Nimiq Wants to Support You!

Nimiq is passionate about being inclusive and empowering people to make a difference. We know many of you in the community have amazing ideas that could add real value to the Nimiq ecosystem. However, a great idea is one thing and we understand that most of the time initial funding is needed to get it off the ground. That’s why Team Nimiq is proposing to support Nimiq community projects and help turn these visions into reality.

The idea of this post is to share the basic cornerstones of the envisioned process including how a decision-making board would be structured and elected, what a project proposal should contain, and how it would be reviewed. As soon as the details have been finalized, a follow-up will be published here with all the details on how to submit your proposal, how to vote, and the details on the decision processes in and around the board.

To get this initiative off the ground, we are looking for three members of the Nimiq community to become participants at board level representing the community’s interests.

How will the Nimiq community funding work?

The Nimiq team proposes:

Setting up the “Community Funding Board”: Made up of six members: Three from the Nimiq team & three community representatives. Project funding proposals will be granted if more than 50% of the board accept the funding proposal.
Submitting “Community Funding Proposals”: These can be submitted by anyone in the Nimiq community.

What’s expected of board members?

Each community funding board member will have responsibilities and you should agree to meet all obligations before putting yourself forward as a candidate for the Community Funding Board:

There will be a six-month commitment and all board members must fulfill their full term.
Board meetings will be held monthly via conference call. Time will be required one week before each meeting to generate and agree upon the meeting agenda.
You will be required to engage with the Nimiq community in matters related to funding proposals.
After your term on the board, you will be expected to help your successor transition into their new role.

To ensure that board members are taking on the position for the right reasons, all board members are asked to participate on a voluntary, pro bono basis, without compensation.

How can you get on the board?

Three seats are to be made up of elected Nimiq community representatives and anyone can put themselves forward for these board seats. The community will then vote to elect three representatives. So, how does the voting work? Votes are cast by NIM holders and are weighted by their NIM balances. The three most popular community representatives would be assigned the board seats. As all members of the community are important to the project as a whole, the decision on weighting the votes by NIM holdings was not an easy one. But it is based on two thoughts: first, individuals heavily committed to Nimiq have a natural interest in the project’s success and second it is also the best way to protect the voting system against malicious intent. It is important to note that board membership is not limited to people that are holding NIM, this limitation applies only to those who can vote for them.

To not delay the board from starting to support projects, an ad hoc solution will be in place for selecting community representatives for the first round of board elections. To counterbalance this, the first term might be shorter than six-month.

What are the advantages of being a board member?

The opportunity is to play a vital role in community project funding decisions. The choices you make have the potential to shape the future of the Nimiq project and ecosystem. You’ll also gain first-hand experience in participating in a cryptocurrency project and may be exposed to some of the most cutting-edge ideas in the crypto space.

We can also assure that you will meet enthusiastic people who believe in the principles of freedom, outstanding UX, decentralization, positive environmental, and social impact. If that sounds interesting and you can commit, then please do put yourself forward as a candidate for the Community Funding Board.

How can you propose your project?

When working on a proposal, keep the fundamental question in mind that the board has to answer when reviewing it on behalf of the community: How it will contribute to NIM adoption and the growth of the Nimiq community in general?

Therefore the board needs an overall perspective on your project including a title and description, who is participating and why/how they are qualified to do so. Followed by details on whether the project is going to be open source, decentralized, and distributable are required together with a detailed project plan including schedule, target audience, and use of funds. Finally summarize the funding needs with a suggested access schedule (milestone unlock), as well as any information about other past or future external funding. Please note: due to legal aspects, all funding will be in crypto; Nimiq foundation should get stake if a company is set up by those who received funding.

How does a project get accepted?

It’s a three step process taking place once a month:

Community vote: One up/down vote per user per project. Measures against vote spamming will be put in place. (Captcha, Nimiq account, …)
Public announcement: The highest voted projects will be announced at least one week before the board meeting so that the community can voice their thoughts and opinions.
Board meeting: Guided by the community votes and feedback, the board will decide which projects proposals to accept or reject, or if changes need to be made. All final decisions will come with feedback.

PLEASE NOTE: Team Nimiq is currently working on finalizing the details. If you think you already have a strong reason to apply for funding before we deploy the whole process we are happy to hear your feedback on Discord or directly via sven@nimiq.com.

A follow-up post with precise details on what a proposal needs to contain, criteria of the board’s decision process, funding possibilities as well as limitations will be published soon. The entire team is very excited about the Nimiq Community Project Funding and curious to see, review, and finally support projects of our community members!

Happy hacking!

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