Cash for Subversion: How 1517 Fund Supports Young Makers

The world is full of secrets.

One of ours is that young founders can make a disproportionate impact on their industries and teams. Technology minimizes the need to rely on age as a proxy for competence.

Another is that your university or high school might be doing more harm for your career than good. University culture leads to more imitation of the same. Many race to out compete each other to catch the attention of an admissions committee. But maybe you should go against the grain. Maybe you should break the cycle of imitation.

That’s why we support technology teams led by young people working outside of your typical university and corporate systems.

In 1517, a German monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the doors of All Saints Church in Wittenberg. This was his rejection of an institutional norm and policy that had until-then gone unchallenged by serious scrutiny. The Church demanded payment for the forgiveness of sins. Upon payment, a receipt called an indulgence was issued to the customer, allowing him entrance into salvation. Without this receipt, Church leaders said, parishioners were condemned for a life removed from the Divine and the Holy.

Luther’s theses set Europe ablaze and started a decentralization of authority that continues to this day.

Today’s indulgence emanates not from Rome and the cathedral but rather Cambridge and the Dean’s office. Today’s indulgence buys you entrance into the world of corporate adulthood, not the world of the Divine. Today’s indulgence forgives the owner of the sins of youth, not violations against the church. Today’s indulgence comes at the cost of fiveyears and tens-if not hundreds-of thousands of dollars, not a small sum to the vestry.

That’s why 1517 Fund exists.

That’s why we have our own 95 Theses.

And that’s why we support young founders, makers, and hackers.

1517 Fund supports teams of young founders, hackers, makers, and scientists with $1,000 cash grants, mentorship, community, education, and pre-seed and seed stage funding. We’re looking for ambitious young people subverting the workplace and educational expectations of society at large.

Our grant program supports hackers and makers working on very early stage projects that they have a hunch might turn out to be more than just a hack. Seven of our current portfolio investments started as $1000 grants and grantees regularly attend our socials, talks, and events across the country.

We don’t have a specific application process for grantees. Many of our best grantees came from conversations during which the would-be-grantee didn’t know that we supported teams with cash grants. We support projects all over the technological spectrum.

What matters is that you’re working on something serious and that we believe the $1,000 can make a substantive difference in you getting to the next step.

Reach out if you suspect a grant or mentorship from us can help with your own subversion.