Shutter DAO 0x36 Impact Pilot Program Round 1: Grant Guide & Application Template

Shutter DAO 0x36
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Shutter DAO 0x36 Impact Pilot Round 1: Grant Guide & Application Template

Purpose

Read through each Round 1 objective and then use the template below to propose a proactive grant under Shutter’s Impact Pilot. The pilot rewards demonstrated value to Shutter—not titles, affiliation, time spent, or ideas alone.

Before applying, review the program discussion and confirm that the contribution responds to a concrete Shutter need, opportunity, or gap.

Axia will host applicant clinics and office hours to help prospective contributors understand the objectives, sharpen a proposed scope, and ask process questions. These sessions are for guidance only and do not constitute pre-approval or a funding commitment.

Program discussion: Shutter DAO 0x36 Impact Pilot Program

Key Dates

Application deadline: October 9

DAO award vote: Week of October 12

Delivery target: Week of November 30

Round 1 Proactive Grant Objectives

The Shutter DAO 0x36 Impact Pilot is a two-round program that rewards demonstrated value to Shutter—not titles, affiliation, time spent, or ideas alone.

Round 1 funds defined, reviewable work that advances a concrete Shutter need, opportunity, or gap. Applicants should identify the relevant people or organizations where applicable, define a practical deliverable, and show what the work will help someone decide or do next.

Read the Impact Pilot Program discussion before applying.

Budget and Rewards:

  • Round 1 allocation: $7,000

  • Round 2 allocation: $7,000

  • Expected Round 1 awards: 2–4 grants, generally in the $1,000–$3,000 range

  • Unspent funds: Any unused Round 1 funds will roll into Round 2 and be reported publicly

Commercial standard

A contribution does not need to produce revenue during the grant period.

However, it must produce evidence that moves a defined Shutter opportunity forward. Show the need, the relevant Shutter capability, who needs to be involved, and the next step toward use, funding, or deployment.

Objective 1: Qualify an Encrypted-Transaction Deployment Opportunity

The encrypted mempool is Shutter’s crypto infrastructure project. Pending transactions normally sit in a public mempool where anyone can read them before they execute, which enables front-running, sandwich attacks, and censorship. Shutter encrypts transactions until the moment they are included in a block, so nobody can see or exploit them while they wait.

  1. Identify and qualify a concrete opportunity for Shutter’s encrypted-mempool integration with a wallet, dApp, RPC provider, routing service, chain, validator ecosystem, or other transaction-flow operator.

  2. Deliver a scoped assessment, pilot proposal, or feasibility test tied to a named operator (or a substantiated route to one), a defined transaction flow, and a stated next decision.

Generic outreach, contact lists, and generic explainers do not qualify.

Relevant Links:

Objective 2: Qualify a Private Voting Deployment

For DAOs and onchain governance: Shutter adds private voting to the platforms and tools they already vote with. Ballots stay encrypted while the vote runs, so voters cannot be pressured, bought, or bandwagoned mid-vote. Results are revealed when the vote closes, or ballots stay secret permanently with only the result published.

For real-world voting: associations, municipalities, and other organizations use Shutter Governance to run private and verifiable elections.

  1. Identify and qualify a concrete opportunity for an existing voting platform to integrate Shutter’s private voting solution.

  2. Deliver a pilot proposal tied to a named platform or body, what they would pay (an integration fee or transaction revenue), and a stated next decision.

Generic advocacy or unsupported interest does not qualify.

Relevant Links:

Objective 3: Identify and Validate a Concorde Use Case

Concorde lets a group operate with a shared AI agent that works for the whole group rather than any one member. It can collect input from members, maintain shared history and context, coordinate recurring work, and help groups make and track decisions.

  1. Identify and validate a high-value, repeatable use case and customer segment where a Concorde shared agent could provide meaningful value to the user and generate revenue.

  2. Deliver a decision-ready opportunity assessment based on real user or customer evidence, including the problem, current workflow, required Concorde capabilities, commercial or adoption path, and a proposed route to a first pilot.

Generic market research, lists of possible industries, unsupported use-case ideas, and generic outreach do not qualify.

Relevant Links:

Objective 4: Validate a Shutter Use Case in Tokenized Markets

Tokenized markets bring stocks, funds, credit, and other assets on chain. Shutter may be useful where revealing orders, allocations, or terms too early creates avoidable execution or coordination risk.

  1. Test a defined use case in tokenized equities, funds, credit, or other real-world-asset workflows where Shutter could address information leakage, allocation fairness, confidential coordination, sealed bidding, or timed disclosure.

  2. Identify the operator, workflow, constraints, and next decision.

Generic market reports and speculative “RWA + privacy” concepts do not qualify.

Objective 5: Package a Repeatable Shutter Workflow

Turn an existing Shutter capability into a reusable workflow for a defined user, operator, or customer segment—for example sealed RFPs, selection processes, procurement, auctions, bug bounties, confidential coordination, or timed disclosure.

  1. Deliver a productized design, customer- or partner-informed pilot package, or reusable implementation guide.

Generic demos and unmaintained tooling do not qualify.

Objective 6: Advance Shutter PEN Adoption, Operations, and Funding Readiness

Strengthen Shutter PEN as a long-term, mission-aligned funding institution for Ethereum Cypherpunk Manifesto projects.

