquisition, corroboration, indexing, dataset integrity checks, legal fixes, publication readiness.
• Each program awards multiple final grants. Total annual budget is allocated by lane and capped.
• We pay for outcomes that can be audited. We do not pay for intent.

How to apply is mechanical. Pick the program that matches your role. Read the lane rules. Submit a Secure Drop with a short factual summary and supporting documents.

• Write the claim in one paragraph. Then list the evidence types you control.
• State your risk level. State your jurisdiction. Give one safe contact route.
• Attach only what you can defend. If you fabricate, you will be rejected.

Review timelines are defined and enforced. This is not a public funding lottery. It is an evidence intake pipeline.

• Day 0–7: intake triage and authenticity screen.
• Day 7–21: verification sprint, second-source checks, and legal flagging.
• Day 21–45: pre-publication work, redaction, and final decision.
• Publication timing depends on risk, jurisdiction, and corroboration density.

Selection is based on proof density. We measure what you can show and what can be corroborated.

• Evidence control: documents, logs, datasets, emails, contracts, filings, recordings where lawful.
• Corroboration path: at least one independent verification channel.
• Public-interest weight: harm scale, systemic capture, regulatory failure, violent abuse, or major corruption.
• Operational discipline: chain-of-custody, minimization, and source safety.

• Do you require identity? No. Use anonymized descriptors. Identity is only needed if you choose it and if legal review requires it.
• Do you fund advocacy campaigns? No. We fund documented reporting and verifiable disclosures.
• Do you pay upfront? No. Payments are released by milestones tied to deliverables.
• What if I am in immediate danger? Mark risk as Severe and minimize detail. Provide one safe channel. Do not submit anything that increases exposure.

Secure Drop is the intake channel. Submit a factual summary and documentation. If you cannot safely attach documents, submit metadata and a method to transfer later.

• Do not submit names unless you decide it is safe.
• Do not submit illegal material. Do not include unrelated personal data.
• Every submission is stored as an Application record visible in WP Admin to authorized reviewers.