The Mozilla Foundation Fellowship, paid from home

This guide is for a Nigerian who builds technology (a developer, a data person, an engineer, a researcher who builds tools) and has already built and released something real that a stranger can open, and who wants a year of paid time to build something that matters, without leaving Nigeria. The Mozilla Foundation, the American charity behind the Mozilla projects (the Firefox browser is one), pays ten people across the world for a year to build technology that puts people in control. It calls them Fellows, and the year a Fellowship. This year, unlike last year, one of the organisations Mozilla pairs its Fellows with is a Nigerian health charity in Ibadan, the Slum and Rural Health Initiative, and Nigeria is named as a place a Fellow can be based. On that side you are paid US$75,000 for yourself (about ₦100 million) and get US$25,000 for the project (about ₦33.3 million), you work from home, and your trips to Mozilla's two big gatherings are paid. The first step is Mozilla's online application form, short questions in seven sections (Mozilla calls it the Letter of Intent), by 8:59 am Nigerian time on Friday 18 December 2026.

This guide takes you from the work you have already built to your first month as a Fellow, one stage at a time: what you do, where exactly, what you need, what it costs, how long it takes, and what comes next. Start with "Where the window stands today" and the table under it, "From today", which tells you what you can still finish from the day you open this guide. Then read "The Nigerian charity's challenge, the letter's questions and where you apply", which holds the three things most people come for. Every date, dollar amount and rule here comes from Mozilla's own pages and documents, the Nigerian charity's own site and the Central Bank of Nigeria's Foreign Exchange Manual. Naira figures are at ₦1,333 to the US dollar, the rate of 20 October 2026. Updated on 3 November 2026.

Applying costs nothing: Mozilla's form has no fee and no payment step. There is no visa to apply for and no agent anywhere in this guide; the whole application is done online from Nigeria. Only the paid trips, if they are abroad, may need a visa later (Stage 10). Mozilla picks its Fellows, ten across the world, and nobody can promise you a place.

Where the window stands today

On 3 November 2026 the window is open. Mozilla opened its letter form on 20 October 2026 ("Letter of Intent Submission Portal Open: October 20, 2026"), and the call reads "Letter of Intent deadline: December 17, 2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific (UTC-8)". Pacific time in December is nine hours behind Nigeria, so the letter closes at 8:59 am on Friday 18 December 2026, Nigerian time. That is morning in Nigeria, not midnight. Treat Thursday 17 December 2026 as your last safe day. Mozilla's FAQ says: "Late submissions will not be accepted and we cannot grant extensions."

If you are reading this after 8:59 am on 18 December 2026, this window has closed. If you submitted in time, go to Stage 6, the wait. If you did not, go to Part 8, If the window has closed.

From today: what you can still finish

The letter takes about an hour to type ("Expected time to complete : 60 minutes", Mozilla's own estimate). What takes days is what goes into it: a public link to work you have built, and a project you have shaped around the Nigerian charity's challenge. Count the days from today to Thursday 17 December 2026 and find your row. Then find the column for what you already hold.

If you are early in your first job, or what you have is still only an idea, read Check that you can start in Part 1 before you spend an evening on this. Mozilla says the side of the Fellowship this guide walks is for builders some years into their work who have already released real projects.

The Nigerian charity's challenge, the letter's questions and where you apply

These are the three things this route turns on. Each comes from Mozilla's own call, its full call document (Mozilla calls it the RFP, the request for proposals) and its letter form.

The Nigerian charity's challenge

The charity. The Slum and Rural Health Initiative (SRHIN) is a non-profit health organisation in Ibadan, Oyo State. Mozilla's full call document describes it as "Promoting access to healthcare in slums and rural communities in Africa." Its own website lists "Mental Health & Wellbeing" and "Digital Health, AI and Data Science" among its first priorities, and says it works "with communities, not just for them".

The challenge, in plain words. Mental health information collected from people in African communities is being used to build artificial intelligence, often without the people truly agreeing, without the community having any control over it, and without the community getting any share of what it earns. The charity wants tools that the community itself owns, for deciding who uses the data and how (governance), for asking and recording people's agreement (consent), for keeping it private (privacy), and for sharing what it earns back with the community (benefit-sharing). It wants those tools tried out with young people, people who have lived with mental health conditions, and community health workers, towards a shared store of mental health data that the community governs (it calls this a mental health data commons).

The challenge, in Mozilla's own words: "Mental health data from African communities is increasingly used to build AI, often without meaningful consent, community control, or any share of the benefits. This repeats an extractive pattern in which communities supply the data while others decide how it's used and who profits. To deviate from the extractive pattern it's a priority for the community to explore community-owned tools for governance, consent, privacy, and benefit-sharing, and pilot it with young people, people with lived experience, and community health workers in pursuit of designing a mental health data commons."

Where you must live, and on what clock you work. Mozilla's rule: "Track I Embedded Fellows must be located in timezones that are compatible with their respective Host Organization." This charity prints: "Time Zone Preference: Ibadan or Abuja, Nigeria (WAT, UTC+1)" and "Location Preference: Nigeria". Ibadan and Abuja are named for the time zone; all of Nigeria is on West Africa Time (WAT, UTC+1). Living and working in Nigeria for the whole year meets every line.

