AWS MDF Programs — Master Reference

compiled june 2026 status current (2026 program year) how aws mdf works mdf is a 50% reimbursement on pre approved 3rd party marketing spend — not a grant, not advance cash rule detail pre approval submit activity funding proposal (apfp) ≥ 14 days before activity starts claim window within 30 days of activity end invoice window within 30 days of claim approval mid year cliff june 30 — use ≥50% of allocated funds or aws may claw back up to 100% year end cutoff dec 1 = last day for new requests; dec 15 = last day to submit claims what counts as eligible spend webinars, events, digital advertising, content syndication, direct mail, pr, tradeshows all via 3rd party vendors — you can't pay yourself fund structure 3 tiers tier 1 — strategic (sca) cash funds auto loaded upon designation award multiple sca funds stack sequentially (one exhausted before next loads — not simultaneous) program amount who it's for key prerequisite msp designation $50,000 managed service providers aws msp designation (advanced tier + 3rd party annual audit) ai competency $50,000 ai/ml isvs pass technical review 6 domains (inference, sdks/tooling, interoperability, security, responsible ai, managed compute) agentic ai category $25,000 agentic ai products (1× only) ai competency must be awarded first ai security category $25,000 ai security solutions ai competency must be awarded first digital sovereignty $25,000 sovereign cloud / data residency designation + specific workload criteria amazon security lake service ready $25,000 security lake integrations service ready designation (note deprecated june 2027) aws security ir ready/delivery $25,000 security incident response ir delivery designation resilience $25,000 dr/bc focused partners resilience designation sca note partners in sca programs are not eligible for the $10k standard competency credits — mutually exclusive wallets source aws partner central > funding & programs > strategic mdf; aws partner funding benefits program guide (2026) tier 2 — growth area cash funds require a marketing plan submitted to pmm or vpmm load after all sca funds are exhausted program amount who it's for key prerequisites marketplace mdf up to $75,000 isvs with active marketplace listing active public listing + ace eligible pipeline + dedicated marketplace gtm headcount three paths seller prime enrollment, performance based (revenue growth), or pdm nomination wwps up to $100,000 public sector partners invite/nomination by aws wwps team enterprise workload up to $50,000 partners with sap, oracle, or vmware customer base no designation required submit marketing plan to pmm log opportunities in ace amazon connect up to $50,000 contact center / connect partners connect partnership agreement industry / line of business up to $50,000 solutions targeting non it buyers (cfo, cmo, hr, logistics) marketing plan to pmm targeting lob persona gsp up to $30,000 global system integrators invite only isv accelerate (isva) up to $25,000 software path isvs with co sell traction three pillars technical (software path validated + ace eligible) + operational (active mp listing + payee central) + co sell (5 mppos post enrollment + prm deployed + $50k+ attributed marketplace revenue) smb competency $25,000 + $10k standard = $35,000 total (first 2 years) smb focused isvs smb competency designation + partner business plan (pbp) created by pdr/pdm, initiative named "smb customer engagement via smb competency" source aws partner central > funding > mdf quick reference; mdf full benefits; 2026 program changes announcement tier 3 — non stackable credits (separate wallet) cannot be combined with sca tier 1 funds own wallet, own rules program amount notes standard aws competency (earned 2025/2026) $10,000 each per competency security, data & analytics, migration, devops, iot, digital workplace, etc one time per designation service ready / delivery / dqp (earned 2025/2026) $5,000 each ⚠️ deprecated — no new applications accepted all existing designations active until june 1, 2027 any new program/service validation (1×) $10,000 credit one time welcome credit on first validation source aws partner central > mdf > cash and credit benefits table; 2026 program changes page other funding (not mdf) separate budgets — not counted in the mdf totals above program amount who notes poc activity funds up to 10% of expected aws arr all validated+ partners cash or credits funds proof of concept projects apn innovation sandbox credits 3 months of dev costs software path partners for building new aws native solutions apn membership credits $3,500 new apn members promotional credits on joining map funding (migration acceleration program) varies; vmware migrations = $200/vm cash services path, validated+, migration competency consulting partners only program eligibility by company profile quick guide for sales calls — spot what applies before going deeper company type most likely programs potential mdf b2b saas isv, any industry marketplace mdf, aws competency $75k–$85k ai / ml isv ai competency, agentic ai, isva, marketplace mdf $175k cybersecurity isv ai security (if ai comp held), security competency, marketplace mdf $85k–$150k devops / infrastructure isv msp, enterprise workload, aws competency, marketplace mdf $175k+ fintech / healthtech / martech industry/lob, marketplace mdf, aws competency $125k–$135k smb focused smb competency, marketplace mdf, aws competency $120k key terms term definition sca strategic cash awards — tier 1 designation based mdf, auto loaded, sequential stacking isva / isv accelerate isv co sell program requiring active marketplace transactions; unlocks $25k mdf mppo marketplace private offer — a deal transacted through marketplace with private pricing prm partner resource management — aws tracking mechanism (user agent string or resource tagging) ace aws co sell engine — the pipeline/opportunity logging system required for co sell programs ftr foundational technical review — aws technical validation for software path partners apfp activity funding proposal — the pre approval form for an mdf activity pdm partner development manager — aws point of contact for funding and programs pmm partner marketing manager — approves tier 2 marketing plans msp managed service provider — partners who run and operate aws environments for customers lob line of business — non it executive buyer (cfo, cmo, chro, etc ) wwps worldwide public sector — aws division for government and education sources source type notes aws partner central — mdf quick reference primary partner amazonaws com > funding > mdf quick reference (login required) aws partner central — mdf full benefits primary partner amazonaws com > funding > mdf benefits guide (login required) aws partner central — 2026 program changes primary partner amazonaws com > funding > 2026 program changes (login required) aws partner funding benefits program guide (2026) primary apn downloadable asset — portuguese version confirmed; english pdf not publicly available as of june 2026 aws specialization partner benefits primary partner amazonaws com > specialization programs guide (login required) strategic mdf for specializations primary aws partner central > specializations > benefits > strategic mdf (login required) last updated june 2026 aws mdf programs and amounts change annually — verify with your pdm if they are still valid