Government or NGO grants for game development

Question

I live in the United States, and I was curious whether or not any governmental grants or NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) support game developers via grants or other funding options for games that are not directly developed for commercial gain.

After a quick googling, the only examples I could find were the NEA media arts grant which is restricted to games that can be claimed to be art (arguably all of them), and the ESA Foundation which focus on games for learning but are restricted to giving funding to non-profit organizations.

Are there any other institutions that accept applications for games from individuals? Perhaps similar to Y-Combinator where you have to present a short video of yourself, and a working prototype of your game along with background of the team you will be using to develop it? I'd also like to know whether or not there are institutions that would like to promote a certain cause or aspect through game development by providing developers with resources to pursue this? (Similar to this DOE project)

Answer 1

Kickstarter.com

Or other fund raising platforms that give you the ability to gain money from a large range of future customers. You sell the product, before it is made. Read the Kickstarter.com FAQ for the way it should be used.

It is not actually a grant, but suits your needs. Because you are given a "Grant" by the community, if you get enough people to sponsor you. It is either, all or nothing. If you set a goal of $1,000,000 and you after a chosen period of time. you wont reach your goal you will not get any money. If you exceed your goal you will get the money -5% Kickstarter payment.

You are not allowed to give anybody company shares in exchange for funding the kickstarter.com funding.

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You can make all types of games. And get money for creation of your game, before you have any type of prototype/demo.

A recent project, Torment: Tides of Numenera, has beaten the fund record gaining over 4 milion dollars for their product development.

http://www.kickstarter.com/discover/categories/games/most-funded?ref=more#p1