What this means for your letter. With this charity, you do not bring just any idea. Its challenge is one fixed thing, and you shape your own project around it. Mozilla's words: "Your application should describe how your project would address the Host Organization's identified challenge. Successful applicants will then refine their project in coordination with their Host Organization during the first weeks of their fellowship." Your own unrelated project is not what this side of the Fellowship asks for. The call does not say how many Fellows each charity takes. You do not apply to the charity and you do not need to contact it first: you choose it on Mozilla's form, and Mozilla reads your letter. If you are picked, you and the charity shape the project together in your first weeks.

The letter's questions

The Letter of Intent is a form of seven sections. Mozilla expects it to take about 60 minutes to fill in, if your answers are ready. The word limits below are the ones the form counts as it stands today, except where a line says otherwise.

Section 1, you. Your first name, last name, the name you go by and your pronouns; your email; where you live (city, state and country). The form says this "should be the primary location you will reside in during the Fellowship period": choose Nigeria if you will live in Nigeria from June 2027 to May 2028. This side of the Fellowship is for someone who will. Then any other country you have permission to work in; your current role and your company or organisation; your professional profile address and your GitHub address (both optional); then the question that matters most here, a link to work you have built (Mozilla calls it your Builder Profile): "Do you have a public link that we can open: a repo, demo, dataset, deployment, paper, or recording of a performance that we can view?", with two answers, "Yes" and "No, there is nothing public yet", and a box for as many links as you like. Then your website, your years of relevant experience (0 to 2, 3 to 5, 6 to 10, 11 to 15, or 16 and more), and two yes-or-no confirmations: that you can take part for the full 12 months from 1 June 2027, and that you are legally able to receive money from Mozilla. Nigeria is not one of the countries Mozilla's form turns away; Check 5 and Stage 8 show how the money reaches you.

Section 2, the side of the Fellowship. Choose "Track I: Embedded Fellow (Mid-career, partnered with host organization)". Answer the location question ("Track I Fellows must be located in specific locations for their host organizations. Does your current location meet this requirement?"): Yes, if you live and work in Nigeria. A No ends the form. Choose "Slum and Rural Health Initiative" from the list. Then answer "Why this Host Organization?" in up to 100 words: the RFP adds "How does your expertise align with this organization's work and its community's needs?"

Section 3, your project.

1. A title (up to 10 words).
2. A summary (200 words).
3. One sentence on what makes your project interesting ("Your One-Liner", 30 words).
4. Who will use it ("Target Users", 50 words).
5. Your numbers so far ("Traction to Date", 50 words): "What are your numbers today? ... If you're pre-launch, tell us what you're measuring and where you are now."
6. What the project will produce, ticking all that fit: a technology platform or tool, a dataset, a policy framework, a community organising tool, a research publication, an educational resource, a creative work, other. Tick only what your project will really produce.
7. Its stage today: "Concept or wireframe only", "Working prototype", "Deployed with early users (less than 100 users)" or "Deployed at scale (100+ users)".
8. What changes if it succeeds "beyond your wildest imagination" ("Project Impact", 150 words).
9. "Who would be most disrupted if this works, and why?" (50 words).
10. Your milestones quarter by quarter for the year (150 words), which Mozilla says may be revised with it and the charity if you are picked.
11. Whether the project serves a charitable purpose and creates public benefit (Yes or No), and who benefits beyond your own users (150 words).
12. How you will work in the open: open-source code, published materials, papers, open datasets, public workshops, another public resource, or none of the above.

Section 4, your background. Your most relevant work, "2-3 examples" (150 words); your technical skills for this project (100 words); "Your Role in the Field": "Imagine it's the end of your Fellowship year. Who are you in your field now?" (150 words); and "What's Next?": where the work goes after the year (a company, a cooperative, a public institution, a standard, an accelerator, a larger funder) and "Who would need to say yes?" (150 words).

Section 5, why you want it. Up to three things you hope to get from the Fellowship (funding to focus, connections to funders, technical support, coaching, peer learning, Mozilla's network, visibility, help with strategy, policy connections, other), and which other programmes you have applied to or been funded by for this work (keep it under 100 words, the RFP's figure; the form has no counter here).

Section 6, a few more questions. How you heard about it, who referred you if anyone (the form says "Referrals are not part of our application review criteria."), your social media handles, anything else you want to share, and whether you used AI tools and how (50 words).

Section 7, the terms. Whether you have worked with Mozilla, been to its festival (MozFest, the Mozilla Festival) or worked with anyone across Mozilla before; the privacy agreement; an optional box for Mozilla's emails; and your language.

Three answers that stop your letter. A "No" to the location question in Section 2 ends the form: "Mozilla Foundation is unable to provide funding connected to your location." A "No" to the charitable purpose question, or ticking "None of the above" under how you will work in the open (even beside another choice), brings up: "Based on your answers, your project falls outside the focus of this particular call for proposals." The form then skips the rest of the letter's questions and offers to take what you have written "to spot trends across the field": that is not a letter for this call. Go back and change the answer before you go on. Your project must serve the public, and you must plan to share what you make.

