Dear Community,
We appreciate the opportunity to present and explain the Near Digital Collective’s 3-month budget. This budget is not just a financial roadmap; it’s a strategic document that aligns with the Grassroots DAOs and CoA priorities that guide our ecosystem. We’ve carefully considered the allocation of funds and the duration of this budget to ensure that it supports the growth and sustainability of our ecosystem effectively.
Full version: NDC budget final - Google Sheets
- Three-Months Budget Duration: The Budget is for 3 months, we plan to focus on the setup of core v1 infrastructure within this timeframe (Legal, Operations, Marketing). After this initial setup, we will work on another budget to conclude our 6-month term.
We acknowledge that proposing a 6-month budget was an initial vision. However, our decision to go with a 3-month budget is rooted in our belief that establishing a robust foundation within this timeframe is more pragmatic. This approach will enable us to adapt to evolving priorities and challenges effectively.
- High-Level Budget: This is the high-level budget, each proposal for each grassroots/salary/proposal will be reviewed by HoM, then by CoA, and then by Trustees each month for each separate payment.
This means numbers should be less than the maximum precision we need just to draw the lines and directions, no specific DAO is included in the budget.
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CoA Vision and Priority-Based Budget: All items described and built based on CoA vision based on priority.
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Maximum Cap, Not Necessarily Expenditure: Budget doesn’t mean we need/will to use all this money, this is a max cap for each item.
About the numbers of grassroots initiatives:
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Ecosystem: this encompasses a wide range of initiatives, and we are currently evaluating 12 DAOs for potential funding. While there are numerous proposals in this category, we anticipate that only the most robust and capable teams, including those involved in wallet development, startups, Aurora, and more, will secure funding. Given its breadth, this is one of our largest allocations.
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Gaming: our vibrant gaming sector boasts strong teams and enjoys significant support from the community. We aim to prioritize those projects that had strong community backing but missed out on funding in the previous year.
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Marketing: marketing is fundamental to the Near ecosystem’s growth and visibility. Big competition within grassroots here.
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NFT: while this category has a relatively smaller budget allocation, it is of utmost importance. Several projects within this domain make it essential for us to extend our support.
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Regional Development: hold a prominent position in our community, attracting substantial attention. We acknowledge the important contributions of community leaders worldwide, and our intention would be to support development both locally and globally.
Please note that other directions, while important, have not been assigned teams or allocations at this time. This decision is intentional, as we want to maintain flexibility to adapt to emerging opportunities and evolving priorities.
House of Merit will publish the Grassroots DAO onboarding procedure and form soon.
In conclusion, this budget is a flexible roadmap that reflects our commitment to the grassroots DAOs and the strategic vision of the CoA. It is designed to provide financial support where it is most needed rather than rigidly committing to predefined expenditures. We believe this approach aligns with our mission of building a resilient and responsive ecosystem.
We welcome your feedback and suggestions and look forward to your approval of this budget proposal. Together, we will continue to advance the Near Digital Collective’s mission.
Important notice: If you have previously received grants from the NF or any other Near organizations and have not fulfilled the work or submitted a report, please be aware that you may not be eligible for new funding until the outstanding obligations are met. Your commitment to fulfilling past grant requirements is essential for maintaining trust and transparency within our ecosystem.
Important links:
The voting within the HoM - https://near.org/astraplusplus.ndctools.near/widget/home?page=dao&tab=proposals&daoId=congress-hom-v1.ndc-gwg.near&proposalId=1
Veto rejected by CoA - Astra++ (under development) by astraplusplus.ndctools.near on BOS
Speaker of the House of Merit @kiskesis - the official person who communicates the official position of the House of Merit in social media, public chats, forums, etc. The Speaker can delegate this function to other House of Merit members.
@Dacha as a point of contact, in charge of communications between homes, grassroots DAOs, and questions about funding, procedures, terms, etc.
More opportunities, more jobs, more contributors, more decentralization. I am happy to be a part of the movement together with fellow outstanding Near Community 
PS: thanks @illia and @blaze for idea and build it.
Next step: The Community (voting body) should vote for the budget, to unlock the funding.
We will make additional announcement about it soon 
on NEAR
