The Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest was created to honor the life and legacy of Antonio “Tony” Pizzigati, an early advocate of open source computing, and to help others realise their computing dreams in his stead.
The Pizzigati Prize celebrates developers who make a two-fold contribution to social change: creating software that helps nonprofits serve their communities, and modeling the open source movement’s commitment to collaboration and sharing. The prize provides cash grants, publicity for achievements, and links developers with nonprofits and advocacy groups.
The Pizzigati Prize has traditionally awarded a single $10,000 grant, but in 2022, with the help of GitHub Social Impact, three grants of $10,000 and $5,000 were awarded.
Selection process:
The Pizzigati Prize welcomes applications from individuals, teams, and organisations that have developed an open source software product that has already demonstrated its value to at least one nonprofit and is of potential value to multiple other nonprofits. Applicants are evaluated on criteria such as demonstrated impact, equitable access, and strength of community, and an advisory committee of veteran activists in the public interest computing community selects the prize recipients.
Timeline:
- December 15: Applications open
- January 24, 10–11 am PT: Community call (recording below)
- February 22: Applications due
- February 28: Community feedback due
- March 15: Applicants and recipients notified
- April 12–14: $10,000 grant recipient announced at the Nonprofit Technology Conference
Those interested in applying, click here.