Where you apply

1. The call: Mozilla Foundation, 2027 Call for Applications, opens in a new tab. Read it, then open the full call from its "Full RFP" link: the Fellowships 2027-2028 RFP, opens in a new tab. The charity's challenge and the letter's questions are in that PDF.
2. The form: press "Submit your Letter of Intent" on the call page. It opens Mozilla's form, "Fellowships 2027/2028: Letters of Intent", at mzl.la/fellowshipsLOI, which opens on the forms service Mozilla uses (FormAssembly). Check that the address bar reads mozillafoundation.tfaforms.net; if a page asking for your letter shows any other address, open the form again from Mozilla's call page. You do not need an account to start.
3. Saving: press "Save my progress and resume later", give your email and a password (at least 12 characters, with an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, a number and a special character), and Mozilla emails you a link. To come back, open that link from the email. Write the password in your notes app the moment you choose it: you need the link and the password together to come back. Mozilla cannot send you the link again: if you lose the email, you start a new form. Keep it.
4. The close: 8:59 am Nigerian time on Friday 18 December 2026. Once you press submit, you cannot change anything: "Once you have submitted, it can no longer be edited or updated. Please only submit the proposal when it is final."
5. A question the pages do not answer: fellowships@mozillafoundation.org. Mozilla says it answers only questions its FAQ and call do not already cover.

Applying is free. You apply yourself, on Mozilla's own form. Nobody can get you in, and anybody who asks you for money to "submit", "process" or "recommend" your letter is not part of Mozilla.

Part 1. Before you start

What this is

The Mozilla Foundation Fellowship is a year of paid time, from 1 June 2027 to the end of May 2028, for a person to build one technology project that helps people take back control of technology, alongside nine others from around the world. It is not a job and not a course. You stay where you are, you build your project, and Mozilla pays you, gives you a project budget, a programme manager and coaching, and brings you together with the other Fellows a few times. At the end, the project should leave something others can use: open-source code, a dataset, research, a tool in people's hands.

There are two sides to it (Mozilla calls them tracks):

• Track I, the Embedded Fellow, for builders some years into their work. You are paired with one of five organisations that has a problem it wants solved (Mozilla calls them host organisations), and you shape your project around that problem. You get US$100,000 in all: US$75,000 paid to you for your living during the year (Mozilla calls it a stipend; about ₦100 million) and a US$25,000 project budget (about ₦33.3 million). This guide walks this side, with the Nigerian charity.
• Track II, the Independent Fellow, for senior people already recognised as leaders in their field, who pursue their own idea in one of Mozilla's eight focus areas. You get US$125,000: US$100,000 paid to you for the year (the stipend; about ₦133.3 million) and the same US$25,000 project budget.

Mozilla will award ten Fellowships in all, across both sides. The RFP speaks of "the five Independent Fellowships" ("One of the five Independent Fellowships will be awarded to a builder-native creative advocate"), which points to about five places on the Embedded side across the five organisations; no page says how many go to each.

The bodies you will deal with

• The Mozilla Foundation, an American technology charity, "a global non-profit and the philanthropic mission-holder of the Mozilla Project" (Firefox and Thunderbird are Mozilla projects). It runs the call, reads the letters, picks the Fellows and pays them. Its address for questions is fellowships@mozillafoundation.org.
• The Slum and Rural Health Initiative (SRHIN), the Nigerian health charity in Ibadan that Mozilla pairs with an Embedded Fellow this year. It takes no applications of its own: you choose it on Mozilla's form. Its site, srhin.org, opens in a new tab, shows its work on mental health and digital health: read it before you write "Why this Host Organization?". You do not need to call or visit the charity to apply: Mozilla's form is the only place you apply, and the form says "Referrals are not part of our application review criteria."
• FormAssembly, the forms site Mozilla uses for the letter ("Form Assembly, our intake platform"). You do not deal with it apart from the form and its emailed link.
• Your bank in Nigeria, if you are picked: Mozilla pays in US dollars, so you need a dollar account (Stage 8).

Which side is yours

On the Nigerian charity's side, you live and work in Nigeria. Mozilla's RFP says: "Track I Embedded Fellows must be located in timezones that are compatible with their respective Host Organization." This charity prints "Time Zone Preference: Ibadan or Abuja, Nigeria (WAT, UTC+1)" and "Location Preference: Nigeria". Mozilla's form then asks: "Track I Fellows must be located in specific locations for their host organizations. Does your current location meet this requirement?" If you live and work in Nigeria, your answer is Yes. A No ends the form: "Mozilla Foundation is unable to provide funding connected to your location." The RFP's wider line, "Embedded Fellows must be based in Chile, Germany, Indonesia, Nigeria, or the United States, or be able to work flexibly as a remote Fellow across time zones", covers all five organisations. For this one, plan to live in Nigeria for the whole Fellowship year.

Who Mozilla means by Track I. The RFP: "Who thrives here: rising mid-career builders with demonstrated technical excellence who have already built and shipped meaningful projects or done important research where they are, but haven't yet reached field-wide recognition." In plain words: you have been building for some years, you have released real work that people use or can open, and you are known in your own circle but not yet across your field. Mozilla prints no number of years, no degree and no age limit.

Who Mozilla means by Track II. "Senior, recognized innovators with a proven record of independent leadership." If you are already a recognised leader in your field, read the RFP's eight focus areas too; the letter is the same form, with a focus area in place of the host.

