# Contributing to Awesome Grants

Thank you for your interest in improving Awesome Grants! This repository helps thousands of researchers, developers, and builders find funding opportunities.

By participating in this project, you agree to follow our [Code of Conduct](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md).

## 🎯 Quick Start

The easiest way to contribute is to:

1. **Click the "✏️ Edit this page" button** on any wiki page
2. Make your changes directly in GitHub's editor
3. Submit a pull request with a brief description

We'll review and merge your contribution!

## 📝 What to Contribute

### 1. Add New Grants

If you know of a grant that's missing:

- **Where to add it**: Navigate to the appropriate section:
  - By audience: `docs/audience/` (students, postdocs, faculty, etc.)
  - By region: `docs/regions/` (us, eu, uk, canada, etc.)
  - By identity: `docs/diversity-inclusion/` (women-in-stem, lgbtq, disability, etc.)

- **Required information**:
  ```markdown
  ### [Grant Name](https://official-website.com)
  
  **Organization**: Organization Name
  **Amount**: $X,XXX or funding description
  **Deadline**: Month (annually) or specific date
  **Eligibility**: Who can apply
  
  Brief 1-2 sentence description highlighting unique features.
  ```

### 2. Update Existing Grants

If a grant has changed:

- **Outdated amounts**: Update the funding amount
- **New deadlines**: Update deadline information
- **Broken links**: Fix or replace URLs
- **Additional info**: Add eligibility details or program changes

### 3. Fix Broken Links

If you find a broken link:

1. Search for the grant's new page
2. Update the URL
3. If the grant is discontinued, note it or remove it

### 4. Improve Documentation

Help make information clearer:

- Add missing eligibility criteria
- Clarify confusing descriptions
- Add tags for easier searching
- Improve formatting

## 📂 Repository Structure

```
awesome-grants/
├── README.md                          # Main landing page
├── docs/
│   ├── Home.md                        # Wiki home
│   ├── audience/                      # By career stage
│   │   ├── students/README.md
│   │   ├── postdocs/README.md
│   │   ├── faculty/README.md
│   │   ├── oss/README.md
│   │   └── indie/README.md
│   ├── regions/                       # By geography
│   │   ├── us/README.md
│   │   ├── eu/README.md
│   │   ├── uk/README.md
│   │   ├── canada/README.md
│   │   ├── australia/README.md
│   │   ├── asia-pacific/README.md
│   │   └── global/README.md
│   ├── diversity-inclusion/           # By identity
│   │   ├── women-in-stem/README.md
│   │   ├── lgbtq/README.md
│   │   ├── disability/README.md
│   │   ├── first-gen/README.md
│   │   ├── institutional/README.md
│   │   └── international/README.md
│   ├── types/README.md                # By grant type
│   ├── domains/README.md              # By research domain
│   └── reference/                     # Guides and tools
│       ├── FAQ.md
│       ├── quick-reference.md
│       └── ...
└── data/                              # JSON data files
```

## ✅ Contribution Guidelines

### Format

- Use **Markdown** formatting
- Follow existing grant entry templates
- Include all required fields (Name, Organization, Amount, Deadline, Eligibility)
- Link to official application pages, not news articles

### Quality Standards

- **Verify information**: Check the official website
- **Be specific**: Include exact amounts and deadlines
- **Stay current**: Only add active programs
- **No promotions**: Focus on factual information

### Grant Inclusion Criteria

We include grants that are:

✅ **Open application processes** (anyone can apply)
✅ **Recurring programs** (annual or rolling)
✅ **Legitimate funding** (from recognized organizations)
✅ **Well-documented** (clear eligibility and amounts)

We typically exclude:

❌ Nomination-only programs (unless very prestigious)
❌ One-time competitions
❌ Institution-specific internal funding
❌ Prizes without application process

## 🔄 Pull Request Process

1. **Fork** the repository
2. **Create a branch** for your changes (e.g., `add-nsf-grfp`)
3. **Make your changes** following the format guidelines
4. **Test links** to ensure they work
5. Use descriptive commit messages, e.g. "Add NLnet grant to OSS section", not "update".
6. **Submit a pull request** with:
   - Clear title (e.g., "Add NSF GRFP to students section")
   - Brief description of what you changed
   - Why the change is helpful

We typically review PRs within 2-3 days.

## 🐛 Report Issues

Found a problem but don't want to fix it yourself?

[Open an issue](https://github.com/yueyueL/awesome-grants/issues/new/choose) with:

- Page/section affected
- What's wrong
- What it should be (if known)

## 💬 Questions?

- **General questions**: [Open an issue](https://github.com/yueyueL/awesome-grants/issues/new/choose)
- **Bug reports**: [Open an issue](https://github.com/yueyuel/awesome-grants/issues)
- **Quick edits**: Just click "✏️ Edit this page" on any wiki page!

## 📜 License

By contributing, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal (public domain).

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**Thank you for helping make grant information more accessible!** 🙌

Your contributions help researchers worldwide find the funding they need to pursue important work.