francisco san

francisco san is a fifty thousand dollar (and possibly expanding) fund to make the city and county of san francisco more whimsical through eventures and installations.

grantees can be for parties, pop-ups, puzzle hunts, art, races, (un)conferences, distribution of interesting objects or anything in between. the only requirement is to have a physical component in the city and county of san francisco.

here is an example of the kind of project that might be funded, refresh for a new one!

how do i/we apply for a grant?
fill out this form!

will i/we get a rejection email?
yes, but only if an email is provided.

what can i/we spend the money on?
materials, apparatus, transportation, renting space, hiring people, paying yourselves! just, be reasonable?

does francisco san need anything in return?
please just do the thing well!

how large are grants?
grants can be anywhere from zero to eighteen thousand dollars.

how will i/we receive the grant?
if there’s interest after the application, there’ll be a varying amount of follow-up depending on the nature of the project. if funds are required upfront they will be provided upfront, which can be a venmo transfer, wire transfer or charitable donation (if applicable). budget shifts of a 50% difference are both likely to happen and likely to be reasonable and will be accommodated, though it’s also requested that money be returned if under budget.

how can i hear about francisco san projects?
they’ll be updated on this website when applicable

can i contribute to the francisco san fund?
yes! reach out to [email protected]. currently we are more limited by producers than money, but pledges of more money are appreciated.

what if i am a rich member of technical staff?
if motivating yourself with a bounty is useful, then francisco san is for you! resources can be exchanged for agency to some degree.

can it be a ___?
yes.

grantees are separated between having extended a grant offer, accepting the funds, executed the project, and having ghosted me (or given up). cheaper projects are offered bounties for completion as incentive.
total grants accepted thus far (including bounties): 41,050. most likely much more than 9k will be available in funding due to people abandoning projects, and on the off chance the city manages to impress me much more then the fund quantity can certainly be raised.

• flower run where runners give people flowers, $700 (executed)
• funding for a long-running community dinner that has yielded two relationships, $600
• a pasta party where the host makes sauces and attendees attempt to bring unique pasta shapes, penalised based on how many people bring their specific pasta shape. $300
• lil concert for a composer, $350 (executed)
• a cute nye party ft. weird fruit and carbonated grapes, $500 (executed)
• collars for humans that say "i have been a good bing" with 😊 charms, $100 (executed)
• doing archeology with the vesuvius challenge, $25,000
• a dating market musical. $500

projects with offers, with varying likelihood of occurring

• vibegala 2024. it's a really good party, don't expect this for your party $6000
• a robot dog that poos $50
• community crafts night where people do whatever craft they bring with them. $300
• a little free library in the panhandle, $500
• semaphore relay race where people send messages on sf hills, $500
• mini figurine art installed into an old tree, $50, $100 bounty for completion
• burying a [redacted] in [redacted] for a spontaneous archeology activity, $150, $50 bounty for completion
• a scavenger hunt (by people who convinced me they could do a good one), $2000
• six subsidized skateboarding group lessons for adult females, $600
• hot tubs on ocean beach, $2750
• buying "do not climb signs" and putting them in places where you have to have climbed up to see, $100

projects that had offers, but have unfortunately been abandoned

• [redacted], $65 cost funds, $50 bounty
• [redacted] sound installation in [redacted], $300