Who this is for

You are the person this guide is written for if most of these are true:

• You build technology: you write code, build data systems or models, design and ship tools, or do technical research.
• You have released at least one real thing a stranger can open today: a public GitHub repository, a live app or website, a dataset, a paper.
• You care about the problem the Ibadan charity names, or you have worked on health data, privacy, consent, data governance, community tools or AI, and can see how your skills answer it.
• You live in Nigeria and can work on West Africa Time.
• You can give the project most of your time for a year. Mozilla: "While we do not expect you to devote all your time to the Fellowship, you must be able to complete your project and meet expectations set out below." Fellows "spend most of their time on their own project", plus "about 5 to 10 hours a month to the Fellowship community".
• You can receive US dollars into a bank account (Stage 8 shows how).

Check that you can start

Answer these before you spend an evening on the letter.

1. Have you shipped something real? Mozilla's track label says "Mid-career", and its list of what is "not a fit" includes a project that "Is still only an idea". If you are fresh out of school or what you have is only an idea, this call is not yours yet: go to Part 8 and build in public for the next call.
2. Is your project technical? The FAQ: "The Fellowship is set up to support projects that are primarily, but not exclusively, technical in nature". A project that is mainly reflection, academic exchange, art or community education does not fit, except one creative place on the Independent side.
3. Are you applying as one person? "No, the Fellowship only supports individuals." A team or a company with a working product is pointed to Mozilla's Human-Scale AI Incubator, a separate programme that funds teams; the RFP says its applications "close on November 20, 2026".
4. Will the project serve the public? Mozilla's grant rules: "every project we fund has to serve a clear charitable purpose and deliver something back to the public". Among the purposes they list are "Advance scientific research" and "Provide direct relief to underserved communities". Tools that protect mental health data for Nigerian communities fit what the charity asks.
5. Can you receive money from an American charity? "You can legally receive funds from a US-based organization (by check, ACH, or wire transfer) and legally enter into a grant agreement with Mozilla Foundation." and "Your bank account can accept payments in USD." Nigeria is not one of the countries Mozilla's form turns away. Ask your bank whether your dollar account can receive an international wire in US dollars from an American charity (Stage 8).
6. Is anyone in your immediate family working for Mozilla? Mozilla cannot fund "An individual applicant with an immediate family member who is a current Mozilla employee, contractor, or in a similar relationship with Mozilla".
7. Can you write in English? "Applications must be submitted in English. Translation tools are welcome. We evaluate your ideas, not your language quality." Plain English is enough.
8. Do you have to leave your job? Mozilla does not ask for all your time, and no Mozilla page says whether you may keep a full-time job beside the Fellowship. It asks that you finish your project and give the Fellowship about 5 to 10 hours a month. If you will stay employed, read your contract before you sign Mozilla's grant agreement (Stage 8).

What changed from last year

Last year's call was different on two points that matter to you. It ran on nominations, from 9 November 2025 to 30 January 2026, and nominees were then contacted about a letter. And it said "Track I Embedded Fellows must be located in Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, the MENA region, Mexico, UK, US, or the EU", which left Nigeria out. This year "Anyone can apply directly", Nigeria is named, and one of the five organisations is Nigerian. If you heard that the Mozilla Fellowship needs a nomination or is not open to Nigerians, that was last year.

The one thing people get wrong

Most people treat a letter of intent as a small form before "the real application", and keep their best work for later. Here the letter is where Mozilla does its main choosing: "The primary review occurs at the Letter of Intent stage, with only a small number of shortlisted applicants invited to submit a full application in early 2027." Your best work goes in the letter, and the best of your best is a link Mozilla can open: "Show us the thing. The strongest applications link to something we can open: a repository, a demo, a dataset, a deployment, a paper, a performance. Tell us who uses it and how you know."

A second mistake comes from reposts. Some sites that repost opportunities wrote online in 2026 that this is a Fellowship "for 200 Fellows". It is not: Mozilla will award ten. The 200 is the network of past Fellows since 2011.

Part 2. The whole journey on one page

1. Read the call and check it fits (today, about an hour, free). Mozilla's call page and the RFP's section on the Nigerian charity.
2. Get the link to your work ready (a few evenings). A public repository, demo or dataset with a short readme that says who uses it.
3. Shape your project around the charity's challenge (a week of evenings). One project that answers the Ibadan charity's problem, that you can finish in 12 months.
4. Write your answers in a notes app (a week of evenings). Every section, inside its word limit, in your own words.
5. Open the form, paste, and submit (about an hour; by Thursday 17 December 2026). The close is 8:59 am Nigerian time on Friday 18 December.
6. The wait (to February 2027). Every letter writer hears by February.
7. The full application, if invited (16 February to 8:59 am on 13 March 2027, Nigerian time).
8. The decision, the grant agreement and your dollar account (30 April to the end of May 2027).
9. Your first month as a Fellow (from 1 June 2027): the project refined with the charity, the first payment, the first calls.
10. The kick-off in July 2027 and Mozilla's festival (MozFest 2027), travel paid.
11. The year, to the end of May 2028, and what you leave behind.

Stages 2 and 3 run at the same time, and Stage 4 can start as soon as your project is clear. Stage 8's dollar account waits until you are invited to the full application on 16 February 2027.

