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Ikigai Grants, Cohort 1 ($50,000)

by Alex S. Araki

生きがい (Ikigai): your life’s work

Microgrants support early-stage, bootstrapped talent with capital. But that’s not enough.

Capital is just one of many resources necessary to bring bold ideas to reality. Yet, most microgrants have minimal follow-up to support promising projects to completion. As a recipient of several microgrants, I found the mentors and community worth much more than the money.

I’ve seen too many grantees become perpetual microgrant chasers, wasting time applying to one $5k grant after another instead of taking big swings. Many microgrants encourage this activity, lacking clear conviction & values by funding the blanket “smart people doing cool things.”

Ikigai Grants are different. Backing scientists with bold ideas in underfunded areas, we give up to $5k, alongside custom mentorship and community, for emerging talent to realize their life’s work.

I’ve spent a decade as a gene-editing scientist, building longevity startups, founding organismal biology nonprofits, and designing ARPA-Hard moonshots to end chronic pain. In my ongoing search for my own 生きがい (Ikigai), I’ve relied on my peers for support during my most difficult days.

Ikigai Grants is the grant program I always wished existed. Now, in collaboration with Fulcrum Science and Renaissance Philanthropy, I'm launching Cohort 1 to back emerging talent in areas I believe are deeply underfunded and undervalued.

We do not put money at the center of Ikigai Grants. As scientists, you are our guides, the Merchants of Light who bring something that we do not have. Capital is just the gas that goes in the car, and Ikigai Grants exists to give you the resources you need beyond just the capital to realise your life’s work.

My personal interests

• Chronic pain
• Longevity
• Uterine/ovarian disease
• Organismal biology & predictive validity
• Functional/multi-modal biomarkers
• Precision neuropsychiatry
• Scientific methodology/rigour
• Continuous hormone monitoring
• Translational immunology
• New editors & delivery vehicles for gene modulation

This list isn’t exhaustive. If you believe your idea is bold yet underfunded, apply anyway.

Core principles

• We back people with conviction.
• Our network is your network.
• You’ll work in public and give back one day.

How it works

• $50k total, $5k avg, ~15 people. 2pg app, 15min call, <2wk from application to money-in-the-bank.
• Rolling applications, reviewed solely by me.
• 0% equity taken.

After you’re in

• You will be matched to an advisor/mentor in the grant & Fulcrum Science/Renaissance Philanthropy network.
• You may be connected to another larger microgrant based on progress.
• You're required to check-in with us around the 6-12mo mark.

Requirements

• You cannot have received any funding from the following grants/fellowships here. If you don’t know what any/most of these are, you’re a perfect fit!
• Publish one essay within 4mo of receiving the grant. Can be a guest essay on my blog, and we’ll help with editing.
• Minimum age: 16. Eligible geographies: All.
• If you use AI to write, the app will be auto-rejected.

Advisors

Ashley Abel (uterine disease), Raiany Romanni-Klein (longevity), Manjari Narayan (neuro-stats), Bonnie EJ Maven (sperm biology), Ida Tin (continuous hormone monitoring), Ashley Zehnder (organismal biology), Jack Scannell (predictive validity).

Apply here.

Ikigai Grants is an initiative of Renaissance Philanthropy with support from Fulcrum Science.

Run by Alex S. Araki.