Moonbeam never stops actively developing, which makes us very happy. And the innovations of September should attract even more attention and activity in the process of development of the project.
This month the project introduced new community voting features. And this week the Moombeam community approved a “Temporary Grant Program Proposal”.
What does this mean?
This initiative gives the Moonbeam community the ability to submit grant funding requests and proposals, discuss those proposals, and, in the case of the most significant grants, vote on them.
In addition to this:
- Establishment of a five-member Grants Committee that includes both members of the Moonbeam Foundation community and non-members of the Foundation
- A way for the community to vote directly on grant proposals over $150,000.
The program will be in place for 6 months, and the new structure proposed by the community will be reviewed after Polkadot Governance v2 rolls out, unless the community changes it sooner.
The grant program was first introduced in January 2021, and provided funding and support to build teams in Moonbeam and Moonriver ecosystems. The goal was to develop Moonbeam as a core focus for smart contracts and applications connected through engagement, transparency, inclusivity, and working for the good of the ecosystem.
Funded projects can develop apps, tools, infrastructure, create educational programs, and take initiatives to improve the project. All of this helps Moonbeam grow and develop.
Structure of the Temporary Grant Program
The Temporary Grants Program will run for six months unless amended by the end of that period. The program intends to provide a solution until Polkadot Governance v2 is operational and the community decides how to move forward.
The three levels of Moonbeam grants are:
Level 1: Expedited Grants
Amount: up to $50k
Approval Process: 2 of 5 Community Grants Committee members, with at least one Moonbeam Foundation Committee Grants Committee member approval
Fund Distribution: USD or USDC
Level 2: Larger Grants
Amount: $50k to $150k
Approval Process: 3 of 5 Community Grants Committee members, with at least one Moonbeam Foundation Committee Grants Committee member approval
Fund Distribution: USD, USDC, or GLMR
Level 3: Ecosystem Grants
Amount: $150k to $3 million
Approval Process: Community Grants Committee approval AND community voting approval
Fund Distribution: USD, USDC, or GLMR
Community Grants Committee
The Community Grants Committee consists of five people who review incoming grant applications and assess their merit, contribution to the ecosystem, and overall value to the network as a whole.
The committee consists of two Moonbeam Foundation representatives and three non-Moonbeam Foundation community members who understand the priorities of the ecosystem.
How the committee approves grants can be found here.
Who can receive a grant?
Anyone who understands how the Moonbeam ecosystem works, who has real proposals for unresolved use cases on the network and who can implement them. That is, if you are a passionate team looking to innovate and interact with Moonbeam, welcome aboard!
Recommendations for a successful grant application:
- Being inclusive to token holders that want to engage with Moonbeam and that are affected by governance decisions
- Favoring token holder engagement, even with views contrary to our own, versus a lack of engagement
- A commitment to openness and transparency in the decision-making process
- Working to keep the greater good of the network ahead of any personal gain
- Acting at all times as a moral agent that considers the consequences of action (or inaction) from a moral standpoint
- Being patient and generous in interactions with other token holders, but not tolerating abusive or destructive language, actions, and behavior and abiding by Moonbeam’s Code of Conduct
- Using welcoming and inclusive language
- Being respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences
- Gracefully accepting constructive criticism
- Focusing on what is best for the community
- Showing empathy towards other community members
- Well-researched and tested ideas with examples of prior work
- Ideas differentiated from competitors or ideas that implement technology that does not yet exist in the ecosystem
- A team with strong technical background and experience in the project’s concept and the ability to deliver on set milestones
- A team that demonstrates an ability to maintain and grow the project
- A high-quality application with clear milestones and details
- A reasonable grant amount request
- Responsiveness throughout the application and diligence process
- Commitment to the Moonbeam ecosystem, ideally through demonstrated collaboration efforts
- Use of a connected contracts implementation approach
- Alignment with Moonbeam Guiding Principles and Moonbeam’s Code of Conduct.
If you are brave, smart, skillful and ready to receive a Tier 1 or Tier 2 grant, please click here to apply.
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