Part 3. Stage by stage

Stage 1. Read the call and check it fits

Back to the short stages

Why. Everything Mozilla decides on is written in two documents: the call page and the RFP. The charity's challenge, the six questions Mozilla asks of every letter, and the letter's questions are all there. Reading them first saves you a week of writing the wrong letter.

What you do, today.

1. Open Mozilla Foundation, 2027 Call for Applications, opens in a new tab. Read "Fellowship tracks" and "How to apply".
2. Press "Full RFP" and open the PDF. Read, in this order: "Track I: Embedded Fellows" down to the Nigerian charity's challenge; "Who we look for"; "You are not a fit if your project"; "How we decide"; "Applicant Eligibility"; "AI-Use Policy"; and "Letters of Intent Questions" at the end.
3. Open the FAQ, opens in a new tab (last updated 25 October 2026) and read it once.
4. Answer the eight questions of Check that you can start.

How Mozilla decides (its six questions). Read these as the questions your letter must answer without being asked (Mozilla calls the Fellows of one year, ten of them, the cohort):

1. "Is it early? Are the usual funders still catching up? Is the field still being shaped? Is someone else already doing this better?"
2. "Who is it for? Who needs this now, or will soon? Tell us who will use it and why they'd want to."
3. "Can you build it? Do you have a record of shipping? Is the plan focused enough to finish in 12 months, with a clear picture of done?"
4. "Who holds the power? Are the people most affected shaping how it's built and governed?"
5. "What do you bring to the cohort, and what do you hope to take from it?"
6. "Could you become a defining voice? Would policymakers, journalists and the next generation of technologists come to you? Does the Fellowship change your trajectory?"

Then, Mozilla says, "We then shape the cohort for a real mix of geographies, communities and technical approaches."

What is not a fit. "You are not a fit if your project: Makes an extractive system run more smoothly without asking who it serves; Is designed about a community rather than with it; Is a technology looking for a problem; Is still only an idea, unless you're applying for our Creative Advocacy area. We back big visions, but you need to deliver inside 12 months; Wants the funds without the cohort."

What it costs. Nothing.

How long. About an hour for the call page, the RFP's sections and the FAQ.

How you know it is done. You can say in one sentence what the Ibadan charity wants, and you have answered yes to the checks in Part 1.

What goes wrong, and what you do. You read only a repost and miss the challenge: open the RFP itself, which is the only place the charity's challenge is written in full. You find you are fresh out of school or holding only an idea: stop here and go to Part 8.

What opens next. Stage 2 (your link) and Stage 3 (your project) start together.

Stage 2. Get the link to your work ready

Back to the short stages

Why. Mozilla judges builders by what they have built: "Your authority comes from what you've made, not your title." The Builder Profile is the one question in Section 1 that asks for proof of your work, and the RFP says "The strongest applications link to something we can open".

What you do.

1. Choose the two or three pieces of your own work that best show you can build. Mozilla asks for "2-3 examples" in Section 4 too.
2. Make each one public and easy to open: a GitHub repository set to public, a live demo link that works on a phone, a dataset on a public page, a paper with a link.
3. Give each repository a short readme at the top: what it does, who uses it, how many, and how you know ("Tell us who uses it and how you know."). Numbers are better than adjectives: users, downloads, clinics, schools, contributors.
4. Remove anything private: passwords, keys, patients' or customers' data, your employer's private code. Deleting a key from today's files does not delete it from the repository's history: before you make an old repository public, change any password or key it ever held.
5. If your best work belongs to your employer, link only what is already public (the live product, a public talk, a public case study) or what your employer agrees in writing that you may show, and say in one line what your part was. Never record or publish an internal system, its data or its clients without that agreement.

What you must have in hand. A GitHub account (free) or another place to put work in public, and your work.

What it costs. Nothing, unless you choose to pay for hosting a demo.

How long. A few evenings.

How you know it is done. A stranger can open every link on a phone, without signing in, and read in one minute what it is and who uses it.

What goes wrong, and what you do. A demo link that has expired, a repository that is still private, a dataset behind a sign-in: open each link from a phone that is not signed in to anything, the night before you submit.

What runs at the same time. Stage 3.

What opens next. Stage 4, once Stage 3 has your project.

Stage 3. Shape your project around the charity's challenge

Back to the short stages

Why. On the Embedded side, Mozilla does not fund your own idea; it funds your answer to the charity's problem. "Embedded Fellows tackle specific community challenges identified by host organizations". Your letter is judged on how well your project answers that challenge, and on whether you can finish it in a year.

What you do.

1. Write the charity's challenge in your own words at the top of a page.
2. Under it, write the one thing you would build in 12 months that answers it, using what you already know how to do. For example, a consent and permissions tool that a community health worker can use on a basic phone; a data store where the community, not the researcher, decides who reads which records; a tool to record and pay out a share of what the data earns; privacy tools for mental health screening data. These are examples of the kind of thing the challenge names (governance, consent, privacy, benefit-sharing), not Mozilla's list.
3. Name who would use it, from the challenge's own list: young people, people with lived experience of mental health conditions, and community health workers. Mozilla asks "Who holds the power? Are the people most affected shaping how it's built and governed?", and lists as "not a fit" a project "designed about a community rather than with it". Say how those people will shape it. Name the young people, health workers or support groups you can already reach, and say where they decide things in your plan; the charity's community joins in when you refine the project with it.
4. Break the year into four quarters with what is finished at the end of each. This becomes your milestones answer (150 words). Put in your first quarter how you will ask people for their consent and keep their data private before any pilot with people starts.
5. Decide how you will work in the open (open-source code, open data where it is safe, public workshops): Mozilla's Fellows "agree to release code and non-confidential content created during the fellowship under open licenses", and what you make stays yours ("All copyright, patent, and other proprietary interests in materials produced by selected Fellows in the course of the Fellowship shall be owned by the Fellow."). An open licence lets others use and build on what you release; the RFP says you still own it.

