Since the inception of Nimiq, the community of supporters has been at the very center. The Community Funding Board was an early effort to give a clear structure to community participation. After years of experience, it is time to combine all the lessons we've learned. We are calling this next chapter the Nimiq Community Council: a decisive step toward greater transparency, independence, and lasting impact. We're keeping what worked, rebuilding what didn't, and moving toward a structure that better reflects how we want to grow: together, with the community closer to the steering wheel.
Follow the story of what's changed, how the new Council works, and how to shape it by nominating and voting for its members.
Empowerment over Bureaucracy
The renewed model prioritizes empowerment over bureaucracy. It's designed so that projects shaping Nimiq's future come directly from the community, clearly, fairly, and with minimal friction. By simplifying operations and separating technical maintenance of the Nimiq protocol from creative efforts of the community, it is all about making it easier for builders, creators, and organizers to turn great ideas into real impact.
How the Community Funding Board Worked
The Nimiq Community Funding Board was a six person committee that selected and supported community-led initiatives with seed funding, mentorship, and technical help. The Community Funding Board also recognized community member contributions through awards. This program handled proposals submitted via the Nimiq Community forum and operated with an annual budget of up to $50,000 in NIM. Seats were split between three community elected representatives and three Team Nimiq members; decisions were made by simple majority. Community seats were filled through recurring elections recorded on the Nimiq blockchain.
Why Improvements Are Needed
Over the years, many suggestions were made to increase the number of proposals. The size of the budget didn't match the required amount of some proposals, and funding focus skewed toward software and app development, resulting in a general feeling that the Community Funding Board was only intended for software development and apps, which made community programs and awareness efforts less likely to be proposed by community members. Most importantly, the simple majority setup meant Team Nimiq was always involved in funding decisions, undermining the board's independence. That isn't the balance we are aiming for.
A Fully Independent, Community-Elected Board
Team Nimiq is proposing a renewed program called the Nimiq Community Council, composed of five community-elected members who operate with full independence from Team Nimiq. This separation is a logical consequence of community feedback: the community should have space to experiment and be creative. The Council reviews, discusses, votes on proposals, and publishes transparent reasoning for decisions. Team Nimiq's role is limited to financial/legal compliance, general execution, and supporting the Community Council: checking proposals against legal constraints, ethical rules, and Council guidelines, then executing payouts once everything checks out. That creates checks and balances, not taste-making. In practice, the Council has the final say on funding as long as a proposal complies with the agreed guidelines.
A Bigger Budget & A Broader Mission
The annual budget has been doubled from $50,000 in NIM to $100,000 in NIM to give the board more room to support meaningful projects. If you have an excellent idea that goes beyond the annual budget and you'd like to ask us to fund/support it separately from the Council, we're always happy to take a look.
The efforts supported by the Community Council now cover technical and ecosystem development, community initiatives and events, and marketing/awareness campaigns. To ensure there is an incentive to be part of the Council, compensation for board members is also taken into account and comes from the same budget: $150 in NIM per member per month, plus a $250 NIM bonus for each successful funding once all milestones have been completed. Transparent incentives ensure the community’s time and contributions are valued.
Funding Boundaries and Guidelines
The Nimiq Foundation will not fund illegal activities, gambling projects, or financial-advice-style projects such as trading signals or marketing efforts that can be perceived as investment advice. Proposals can be approved, declined, or returned with requested modifications. Returning a proposal is a step toward improvement, not a rejection. For full details, see the guidelines.
Who Can Join the Community Council
Candidates must have been part of the Nimiq community for more than one year and active within the last twelve months to stand for election. If misconduct, problematic behaviour, or conflicts of interest arise, any individual Council member can escalate the matter to the Nimiq Foundation, as a safety valve to preserve accountability beyond internal politics.
How the Election Process Will Take Place
Elections will use the existing Nimiq voting tool, which allows community members to rank candidates by preference. Each elected term lasts one year, with elections beginning one month before the term ends to ensure a smooth handover. More details and instructions will be shared before the election.
Further Improvements?
The Nimiq Community Council is community elected and holds real authority while Team Nimiq ensures guidelines are followed and executes payouts. Looking ahead, we will explore additions such as a multi-signature payout wallet with the majority of signers from the community, a community controlled decentralized communication channel for the Council, and optional migration of discussions and archives to more public or decentralized platforms to increase transparency and independence. We're laying the foundation for a funding mechanism that evolves with the community. Phase 1 is live: the budget is ready and the seats are waiting to be filled.
What's Next
Now it's time for candidates to be nominated. You have time until February 9, 2026 to nominate someone, propose the nomination in the Nimiq forum, and optionally include a short bio (community contributions or history of the candidate's participation in the community). You can also nominate yourself. You have two weeks to propose candidates. A blog post explaining the voting procedure will follow in the coming week, and when the proposal phase closes, we will announce all candidates and the start of the voting period.
We're excited to see who steps forward and what ideas will surface when the community has clear authority and a bigger budget to make them happen. Join us: nominate, discuss on the forum, and help shape the next chapter of Nimiq funding.