Summary
Shutter has active contributors across governance, technical work, research, ecosystem development, education, and coordination. This pilot proposes a lightweight way to recognize and reward contributions that create demonstrable value for Shutter.
The goal is not to compensate people for holding a role, having an idea, or simply being active. The goal is to test whether a transparent, evidence-based reward process can help Shutter identify, support, and retain contributors whose work advances the ecosystem.
The pilot will run for three months with a total budget of $20,000.
Shutter DAO 0x36 will retain final funding authority over grants.
To avoid a stream of small, ad hoc votes, the pilot will use two defined DAO grant rounds during the three-month period:
-
Round 1 — Proactive Grants
Small, time-bounded grants for clearly scoped work.
-
Round 2 — Retroactive Grants
Rewards for completed contributions where evidence already exists.
This RFC also proposes funding for a narrow Operational Administrator role filled by SEEDGov and a Contributor Support & Program Design Partner filled by Axia Network.
Objective
This pilot tests a contribution-reward model that is:
-
open to anyone who creates verifiable value for Shutter;
-
based on evidence of work and outcomes, rather than title or affiliation;
-
simple enough to administer without creating a large governance burden;
-
transparent enough for the DAO to evaluate and improve after the pilot;
-
structured so the DAO retains final authority over funding decisions.
The pilot is meant to improve the visibility, consistency, and quality of Shutter’s contribution and grants pathway. It should also create institutional knowledge around what types of work were proposed, funded, completed, and worth repeating.
Eligibility
The reward pool is open to any individual or organization contributing meaningful, verifiable value to Shutter.
Each grant round will publish a small set of defined objectives informed by:
-
near-term priorities identified by Shutter’s core contributors;
-
clear ecosystem, governance, operational, or adoption gaps;
-
community feedback and demonstrated demand.
The pool is intended to support work that responds to a defined need and produces a concrete outcome for Shutter.
Relevant contribution areas may include:
-
governance and proposal development;
-
research and technical work;
-
ecosystem development and partnerships;
-
business development;
-
education, documentation, and contributor support;
-
operations and coordination;
-
other work that produces a clear, useful outcome for Shutter.
Delegates may participate, but delegation or voting activity alone does not qualify someone for a reward. Likewise, ideas alone are not compensable unless they lead to a tangible contribution or outcome.
What May Be Rewarded
Contributions should have clear supporting evidence, such as:
-
a completed research artifact, technical deliverable, proposal, or public resource;
-
a partnership, ecosystem relationship, or business-development outcome;
-
a governance improvement that is adopted or materially improves decision-making;
-
a contributor-support or education initiative with measurable use or engagement;
-
operational work that solves a defined problem or improves a repeatable process.
Rewards will be based on demonstrated usefulness, quality, evidence, and relevance to Shutter’s current needs — not simply time spent.
Grant Rounds
To preserve DAO authority while avoiding governance fatigue, this pilot will use two defined grant rounds.
Round 1 — Proactive Grants
The first round will focus on small, time-bounded proactive grants.
Each request must be:
-
posted publicly;
-
open for at least one week of discussion;
-
included in a DAO vote.
Approved proactive grants will be paid in two tranches:
-
50% following DAO approval;
-
50% only after the agreed milestone has been delivered, reviewed against the original scope and evidence standard, and approved by a DAO vote.
Round 2 — Retroactive Grants
The second round will focus on retroactive grants.
These are rewards for work where the contribution and supporting evidence already exist before the DAO vote.
The purpose of this round is to recognize useful work that has already created value for Shutter and can be evaluated based on public evidence.
Roles
This pilot separates three functions:
-
funding authority over grants;
-
operational administration;
-
contributor support and program design.
This separation is intended to reduce conflicts, improve transparency, and avoid concentrating too much discretion in one party.
Program Administrator — SeedGov
The administrator’s role will be narrow and operational.
