The Ethereum Foundation has opened applications for its EPF7 protocol scholarship, according to CoinDesk via the COINTURK NEWS posting it references.
The announcement points to an ETH reserve of “over 92,000 ETH.” It also says selected fellows will get “core mentorship, technical training, and monthly financial support for six months.”
The same source notes that Vitalik Buterin recently announced “tighter spending controls” along with “new initiatives to sustain $ETH development.”
In other words, EPF7 is not framed as a one-off grant. The program comes with structured support, while the underlying message from Buterin, as reported here, is cost control plus additional efforts to keep Ethereum development funded.