Support independent
public-benefit R&D
SOCii is an independent public-benefit civics and humanity research and development institute, community-funded where it matters. We don’t run ads, we don’t sell data, and we don’t take money from political parties or corporations. Every dollar comes from people who believe in open, independent research and civic technology for Australia and the United States.
Give once, or set up a monthly, quarterly or annual contribution. Your support directly funds research at /research, SOCii Social apps (yo, look, gettit), community-vote data commons, and the infrastructure that keeps them free, open, and independent.
See what your support unlocks — our delivery roadmap.
Major and strategic supporters
If you are interested in supporting the long-term independence and infrastructure of SOCii at a strategic level, we welcome direct conversations.
Request a conversationWhy early funding is necessary
We’re not hiding behind vague impact language. Here’s the honest picture.
- Grants aren’t viable yet. Most want track record, deliverables, or partners we don’t have. We’d rather build first, then seek grants when we can point to real outputs. Grant cycles are also slow; community funding lets us move now.
- Institutional partnerships would compromise independence. Any funder would be perceived as having a stake in what we say. At this stage we don’t have the scale to make that trade-off worth it — the optics would undermine the independence we’re building.
- We’re deliberately choosing community-funded first. We want to lock in independence when the only obligation is to the public. Early support isn’t a stopgap; it’s the foundation that makes any future funding additive, not dependent.
What could fail
We don’t hide the downsides. Funding constraints, data access barriers, political resistance, and technical scale risks could slow or limit what we deliver. We publish a full risk and challenge disclosure — what could fail, and how we’re mitigating it — so serious donors can assess us honestly.
Where your donation goes
Fund public-interest research and technology
Your donation directly funds published research, community-vote data commons, and SOCii Social apps — yo, look, and gettit.
Protect independence
Community funding means SOCii can remain independent of government, political parties, and corporate interests.
Keep tools free for everyone
Donations ensure our research and apps remain free and accessible for everyone — from academic researchers to everyday citizens in Australia and the United States.
Sustain ongoing development
Recurring donations provide stable funding so we can plan ahead, hire, and continuously improve our research and platforms.
SOCii PTY LTD (ACN 690 364 731, ABN 72 690 364 731) is an Australian private company focused on civics and humanity research and development. Payments are processed securely by Donorbox and Stripe. SOCii does not store your payment details.
Suggested giving levels
Choose an amount that fits your budget. The form below supports one-time and recurring options.
Give once. Every dollar funds independent public-benefit R&D.
- $9
About the cost of a coffee — a small way to support independent research and civic technology.
- $45
Powers the AI tools that help drive our independent analysis and modelling.
- $85
Supports an hour of development time on SOCii Social apps and research infrastructure.
- $420
Covers one day of operating costs for community-vote data commons and research publishing.
- $1,780
Covers a day of operating, research and development across the institute's research and app initiatives.
Founding supporters
Founding supporters help establish the independence, infrastructure and governance of SOCii before any external funding, sponsorships or institutional partnerships are accepted.
The founding window runs until we accept our first institutional partnership or for 24 months from programme launch — whichever comes first. Opt-in recognition includes a founding supporter acknowledgement page, named infrastructure components (datasets, research articles, releases), and governance observer rights (non-decision-making but visible).
Recognition
We recognise and thank our supporters. Options are available with your consent.
- 1Donor acknowledgments — With your opt-in, we list supporter names (or “Anonymous”) on our website and in annual impact reports.
- 2Named sponsorships — Major and Sustaining Donors may be acknowledged as sponsors of specific programmes (e.g. research, yo, look, gettit) or of published research articles and analytics, subject to mutual agreement.
- 3No obligation — Recognition is optional. You can give anonymously or request no public acknowledgment at any time.