Fund the work grants won’t touch.
Independent analysis, open datasets, OSINT, replication work — a sponsorship wall funds research outside the grant system, with a funding trail anyone can inspect.
“We cite your work constantly. It seemed fair to fund it.”
Gold9 moThe most useful independent research is often what institutions won’t fund: too niche, too fast, too inconvenient. Its credibility lives or dies on one question — “who pays you?” A public wall is the strongest answer there is. Your funding sits in the open: named backers, real accounts, tiers visible. For a researcher, that openness isn’t a cost. It’s the whole point.
Where to put your wall link
Every report & dataset page
“This research is reader-funded” where the work is read, at the moment it proves its value.
Your funding page
Replace a static disclosure paragraph with a live, inspectable wall.
Newsletter & preprint footers
The people who read your methods are the people most likely to fund them.
Conference bios & profiles
One link that shows both the work and who stands behind it.
Who backs researchers
You get backed by the people who use your work: practitioners who rely on the datasets, journalists who cite the analysis, professionals who want it to continue. Backing you is itself a public statement — a named endorsement of independent work. And monthly support is what turns a side project into a research program.
How SponsoredBy works
Money goes straight to you
One-time or monthly backings, paid directly into your own Stripe account — we never hold your money. Fees: 10% on Free, 5% on Pro, 3% on Max.
Everyone signs in
You verify a handle or domain before you can take payouts, and every backer signs in to a real account before they can back you.
Support becomes plaques
Backers appear on your public wall with a tier, a name (or anonymous, their choice), and how long they’ve backed you.
Payouts currently require a U.S. Stripe account — more countries are coming. Your wall works everywhere.
Show the world who’s got your back.
Free to join. Your wall is live in minutes, and every backer gets a plaque with their name on it.