The administrator will be responsible for:
-
maintaining the grants intake process;
-
tracking public discussion periods;
-
compiling eligible requests into the two grant rounds;
-
organizing supporting evidence;
-
publishing lightweight progress and budget updates;
-
maintaining a public grants registry;
-
documenting proposal status, delivery evidence, and payout status;
-
coordinating approved payments after DAO approval;
-
flagging conflicts of interest where applicable.
The administrator will not decide which grants receive funding. Its role is to maintain a clear process and public record, not to control the reward pool.
Contributor Support & Program Design Partner: Axia Network
Axia Network will serve as the pilot’s Contributor Support & Program Design Partner.
Axia’s role is to help contributors submit stronger, evidence-based grant applications and to design the process materials needed for the pilot to run clearly and consistently.
Axia will be responsible for:
-
creating the application template;
-
creating the grants contribution rubric;
-
helping define award thresholds and evidence standards;
-
helping design the submission and review process;
-
running clinics / office hours for prospective contributors;
-
helping applicants turn ideas into clear, evidence-based outcomes;
-
helping applicants frame requests around deliverables, evidence, and expected value;
-
identifying patterns across submitted grant requests;
-
producing a final public learning report.
The final report will summarize:
-
what types of contributions were proposed;
-
what was funded;
-
what was delivered;
-
what worked;
-
what did not work;
-
what process issues emerged;
-
whether the DAO should continue, modify, or discontinue the model.
Axia will not administer the program, approve grants, select recipients, verify final eligibility for payout, coordinate payment operations, or receive rewards from the contribution pool for work connected to this pilot.
Review and Conflict Management
Award decisions will use a published contribution rubric and a small review process.
Reviewers should assess:
-
Evidence: Is there a tangible contribution or outcome?
-
Value: Did it solve a real problem, create a useful artifact, or advance Shutter meaningfully?
-
Relevance: Is it aligned with current Shutter priorities?
-
Quality and leverage: Is the work reusable, durable, or likely to create follow-on value?
-
Cost discipline: Is the requested reward proportional to the demonstrated contribution?
Any reviewer, administrator, or advisor with a direct financial or organizational interest in a submission must disclose the conflict.
Budget
Total requested budget: $20,000
Open contribution-reward pool
-
Recipient: Eligible contributors
-
Amount: $14,000
-
Share: 70%
-
Purpose: Proactive and retroactive grants approved by the DAO
Administration
-
Recipient: SeedGov
-
Amount: $3,000
-
Share: 15%
-
Purpose: Intake, tracking, grant-round coordination, public registry, payment coordination
Contributor Support & Program Design
-
Recipient: Axia Network
-
Amount: $3,000
-
Share: 15%
-
Purpose: Application template, rubric, clinics / office hours, contributor support, final learning report
Process
-
DAO reviews this RFC and provides feedback.
-
Axia Network drafts the application template and contribution rubric.
-
DAO approves the pilot mandate, budget, eligibility rules, rubric, and award thresholds.
-
Pilot begins.
-
Round 1 proactive grant requests are posted publicly.
-
Each proactive request receives at least one week of discussion.
-
Round 1 requests are bundled into a DAO vote.
-
Approved proactive grants receive 50% upfront and 50% upon milestone delivery and review against the original scope and evidence standard.
-
Axia Network runs clinics / office hours during the pilot to support prospective applicants.
-
Round 2 retroactive grant requests are posted with completed work and supporting evidence.
-
Round 2 requests receive public discussion and are bundled into a DAO vote.
-
Administrator publishes final recipient / evidence / payout registry.
-
Axia Network publishes the final learning report with a recommendation to continue, modify, or discontinue the model.
Success Criteria
The pilot will be considered successful if it demonstrates that Shutter can:
-
identify contributions beyond traditional delegate activity;
-
reward useful work without creating excessive administrative overhead;
-
maintain transparent conflict-management and award rationale;
-
generate enough evidence for the DAO to decide whether an ongoing program is worthwhile.
Closing
This is a limited experiment in rewarding real contribution, not a standing compensation program.
If the pilot does not produce clear value, the DAO should not continue it. If it does, Shutter will have a stronger basis for building a durable system that recognizes the people and organizations advancing the ecosystem.