How you work with the charity if you are picked. You are not the charity's staff: "Embedded Fellows are not staff of their host organization. Fellows do not provide services directly to benefit existing host organization programming or projects. Rather, Fellows collaborate with the host organization to define an independent project that is aligned with the mission of the host organization". "Your host provides mentorship and a community to work inside." The project you propose is a starting point: "Successful applicants will then refine their project in coordination with their Host Organization during the first weeks of their fellowship."

What it costs. Nothing.

How long. A week of evenings.

How you know it is done. You can say your project in one sentence that names the charity's problem, the people it serves, and what is finished in 12 months.

What goes wrong, and what you do. Your project is about the community but not with it: name in your plan where young people, people with lived experience and health workers decide things. Your plan is too big for a year: cut it to the part you can finish ("a clear picture of done").

What opens next. Stage 4, writing your answers.

Stage 4. Write your answers in a notes app

Back to the short stages

Why. The form saves only when you press save, and the network fails at the worst moments. Writing first in a notes app or a document on your phone or laptop means nothing you write is lost, and you can count your words before you paste.

What you do. Write every answer from "The letter's questions" above, each inside its limit, in this order of effort:

1. The project summary (200 words) and the one-liner (30 words): what you will build for the Ibadan charity's challenge, for whom, and why now.
2. "Why this Host Organization?" (100 words): why you, for this charity's problem; what in your work already touches health data, privacy, consent or community tools.
3. Traction to date (50 words): your numbers today, counted as they are, or "what you're measuring and where you are now".
4. Milestones (150 words), quarter by quarter.
5. Most relevant experience (150 words), with the two or three links from Stage 2.
6. The bigger answers: what changes if it works, who it would upset, who gains beyond your users, who you are in your field at the end of the year, and where the work goes after it.
7. The rest (contact details, the three things you hope to get, other funders).

The rule on AI tools. You may use AI tools "to help brainstorm ideas, clarify language, or assist with translation", but "all submitted content must ultimately reflect your own original work, ideas, and voice". "Applications that appear to be heavily or entirely AI-generated, or that do not demonstrate authentic engagement with the application questions, may be subject to further review." The form asks whether you used AI and how. Write it yourself; say so plainly in the form if a tool helped you tidy the English.

What it costs. Nothing.

How long. A week of evenings for most people; two long sittings if time is short.

How you know it is done. Every answer is under its limit, says something specific about the Ibadan charity's challenge or your own work, and reads like you.

What goes wrong, and what you do. You write a general "I am passionate about technology" answer: replace each sentence with a fact (what you built, for whom, how many use it). You run over a limit: cut in the notes app first, before you paste.

What opens next. Stage 5, the form.

Stage 5. Open the form, paste, and submit

Back to the short stages

Why. The letter is the main review. Only letters on Mozilla's form count, and only before the close.

What you do.

1. On the call page, opens in a new tab, press "Submit your Letter of Intent". The form "Fellowships 2027/2028: Letters of Intent" opens.
2. Press "Save my progress and resume later" first. Give your email and a password of at least 12 characters with an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, a number and a special character. Mozilla emails you a link to come back. Write the password in your notes app the moment you choose it: you need the link and the password together to come back. Find that email now (check Spam) and star it.
3. Fill in Section 1. Choose Nigeria as your country if you will live in Nigeria for the Fellowship year. Answer "Yes" to the Builder Profile question and paste your links. Fill in your GitHub address if your work is there.
4. In Section 2 choose "Track I: Embedded Fellow (Mid-career, partnered with host organization)", answer "Yes" to the location question (a No ends the form), and choose "Slum and Rural Health Initiative".
5. Paste your answers into Sections 3 to 6. In Section 3, answer "Yes" to the charitable purpose question and tick the open choices that are true of your project under how you will work in the open, and never tick "None of the above"; either stops your letter.
6. Read everything once more against the charity's challenge. Then submit. You cannot edit after.

What you must have in hand. Your answers from Stage 4, your links from Stage 2, and an email you read every day.

What it costs. Nothing. The form has no fee and no payment step.

How long. About an hour with your answers ready ("Expected time to complete : 60 minutes").

How you know it is done. The form takes you past Section 7 and confirms your submission. Take a screenshot of the screen the form shows after you submit. Keep the confirmation email if one comes, and a copy of every answer in your notes app.

What goes wrong, and what you do.

• You lose the resume email. Mozilla: "We are unable to provide you with your unique link. If you are unable to find the email, please submit a new application form." Search your Spam folder first. If it is gone, start a new form and paste your answers from your notes.
• Your password is refused when you come back. Open the form from the unique link in the email, not from the call page, and use "Forgot your password?" on that page.
• You submitted too early. "Once you have submitted, it can no longer be edited or updated." Mozilla's FAQ offers nothing to replace it with, so submit only when final.
• Power or network fails on the last night. This is why the last safe day is Thursday 17 December. The close is 8:59 am on Friday.

