# Funding Opportunity: 2025 Sloan Letter of Interest **URL:** \ **Category:** Community\ **Tags:** funding-opportunity\ **Created:** [November 25, 2025, 1:43pm UTC](https://forum.openrefine.org/t/funding-opportunity-2025-sloan-letter-of-interest/2643 "2025-11-25T13:43:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Martin](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.openrefine.org/martin/32/7_2.png) [@Martin](https://forum.openrefine.org/u/Martin)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 1:43pm UTC](https://forum.openrefine.org/t/funding-opportunity-2025-sloan-letter-of-interest/2643/1 "2025-11-25T13:43:51Z")
We have been invited by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to submit a Letter of Interest (LOI) to their [Open Source in Science program](https://sloan.org/programs/digital-technology/open-source-in-science). With the support of @Rory , the Advisory Committee, and CS&S, we centered our proposition on the intersection of AI, open source, and sustainability in the context of OpenRefine. The draft [LOI is available here for review and comment.](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HYEqbXfoL1dt2yziK08hbYK5uEvQlJqT9pfO9GEui_o/edit?) We are still finalizing the operational details regarding outcomes, project duration, and budget. This LOI connects to recent discussions we’ve had around AI and open source in the forum: - [How do you deal with AI generated PRs?](https://forum.openrefine.org/t/how-do-you-deal-with-ai-generated-prs/2578) - [AI-generated extension for OSINT](https://forum.openrefine.org/t/ai-generated-extension-for-osint/2619) With this proposition, we want to explore whether providing the right contributor framework can help non-developer users build extensions and customizations, accelerating innovation and increasing OpenRefine’s relevance for their communities. We want to understand how to adjust our contribution structures and governance to better support AI-generated contributions. What does this change for community management and contributor support? What should we prioritize for new non-developer contributors (prompting guidelines, testing workflows, community guidance, etc.)? Thanks for taking the time to review this. I’m looking forward to the conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Martin](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.openrefine.org/martin/32/7_2.png) [@Martin](https://forum.openrefine.org/u/Martin)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 9:15am UTC](https://forum.openrefine.org/t/funding-opportunity-2025-sloan-letter-of-interest/2643/2 "2025-12-18T09:15:57Z")
I submitted the LOI today. I will update this thread as we heard back from Sloan. ---
**Author:** ![Martin](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.openrefine.org/martin/32/7_2.png) [@Martin](https://forum.openrefine.org/u/Martin)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 4:11pm UTC](https://forum.openrefine.org/t/funding-opportunity-2025-sloan-letter-of-interest/2643/3 "2026-01-29T16:11:14Z")
SLOAN has let us know they will not be moving forward with our LOI.