Mycelium Fund
“A vast network of interconnected fungi not only nourishes and sustains the natural world but also has the potential to inspire and guide us in building stronger and more resilient communities based on connection, communication, and cooperation.”
The Mycelium Fund was an experiment to explore the possibilities of a self-distributing granting system that mirrors how natural ecosystems – specifically mycelium – value and distribute resources.
As mycelial networks depend on connections to different organisms for nutrients and communication, this philanthropic fund was reimagined as a collective: supporting and connecting people to each other and to the things they need to thrive.
Rather than providing one-time, limited grants, with onerous application and reporting, we wanted to explore how a fund could work differently. What if it allowed an efficient flow of resources within a group of people according to need? What if there was the opportunity to reinvest and redistribute resources, and to learn from and support each other? And what if people were trusted to make decisions individually and collectively?