Stage 6. The wait to February 2027

Back to the short stages

Why. Mozilla reads every letter and shortlists a small number for the full application.

What happens. "All applicants will receive an update on the status of their submission by February 2027. Due to a high volume of submissions, we are unable to provide individual updates." The invitations to the full application go out on 16 February 2027.

What you do. Keep building in public: whatever happens, it is the strongest thing you can show next time. If you are invited on 16 February, ask your bank what it needs to open a dollar account (Stage 8). Watch the email you used on the form, Spam included.

How long. About eight weeks from the close.

How you know it is done. An email from Mozilla about your letter.

What goes wrong, and what you do. You hear nothing by 28 February 2027: search every folder of that email, Spam included, for mozillafoundation.org and tfaforms. Mozilla says every applicant hears by February and that it cannot give individual updates, so write only about an update that never reached you: one short email to fellowships@mozillafoundation.org with your name and the email you used on the form. If the answer is no, go to Part 8.

Stage 7. The full application, if you are invited

Back to the short stages

Why. The shortlisted few write a fuller application, from which Mozilla picks its Fellows.

What happens. "Invitation to submit full application: February 16, 2027"; "Full application deadline: March 12, 2027 at 11:59 PM Pacific (UTC-8)", which is 8:59 am on Saturday 13 March 2027, Nigerian time. Treat Friday 12 March as your last safe day. No Mozilla page says yet what the full application asks; the invitation will say. It is by invitation only.

What you do. Read the invitation the day it arrives and write down every question and its limit. Use your letter as the base: the project, the milestones and the links carry over. If it asks for references or a budget, line them up in the first week. Ask your bank this week what it needs to open a dollar account, and start it (Stage 8).

How long. About four weeks.

How you know it is done. You have submitted before 8:59 am on 13 March 2027.

What opens next. The final decision.

Stage 8. The decision, the grant agreement and your dollar account

Back to the short stages

Why. If you are picked, Mozilla gives you a grant, and the grant needs an agreement you sign and a bank account that takes US dollars.

What happens. "Final applicants notified: April 30, 2027". Mozilla's grant rules ask that "You can legally receive funds from a US-based organization (by check, ACH, or wire transfer) and legally enter into a grant agreement with Mozilla Foundation." and that "Your bank account can accept payments in USD. If you'd like funds sent in another currency, you're responsible for any exchange rate or bank fees." The RFP adds that Mozilla may ask any applicant for more information as part of its checks on who may apply.

Your dollar account (a domiciliary account). A domiciliary account is a US dollar (or other foreign currency) account at a Nigerian bank. The Central Bank of Nigeria's Foreign Exchange Manual (4th Edition, May 2026) says the banks licensed to deal in foreign currency (it calls them Authorised Dealer Banks) may open them, that Nigerian citizens may open one ("Domiciliary accounts may be opened by: a) Citizens of Nigeria"), and that the holder of an ordinary domiciliary account "shall have unfettered and unrestricted access to funds in their accounts". Start with the bank where you already have an account. Ask the bank for the account's details for receiving an international wire in US dollars, because Mozilla will need them to pay you.

Why a dollar account and not naira. Mozilla's grant rules list this under what every applicant needs: "Your bank account can accept payments in USD." A domiciliary account at a Nigerian bank does. If you ask for another currency, "you're responsible for any exchange rate or bank fees". With the dollars in your own dollar account, you choose when to convert.

What it costs. You pay Mozilla nothing. Your bank's own charges for opening the account and for receiving a wire are the bank's; ask your bank for its tariff.

How long. From 30 April to the start on 1 June 2027, about a month; start the account when you are invited in February, and at the latest the day you are picked.

How you know it is done. You have signed Mozilla's grant agreement and given your dollar account's details.

If you keep a job. Read your employment contract before you sign Mozilla's agreement, for any clause on outside paid work and on who owns what you build: Mozilla's terms say "All copyright, patent, and other proprietary interests in materials produced by selected Fellows in the course of the Fellowship shall be owned by the Fellow", and the work is released under open licences.

What no page says yet. How the US$75,000 stipend is paid (monthly, in parts or at once), when the first payment lands, and whether any tax is taken: no Mozilla page prints it yet. The grant agreement will say; read it before you sign, and ask Mozilla's grant team the three questions in writing if it does not.

What goes wrong, and what you do. Your bank asks why money is coming from an American charity: show the grant agreement and Mozilla's letter. Your dollar account is not open when Mozilla asks for details: this is why you start it when you are invited (Stage 7).

Stage 9. Your first month as a Fellow, from home

Back to the short stages

From 1 June 2027 you are a Mozilla Fellow. "The Fellowship begins on June 1, 2027, and runs for 12 months." You work from home in Nigeria.

What happens in the first weeks.

• You and the charity refine the project. "Successful applicants will then refine their project in coordination with their Host Organization during the first weeks of their fellowship." Your milestones "are subject to potential revision in consultation with Mozilla and/or Track I Host Organizations". The charity "provides mentorship and a community to work inside".
• Your support team starts. "A dedicated support team, including a Program Manager and Senior Curricular Advisor for regular 1:1s, problem-solving, and introductions".
• The first online calls with the other Fellows. "Time commitments will be higher at the start of the year, including the Fellowship Kick-Off". "Required sessions will generally be limited to one or two hour-long virtual meetings a month."
• The first payment of your stipend, to your dollar account, on the schedule your grant agreement sets.

