O’Shaughnessy Fellowships and Grants 2026: Historical Reference for the Closed $100,000 Program

O’Shaughnessy Fellowships and Grants 2026: Historical Reference for the Closed $100,000 Program

This page is a historical reference. The O’Shaughnessy Ventures (OSV) Fellowships and Grants application window for 2026 closed on April 30, 2026, and OSV’s official FAQ says there would be no deadline extensions. The official pages reviewed for this update do not announce a replacement application window, so this page should not be read as an invitation to submit a late application.

The program remains worth understanding because it is unusually broad. OSV describes the fellowship as a one-year program for researchers, builders, and creatives who want to advance civilization through a serious project. Its 2026 offer paired a $100,000 fellowship with a sister grants track paying at least $10,000. Both were presented as equity-free support, and OSV said recipients retain ownership of the work they create.

At a glance

What OSV offered in 2026

The fellowship was designed as one year of concentrated support. The official program page describes a $100,000 award and says the work can be pursued while the recipient keeps 100% ownership. OSV’s January 2026 announcement adds that the fellowship had no debt, equity, or dilution attached to it. That is an important distinction for founders and independent makers: this was not an investment round requiring a company or a share of future ownership.

The grant was a separate sister track rather than a smaller application form. OSV stated that all fellowship applicants were automatically considered for grants, with no separate grant application. The 2026 announcement said the organisation planned to award ten $100,000 fellowships and up to twenty grants of at least $10,000. The support FAQ gives the same approximate scale as about ten fellows and twenty grantees each year.

The financial terms did not require an applicant to turn the project into a venture-backed company. OSV’s FAQ says the fellowship is aimed primarily at individuals and that a person does not have to start a company. It also says the creator retains the intellectual property: OSV makes no claims on output produced before, during, or after the program. Funds could be used for reasonable living and work expenses when those expenses supported the project. The FAQ gives a new place near the work or a more capable laptop as examples of potentially reasonable uses, while separating those from purchases unrelated to the work.

Eligibility and fit

The official eligibility statement is simple: the fellowship was open to adults worldwide, regardless of background. OSV’s public description names researchers, builders, and creatives, but it does not restrict applicants to a university, nonprofit, company, or particular country. The 2026 announcement also said the program was fully remote, so relocation was not part of the offer.

Students were not required to leave their studies. The FAQ says undergraduate, master’s, and PhD students did not have to drop out. Applicants also did not have to quit a job, although OSV said it preferred people willing to go all in for a year and described at least 40 hours a week as a useful level of commitment. The FAQ says the ideal commitment was higher than 60 hours a week. That is a preference and a description of the intended intensity, not a stated education or employment prerequisite.

The project itself could take many forms. OSV lists art, music, computer programs, new products, deep scientific research, journalism, documentaries, sculptures, and other work. Its examples include language preservation, brain simulation, assistive devices, data storage in plants, films, and other scientific, artistic, and technical projects. The common thread is not a sector label. It is a project that the applicant is unusually suited to pursue and wants to develop into a substantial body of work.

There was one important boundary for startup applicants. OSV’s FAQ directs people who have already started, or plan to build, a venture-scale company with outside investment toward Infinite Adventures, OSV’s venture-capital arm. That does not bar a founder from the fellowship in every circumstance, but it does clarify that the Fellowships and Grants were primarily for individual project work rather than a conventional fundraising process.

How the 2026 application worked

The 2026 cycle used a single application. A person applying for the fellowship did not need to complete a second form for the grant track. OSV said the same submission would be considered for both opportunities. The application was submitted through OSV’s hosted form, which was linked from the official program page.

OSV’s application guidance describes the form as a written pitch. The organisation asks applicants to keep answers simple, clear, direct, and concise. It says the strongest applications explain the project plainly, show the impact of previous work rather than listing credentials without context, and use concrete numbers where they help. The selection guidance asks whether the project is clear and unique, what outcome it will produce, whether the applicant has already done difficult work, and whether the applicant’s approach fits OSV’s ambitious style.

