Unlocking Impact Through Infrastructure: Filecoin Foundation and the GSR Foundation Work Together to Fund Filecoin Use Cases

Decentralization can help unlock what the internet was always meant to be: open, resilient, and accountable to the people it serves. At Filecoin Foundation (FF), we believe decentralized storage is a cornerstone of that vision — ensuring that information remains accessible, verifiable, and free from single points of failure. Our mission at FF is to preserve humanity’s most important information, and part of furthering that mission is supporting projects that demonstrate the practical value of decentralized storage in the real world.

We’re working alongside the GSR Foundation to support a cohort of high-impact blockchain initiatives already active within the Filecoin ecosystem. The GSR Foundation, the philanthropic arm of global cryptocurrency firm GSR, is focused on advancing social good through the responsible application of blockchain and crypto. From data sovereignty to financial inclusion, it backs projects that create meaningful change — not just for crypto, but for the communities that need it most. Alongside GSR Foundation’s deep experience in crypto-native impact and technology, Filecoin Foundation contributes a strong track record of supporting decentralized infrastructure that prioritizes preservation and verifiability of data.

Each of these selected projects — originally supported by Filecoin Foundation and Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web (FFDW) — was chosen for its alignment with the values of both organizations and its potential to scale real-world social impact.

Meet the Projects

The five selected projects demonstrate how decentralized technologies like IPFS and Filecoin can serve as critical infrastructure for high-impact applications. Each initiative approaches social good from a different angle — preserving truth, empowering creators, documenting memory, or protecting the planet — but all share a commitment to using decentralized storage and open technologies to build a more equitable, resilient future.

The Starling Lab for Data Integrity

The Starling Lab, co-founded by Stanford University’s Department of Electrical Engineering and USC Shoah Foundation, develops technology and protocols for digital records that can establish authenticity and provenance. Whether it’s preserving evidence of war crimes, safeguarding journalistic records, or verifying historical testimony, Starling’s Capture, Store, Verify framework leverages Filecoin’s verifiable storage layer to ensure transparency, trust, and long-term access. Their work exemplifies how decentralized storage can bolster trust in digital information –– like photographs, websites, audio, and video –– in an era of deepfakes, disinformation, and VR reconstruction.

EASIER Data Initiative

Based out of the University of Maryland, the EASIER Data Initiative builds decentralized infrastructure to preserve geospatial and location-based data and make it more accessible. The project supports researchers, public institutions, and NGOs who need to store, analyze, and retrieve large volumes of data — such as satellite imagery or urban planning datasets — without relying on centralized cloud services. With Filecoin’s decentralized storage, EASIER Data ensures that this critical information remains openly accessible and censorship-resistant, particularly in regions with limited infrastructure or restricted access.

TRANSFER Data Trust

TRANSFER is reimagining how digital artworks are valued, preserved, and exchanged. Their new initiative, the TRANSFER Data Trust, is an artist-owned cooperative for archiving and maintaining experimental media artworks, many of which risk being lost due to obsolescence or neglect. Built on Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM) smart contracts and decentralized storage, the Data Trust creates a future-proofed model for artists to store their work, govern its use, and build equity over time. TRANSFER’s approach blends cultural stewardship with data sovereignty, offering a radical alternative to traditional art institutions.

Akashic

Akashic is a decentralized digital memory archive focused on collecting and preserving the stories of refugees and displaced communities. Developed through a partnership with Funding the Commons, the project leverages Filecoin to make these personal narratives globally accessible and resilient. In many cases, these are voices at risk of erasure — oral histories, cultural memories, and experiences that traditional archival systems often overlook or exclude. By building on decentralized infrastructure, Akashic empowers communities to control their own stories and ensure they are not forgotten.

Oceanic Whispers by CROSSLUCID w/ RadicalxChange x Serpentine

Oceanic Whispers is an experimental installation and data trust that combines environmental science, AI-generated storytelling, and haptic art. The project stores data from Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on Filecoin and transforms it into interactive, sensory experiences. AI narration and physical interfaces translate raw ecological data into emotionally resonant experiences, helping participants connect with oceanic ecosystems on a visceral level. By implementing a “partial common ownership” model, the project also ensures that value generated by this data flows back to contributing scientists, communities, and the marine environments themselves. Oceanic Whispers reframes how we interact with and care for the natural world.

Each project offers a real-world example of how decentralized infrastructure — specifically decentralized storage — can unlock new capabilities in science, human rights, environmental protection, and cultural preservation.

Building a Model for the Future

As the Web3 ecosystem continues to grow and evolve, funders are looking for new ways to support builders solving real problems. The collaboration between FF and GSR Foundation is a proof of concept for how mission-driven funding can meet technical infrastructure to support ideas that matter.

By working together, the two foundations hope to inspire others across philanthropy, crypto, and impact investing to adopt similar models. The goal isn’t just to fund blockchain projects: it’s to fund the right ones and to help them grow.

Want to Get Involved?

Interested funders are encouraged to reach out to impact@fil.org to explore partnership opportunities, co-funding arrangements, and collaborative program development. Together, we can amplify the impact of blockchain and decentralized technology for social good and create sustainable change at scale.

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