How you know you have arrived. The Fellowship has begun on 1 June 2027, the grant agreement is signed, you have had your first call with the charity about the project, and the first payment lands in your dollar account on the date your agreement sets.

Stage 10. The kick-off in July 2027 and MozFest 2027

Back to the short stages

What Mozilla pays for. "All-expenses-paid travel to key Mozilla Foundation moments, including a Fellows Kick-off in July 2027, and MozFest 2027." MozFest is the Mozilla Festival, one of the Mozilla platforms the RFP names "to put your work in front of new audiences".

Where. No Mozilla page names the city of the July 2027 kick-off or of MozFest 2027 yet. The most recent festival, MozFest 2026, was held at Recinte Fabra i Coats in Barcelona, Spain, from 28 to 30 October 2026. If the 2027 gatherings are abroad, you will need a passport valid for the trip and possibly a visa for that country; Mozilla's team will tell you where and when. Get or renew your Nigerian passport before June 2027 so it is not the thing that holds you back.

What it costs you. Mozilla says the travel is all expenses paid. A visa fee, if the country charges one, is not named on any Mozilla page.

Stage 11. The year, and what you leave behind

Back to the short stages

The time. "Fellows spend most of their time on their own project. Beyond that, expect to dedicate about 5 to 10 hours a month to the Fellowship community: onboarding, connecting with your cohort, and joining Mozilla-wide events and activities."

What Mozilla asks. "Participate actively"; "Learn with the cohort"; "Work in the open. Share relevant approaches, outputs, and learnings so that your cohort, the communities you serve, and the broader field can benefit."

What you get besides the money. "A small, complementary cohort from around the world"; introductions "to the teams behind Firefox and Thunderbird, Mozilla.ai's open-source AI tools, the Mozilla Data Collective, and Mozilla Ventures' portfolio of 50+ companies"; "Coaching and workshops for technical people stepping into leadership"; and "Mozilla Festival and other Mozilla-owned platforms to put your work in front of new audiences".

What you leave with. "By the end of the grant period, each project should leave behind something of value that others can use or build on". What you made is yours, released under open licences. "You'll become a part of an amazing Mozilla Fellow community and be listed in our Expert Hub and Mozilla Wiki." Mozilla says: "Nearly 30% of Mozilla Foundation Fellows have founded an organization, while 20% run one today."

Part 4. What can stop you

Your deadlines

What stops people, and what you do

If the answer is no

Every letter writer hears by February 2027. A no on this call does not close the next one. Keep building in public, keep a record of who uses what you build, and watch for Mozilla's next call (Part 8).

Part 5. If you already did some of this

• You have read the call and the RFP: go to Stage 2.
• Your work is already public with good readmes: go to Stage 3.
• You have a project for the charity's challenge: go to Stage 4.
• Your answers are written: go to Stage 5, and submit before Thursday 17 December 2026.
• You saved a form and lost the email: search Spam; if it is gone, start a new form (Stage 5).
• You have submitted: go to Stage 6.
• You have been invited to the full application: go to Stage 7, and start your dollar account (Stage 8).
• You have been picked: go to Stage 8.

Part 6. The time, stage by stage

• Stage 1, read the call: about an hour, today.
• Stage 2, your link: a few evenings.
• Stage 3, your project: a week of evenings.
• Stage 4, your answers: a week of evenings.
• Stage 5, the form: about an hour; by Thursday 17 December 2026.
• Stage 6, the wait: to February 2027.
• Stage 7, the full application: 16 February to 13 March 2027, if invited.
• Stage 8, the decision and the account: 30 April to 31 May 2027 (the account started in February if you were invited).
• Stage 9, your first month: from 1 June 2027.
• Stage 10, the kick-off: July 2027; MozFest 2027: no date printed yet.
• Stage 11, the year: to the end of May 2028.

Part 7. The money, all of it

No page says how the stipend is paid over the year or whether tax is taken from it. Nothing here depends on the naira figures: Mozilla pays in dollars.

Part 8. If the window has closed

The letter closed at 8:59 am on Friday 18 December 2026. If you missed it, this is what you do now, so you are ready for Mozilla's next call.

1. Build in public, now. Choose one project you can show, put it on a public repository or a live demo, and keep a plain record of who uses it and how you know. This is what the next letter's Builder Profile asks for.
2. Work on the kind of problem Mozilla backs. The 2027 call backed builders on emerging technology "while its future is still being decided", including community control of data and AI. Health data, privacy, consent and community-owned tools are the Nigerian charity's ground this year.
3. Watch Mozilla's Fellowships page. The next call's dates: no Mozilla page says yet. This year's call opened its letter form on 20 October 2026 and closed it on 17 December 2026 Pacific time; last year's ran on nominations from 9 November 2025 to 30 January 2026. Neither is a promise of next year's dates. Check the Fellowships programme page, opens in a new tab from October.
4. If you lead a team with a working product, look at Mozilla's Incubator, which funds teams, when its next call opens.