According to the official blog of the Ethereum Foundation, among the 243 applications received by the "Run a Node Grants Round" program, the foundation selected 35 recipients from 23 different countries to run nodes. Specifically: ETHKL; SDSU Distributed System Security Laboratory; FranklinDAO/Penn Blockchain; Web3Bridge; University of Champagnat in Argentina; SpaghettETH; Stanford University, MIT; CENFOTEC University Foundation in Costa Rica; Ponkila Oy; Cochin University of Technology in India; Purdue in the United States University; Cryptoversidad; Miga Labs; 101.CY; SeedLatam; Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi, India; ETHKipu; Vanderbilt Blockchain; Technical University of Munich Blockchain Club; Ethereum Guatemala; Princeton Blockchain Club; Oregon Blockchain Group; ITU Blockchain; University College Dublin and multiple individual carriers/operators etc.
The “Run a Node Grants Round” is designed to encourage diverse users exploring blockchain, learning, community efforts, and research purposes. The goal of the program is to encourage exploration of diverse ideas for running nodes beyond just running validators, but also to facilitate research data queries, examine node performance under harsh conditions, or improve the node user experience. Eligibility requirements include that applicants must have a fast and stable internet connection, demonstrate technical proficiency in nodes and clients, and be willing and able to run a node for at least 2 years. Priority was given in the evaluation to unique proposals from geographically diverse regions, as well as student blockchain clubs and academic institutions.