The form also required a pitch video and a PDF upload. OSV’s support articles warn that an inaccessible pitch-video link can damage an application and that a PDF must meet the form’s size requirements. The guidance also says that no changes can be made after submission, so applicants needed to check links, answers, and uploads before pressing submit. These requirements are recorded here as features of the closed 2026 form; they should be rechecked against any future form if OSV opens another cycle.

For a serious submission, the practical sequence was:

1. Define the project in one sentence, then explain the concrete result the year of support would produce.
2. Gather evidence of work already completed, such as prototypes, publications, performances, research, community work, or shipped products.
3. Write the application as a focused pitch. Explain why this applicant is suited to the project, what is new about the approach, and what may go wrong.
4. Prepare the pitch video and confirm that the selected link can be opened by reviewers.
5. Prepare the required PDF and confirm that it satisfies the form’s size limit.
6. Review every answer and link because the form cannot be edited after submission.
7. Submit through OSV’s application form before the published closing date. OSV said applications were reviewed on a rolling basis and that most applicants received an update within 30 days.

The last step is no longer available for the 2026 cycle. It is included so that this archive remains useful to someone comparing the former process with a later official announcement.

What made a credible application

The award size could tempt applicants to write a grand manifesto. OSV’s own advice points in the opposite direction: make the work easy to understand. A strong historical reading of the 2026 criteria suggests several practical tests.

First, the project needed a visible endpoint. “I will explore a topic” is weaker than a defined artifact, experiment, body of research, film, device, publication, or service that could exist after a year. Second, the applicant needed evidence of follow-through. OSV’s selection guidance repeatedly focuses on work already done, not only on the promise of a future idea. Third, the scope needed to match the resources and time. A large ambition can still be credible if the first year is broken into a small number of meaningful outcomes.

The application also rewarded intellectual honesty. OSV asks applicants to think about failure and to explain the risks in the plan. That is more useful than pretending every technical, artistic, or community problem has already been solved. A good answer could identify a test that might fail, a dependency that might arrive late, or an audience that might reject the first version, then explain what the applicant would learn and do next.

The video and PDF served a related purpose. They gave reviewers another way to judge whether the applicant could explain complex work clearly and turn a broad idea into a workable year. Presentation polish mattered, but it was not a substitute for a specific project, evidence of commitment, and a believable plan.

Timeline and status

OSV’s official announcement states that applications opened on January 1, 2026. The official program page and FAQ state that applications closed on April 30, 2026, with no extensions. OSV said submissions were reviewed on a rolling basis and that most applicants got an update within 30 days, but that review timing did not keep the form open after the closing date.

The official program page still explains the 2026 offer and links to the OSV application route, while the support material refers to the next year’s window only in general terms. No new deadline or new cycle has been published in the official sources checked for this update. For that reason, the correct status is historical reference, not “ongoing,” “rolling,” or “apply now.” Do not treat the preserved April 30 date as a live deadline.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still apply for the 2026 fellowship?

No. The 2026 application window closed on April 30, 2026, and OSV’s FAQ says there would be no extensions.

Is the grant a separate opportunity?

It was a sister track, but not a separate form for 2026. OSV said fellowship applicants were automatically considered for grants. The grants were described as awards of at least $10,000, while the fellowship award was $100,000 for one year.

Did applicants need a company?

No. OSV says the fellowship is aimed primarily at individuals and that applicants do not have to start a company. Venture-scale founders seeking outside investment were directed to Infinite Adventures instead.

Could someone outside the United States apply?

Yes. OSV described the fellowship as open to adults worldwide, regardless of background, and said the program was fully remote.

Who owned the work?

The recipient did. OSV’s FAQ says it makes no claims on output created before, during, or after the program.

Where should a future applicant look for a new date?

Check OSV’s official Fellowships page and its support knowledge base. A future cycle should be treated as open only when OSV publishes its new dates and application instructions. The 2026 form link should not be assumed to represent a new round.

Bottom line

The O’Shaughnessy Fellowships and Grants were a global, remote, individual-focused funding program with unusually broad project eligibility. The verified 2026 terms were a $100,000 one-year fellowship, grants of at least $10,000, retained ownership, and one application covering both tracks. The cycle closed on April 30, 2026, and no later application date is announced in the official material reviewed. This page therefore preserves the real terms and process as an archive entry instead of presenting a closed form as an active opportunity.