Appendix k โ€” ๐ŸŒฑ DIH Seed Grant Proposal Template

Grant Proposal: Establishing the Decentralized Institutes of Health

Project Title: DIH Phase 0: Foundation and Launch

Applicant Organization: [Name of Future DIH 501(c)(3) Entity]

Funding Request: $900,000 (for 501(c)(3) activities only)

Project Duration: 12 Months

Important Note for Private 501(c)(3) Foundation Funders

This grant proposal template outlines the entirety of the activities required to launch the DIH initiative, which involves three separate legal entities: a 501(c)(3) public charity, a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, and a for-profit company.

A private 501(c)(3) foundation can only legally fund the activities of the DIH 501(c)(3) entity.

Under IRS regulations, grants from a private foundation must be used exclusively for charitable, educational, or scientific purposes. They cannot be used to:

  • Fund lobbying activities (the primary purpose of the 501(c)(4)).
  • Directly fund or subsidize a for-profit business, including its fundraising and development activities (the purpose of the for-profit company).

Therefore, a grant from your foundation must be made specifically to the DIH 501(c)(3) and be legally restricted to the permissible activities outlined below. The funding for the other entities must be sourced separately (e.g., through direct investment in the for-profit or non-deductible donations to the 501(c)(4)).

The deliverables in this proposal have been annotated to clarify which activities are permissible for a 501(c)(3) grant.

1. Executive Summary

The Decentralized Institutes of Health (DIH) initiative aims to fundamentally restructure the global medical research and development ecosystem. The current system is slow, expensive, and fails to address 95% of human diseases. By redirecting a mere 1% of global military spending, we can create a self-sustaining, decentralized, and radically efficient system for curing disease.

This proposal requests a $900,000 seed grant to fund the 501(c)(3) charitable activities within โ€œPhase 0โ€ of the DIH roadmap. This foundational phase is designed to establish the educational and research infrastructure, recruit a core team for the nonprofit, and build the initial public technology platforms. This grant will not fund lobbying or for-profit activities, but rather the creation of the charitable engine that will drive the DIH mission forward. The key deliverable is a fully operational, legally compliant 501(c)(3) organization poised for exponential growth and self-sustaining fundraising within 12-18 months.

2. Problem Statement

Humanity spends $2.7 trillion annually on military defense and only $68 billion on medical researchโ€”a 40:1 ratio of funding destruction over creation. The existing medical research system, managed by centralized bodies like the NIH, is plagued by inefficiency:

  • Bureaucratic Bottlenecks: Researchers spend up to 50% of their time writing grant proposals, with a 90% rejection rate.
  • Misaligned Incentives: The system rewards publications and grant renewals, not patient outcomes or cures.
  • Extreme Costs: FDA-regulated trials cost, on average, $41,000 per patient, a figure proven to be over 80x higher than necessary by efficient models like the Oxford RECOVERY trial.

This systemic failure results in a massive loss of life and trillions in economic damage. The DIH is designed to solve this by creating a parallel system based on market principles, patient choice, and decentralized governance.

3. Project Goals and Deliverables

The primary goal of this seed grant is to transform the DIH from a blueprint into a fully operational, legally sound, and fundable organization.

Phase 2: Core Team Recruitment & Operations (Months 2-4)

  • Deliverable 2.1: โœ… (501(c)(3) Fundable with Restriction): Hiring of critical core leads for the 501(c)(3) entity. (Grant must be restricted to salaries for work related to the 501(c)(3)โ€™s charitable mission).
  • Mission Lead / Executive Director
  • Head of Technology / Engineering
  • Head of Policy & Communications
  • Deliverable 2.2: โœ… (501(c)(3) Fundable): Establishment of internal operational systems (project management, communications, HR) for the 501(c)(3).
  • Deliverable 2.3: โœ… (501(c)(3) Fundable): A board of directors for the 501(c)(3) is established and seated.

Phase 3: Technology Blueprint & Public Platform (Months 4-9)

  • Deliverable 3.1: โœ… (501(c)(3) Fundable): A comprehensive technical architecture and product roadmap for the dFDA and Wishocracy platforms, framed as research and development for a public good.
  • Deliverable 3.2: โœ… (501(c)(3) Fundable): Deployment of the Version 1.0 public website and the Global Referendum platform for educational and issue advocacy purposes.
  • Deliverable 3.3: โœ… (501(c)(3) Fundable): Publication of the initial DIH white paper, detailing the economic, legal, and technical models as an educational report.

Phase 4: Fundraising & Coalition Building (Months 6-12)

  • Deliverable 4.1: โŒ (Not 501(c)(3) Fundable): A complete set of fundraising materials (pitch deck, financial model, PPM) for the for-profitโ€™s $250M+ seed round.
  • Deliverable 4.2: โœ… (501(c)(3) Fundable): Signed partnership agreements with at least 20 founding nonprofit organizations to build an educational coalition.
  • Deliverable 4.3: โœ… (501(c)(3) Fundable): Achievement of the first public traction milestone: 1,000,000 verified signatures on the Global Referendum, as a measure of public education and engagement.
  • Deliverable 4.4: โŒ (Not 501(c)(3) Fundable): Secured commitments for at least 50% of the next major funding round for the for-profit entity.

4. Budget

The requested $900,000 will be allocated exclusively to activities permissible under 501(c)(3) regulations:

Fundable by 501(c)(3) Grant

Category Amount Justification
Personnel (3 FTEs for 501(c)(3)) $450,000 Salaries for core team working exclusively on 501(c)(3) charitable activities.
Legal (501(c)(3) only) $50,000 Incorporation of 501(c)(3) and nonprofit compliance legal work only.
Educational Technology $150,000 Website, referendum platform, and educational materials as public goods.
Educational Outreach $150,000 Content creation, nonprofit coalition building, and educational campaigns.
Operating & Admin $100,000 General administrative costs for the 501(c)(3), insurance, and contingency.
TOTAL (501(c)(3) Fundable) $900,000

NOT Fundable by 501(c)(3) Grant (Requires Separate Funding)

Category Amount Source
501(c)(4) Incorporation $50,000 Non-deductible donations or separate grant to 501(c)(4).
For-Profit SPV Setup $100,000 Direct investment or foundersโ€™ capital.
Securities Legal Work $150,000 For-profit investor funds.
For-Profit Fundraising Materials $100,000 For-profit operational budget.
Additional Personnel for Other Entities $200,000 Respective entity budgets.
TOTAL (Other Entities) $600,000 Must be raised separately from non-foundation sources.

Note: The full initiative requires approximately $1.5M total, but your foundation can only legally fund the $900,000 allocated to 501(c)(3) activities. The remaining $600,000 must be sourced through other means.

5. Evaluation & Metrics for Success

The success of this seed grant will be measured by the achievement of the deliverables listed in Section 3. The ultimate metric of success is the organizationโ€™s readiness to execute a multi-hundred-million-dollar capital raise and begin full-scale platform development by the end of the 12-month grant period.

6. Sustainability Plan

This grant is designed to bridge the organization to a state of self-sustaining fundraising. The activities funded by this grant, particularly the development of the fundraising materials and the securing of initial commitments for the VICTORY Bonds, are explicitly designed to generate the revenue required for long-term operations. The successful completion of this Phase 0 will de-risk the project sufficiently to attract the large-scale investment needed to make the DIH a permanent fixture in the global health landscape.