As we mentioned in our last post, Foster is committed to investing in writers. Our support helps them develop their writing, thinking, and the impact they can have on the world.

However, this support goes beyond “editorial support” in the traditional sense. We are also doing our part to educate our members on new technologies and strategies writers can use to create and distribute their work to new audiences.

One such technology is NFTs. One of the most hotly debated topics in the media world today, NFTs have gotten far more than their fair share of ink spilled over their utility and value. There's a lot of chatter and cynicism about NFTs and whether they have practical applications, and this is especially true as we enter the latest crypto downturn.

However, we believe NFTs present a clear use case for writers that's not only novel and valuable, but also leads to the future we want to see.

NFTs give writers the ability to mint their writing as a digital collectible and set a customizable supply and price for it. Not only does this give the writer the ability to directly monetize their work without relying on any gatekeeping entities, it also gives them the ability to profit from future distribution and sales of the work.

To that end, the Foster Collective is providing grants to fund writers directly by purchasing NFT essays on Mirror.

Many of the grant programs offered to writers today are one-time transactions. The writer gets a chunk of money with no obligation to repay it, the organization perhaps gets some good PR, and that's that. There's little incentive for the organization to continue supporting and investing in the writer, or for the writer to stay connected to the organization and its larger mission.

What makes NFT grants fundamentally different, however, is that NFTs are an on-chain asset that ties both parties together in perpetuity. That asset will, in theory, appreciate in value as the writer hones their perspective and voice, grows their audience and reputation, and begins to flourish in the digital economy.

This in turn leads to a healthier, more legible set of incentives that will help Foster and the writers we support cooperate over the long term. 

As Balaji Srinivasan said, NFTs create a "win-and-help-win" dynamic. In other words, these grants aren't short-term expenses for us or short-term paydays for writers. They're the opening salvo in a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship.

On our end, everything we do at Foster is oriented around serving writers. Right now, we do this with high-quality editorial support, via our one-click Chrome extension. Writers press a single button inside of Google Docs, and summon our collective of editors and experts to provide timely feedback—improving the quality of the work, the potential impact on readers, and the potential value of the NFT.

Our hypothesis is that when we continue to help writers tell their stories powerfully, reach the right audiences, and begin to excel creatively and financially, the value and meaningfulness of the NFTs in our treasury will rise.

For writers, in addition to getting paid up-front for their writing, our grant program onboards them into the digital economy of the future. We believe the earliest writers in web3 will reap disproportionate rewards in the years to come. That said, the space is still too illegible and complex for most creatives to navigate. So a crucial part of issuing these grants is working with writers directly to help them through the process of setting up a wallet and creating an on-chain asset that will work for them for years—or decades—to come. We believe this initial investment will be dwarfed by the long-term value that accrues to writers who make this leap with us.

There's a long road ahead for bringing a better internet to fruition, along with plenty of uncertainty. But we're confident in the vision, and we're confident in our first investment. If you’d like to get involved with Foster, and you have a passion for supporting writers and their stories, we’d like to invite you to apply to become a contributor.

Grants are currently available to Foster contributors only – if that’s you, keep your eyes on your email for more information on how you can apply.