Eligible work includes:

  1. a reviewable PEN interface, governance, security, operational, or funding-round capability; a measured SEAT-holder onboarding or participation initiative

  2. or an artifact resolving a defined PEN design, legal, capital-stewardship, or coordination blocker.

This objective does not require a commercial-revenue pathway.

Generic advocacy, broad explainers, and unscoped campaigns do not qualify.

Objective 7: Advance a High-Conviction Shutter Opportunity Outside the Defined Tracks

Use this exception track only for a concrete Shutter-related opportunity that does not fit Objectives 1–6. Explain why, identify who needs to be involved where applicable, define the deliverable, and show the resulting decision, implementation step, or durable capability.

The same evidence, milestone, disclosure, and demonstrated-value standards apply.

Awards require specific DAO approval and may not use funds reserved for Objectives 1–6 unless the DAO separately approves it.

Common Requirements for Every Round 1 Application

Every proactive Round 1 application must show:

  • A named decision-maker, operating owner, funder, partner, or beneficiary group—or a substantiated explanation of the route to identify the relevant counterpart.

  • A concrete problem and a credible rationale for the value of addressing it, including budget, willingness to pay, partner funding, adoption value, risk reduction, or durable ecosystem benefit where applicable.

  • The Shutter product, service, deployment, or capability the contribution advances.

  • A concrete deliverable that will exist at the end of the grant period.

  • A proportionate milestone that the DAO can review before the second 50% payment.

  • Public or reviewable evidence, such as a scoped proposal, repository, deployment, documentation, transaction records, test results, partner-approved artifact, or other decision-ready material.

  • Relevant prior compensation and conflicts. Work already covered by a bounty, grant, employment role, or other paid engagement must be disclosed. It is not eligible for duplicate payment unless the application identifies a distinct contribution outside that compensated scope.

Round 1 Process Note

Round 1 funds defined contributions under the objectives above. It does not fund voting, delegation, or routine delegate activity. Any future program to strengthen delegate participation or quorum reliability would require separate DAO approval, eligibility criteria, accountability standards, and a defined budget.

SEEDGov checks submissions for completeness, timing, and required disclosures; maintains the public record; compiles the factual application record; and coordinates approved payments. Axia supports applicants, publishes the template and rubric, runs clinics and office hours, and identifies program-level patterns. Axia does not select recipients, verify final payout eligibility, administer payments, or participate in the reward pool. The DAO retains final authority over award decisions and, for proactive grants, approval of the final milestone payment.

1. Application Template

Applicant name or organization:

Primary contact / forum handle:

Wallet address for payment (if approved):

Application type:

  • ☐ Round 1 — Proactive grant for defined future work

Round 1 objective (select one):

☐ Objective 1 — Qualify an Encrypted-Transaction Deployment Opportunity

☐ Objective 2 — Qualify a Private Voting Deployment

☐ Objective 3 — Identify and Validate a Concorde Use Case

☐ Objective 4 — Validate a Shutter Use Case in Tokenized Markets

☐ Objective 5 — Package a Repeatable Shutter Workflow

☐ Objective 6 — Advance Shutter PEN Adoption, Operations, and Funding Readiness

☐ Objective 7 — Advance a High-Conviction Shutter Opportunity Outside the Defined Tracks

Contribution area:

  • ☐ Governance or proposal development

  • ☐ Research or technical work

  • ☐ Ecosystem development, partnerships, or business development

  • ☐ Education, documentation, or contributor support

  • ☐ Operations or coordination

  • ☐ Other:

2. The Shutter need or opportunity

What specific need, opportunity, or gap does this contribution address?

Why is it relevant to Shutter now?

What specific demand signal supports this work now? Link a relevant forum discussion, user or stakeholder request, technical blocker, documented adoption opportunity, or other evidence where available.

Who benefits from the outcome, and how?

Value pathway (required for Round 1)

Which value pathway does this contribution advance?

  • ☐ Direct or protocol-generated Shutter revenue

  • ☐ Paid, co-funded, or partner-funded deployment

  • ☐ Validated path toward a pilot, integration, or repeatable workflow

  • ☐ Durable ecosystem, adoption, or public-goods value aligned with Shutter’s mission

  • ☐ Other — explain:

Who is the relevant decision-maker, operating owner, funder, partner, or beneficiary group?

What problem are they solving, and what evidence supports the value of addressing it?

What Shutter product, deployment, service, or capability would this contribution advance?

What decision, implementation step, or next action should this contribution enable, and by when?

What evidence will show progress beyond outreach, general interest, or a speculative concept?

3. Funding request

Amount requested:

Proposed use of funds / budget rationale:

4. Prior compensation and disclosures

Have you, your organization, or a related party received or requested compensation for this work from Shutter or another source?

  • ☐ No

  • ☐ Yes — describe the source, amount, compensated scope, and relationship to this application:

Important: Work already delivered under a scoped and compensated bounty, grant, or paid engagement is not eligible for duplicate payment through this pilot. Related work must be disclosed. A distinct contribution beyond an earlier paid scope must stand on its own evidence and demonstrated value.

Do you have any financial, professional, or organizational conflict relevant to this application?

  • ☐ No

  • ☐ Yes — disclose:

5. Public discussion

Forum post link:

Questions or feedback requested from the community:

6. Applicant attestation

I confirm that the information in this application is accurate to the best of my knowledge; that I have disclosed relevant prior compensation and conflicts; and that I understand any award remains subject to the published process and DAO approval.

Name / handle:

Date:

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