Update 04-29-2022: Aurora DAO Ltd. (BVI) returned 4,000,000 (four million) of AURORA to Aurora DAO
Proposal (Fast Grants)
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Approve Aurora DAO Fast Grants policy and annual budget of 5,000,000 (five million) AURORA for the one year period from the date of approval.
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Transfer Fast Grants budget to Aurora DAO Ltd. (BVI) wallet aurora-dao-bvi.sputnik-dao.near.
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Assign Aurora Labs Limited (Gibraltar) as technical provider of grants allocation and Optimum Finance Consulting LLC as a financial outsourcing team for transaction execution according to a process prescribed in the Fast Grants policy.
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Aurora DAO Ltd. (BVI) shall provide to the DAO report on the actual Fast Grants budget usage on a recurring basis. The report should be disclosed on https://forum.aurora.dao/
Fast Grants Policy
Aurora DAO (BVI) offers grants for open source software development and research on the AURORA blockchain platform. This policy is for entrepreneurs, developers, researchers, and advocates looking to contribute to the AURORA ecosystem. These Grants are for those who are looking to bootstrap their projects on AURORA, add funds to their DAO’s treasury, or conduct research on the social impacts of decentralization. The Aurora DAO welcomes all projects interested in building a more scalable, equitable, and creative future on AURORA. We provide grants that we believe will return the highest effect on AURORA ecosystem growth in the long term.
Aurora DAO provides several types of grants:
Fast Grants from the Aurora DAO budget below USD 10,000 and Grants up to USD 50.000*:
- Open Source & Public Goods: projects and applications that contribute to the AURORA ecosystem and lead to overall network growth. For teams developing open source components, whether standalone or as part of a project. Grants can be up to a maximum of USD 50,000.
- Education and community development: teams and service providers who share our mission to educate and develop the AURORA community: for devs of open-source educational components, whether standalone or part of a team; for educators and community members to create tutorials, videos, workshops, or write docs for builders and any other materials and news for social networks; a leaderboard with local, national and global meetup and training. Grants are up to USD 10,000.
- Startups: for entrepreneurs looking to bootstrap a Dapp into the AURORA ecosystem in DeFi or NFT sphere and projects that make it easier for developers to build useful applications using the AURORA protocol. The amounts are equivalent up to USD 10,000.
- Innovative projects: for teams that provide uniqueness on the AURORA platform and for cryptoworld in general. The amounts are up to USD 50,000.
- Sustainability projects: the projects that contribute to and solve mankinds’ issues in Human, Social, Economic, and Environmental environments. Grants can be up to a maximum of USD 50,000.
- Partnerships: for service providers of any direction that helps popularize AURORA, increase its usability and attract new customers into the ecosystem. Covering infrastructure partnerships of both economic and technological nature. Partnership grants can be up to a maximum of USD 50,000
*In certain cases, the amount of the grant could be increased up to USD 200,000, depending on the scale of the ecosystem enhancement.
Grants above USD 200.000 are considered for separate DAO approval.
The Fast Grants distribution process:
According to the Aurora DAO decision, the annual budget for Fast Grants is allocated (Grants up to USD 200,000). Aurora DAO, on a recurring basis (at least once a year), assigns a separate team (Grant’s Committee) that is responsible for all internal rounds of approval of Fast Grants. All applicants, at least, go through the following evaluation stages:
- Initial Screen
- Technical Review
- Interview
- Review & Decision
Stage 1: Determine for which type of the Grant you are applying
Not sure which type to apply for? Check with the grant’s team at partners@aurora.dev. If your project fits into one of these funding streams and aligns with the AURORA mission, you’re a candidate for the Aurora DAO Grants and VC Funding Program.
Stage 2: Submit your Application
Make sure you thoroughly complete the application form and clearly state how your project will contribute to the AURORA ecosystem. You can submit your Application at any time. We accept applications on a continuing basis.
Stage 3: Evaluation & Approval
The Grant’s Committee will review your application within two weeks. If your proposal meets the program criteria prescribed below (project eligibility), you will be invited to an interview with two committee members.
Stage 4: Acceptance or Denial Notification
All applicants will be notified whether their application has been accepted or denied. If your application is accepted, at this point, you will go through the agreement formation process. Aurora DAO does not have any obligations to explain its decision. The decision will be final and cannot be appealed.
Stage 5: Onboarding
Once all your paperwork is complete, your team will be onboard the Aurora Grants. We’ll align on clear timelines, accountability metrics, and reporting expectations. Finally, the Grant’s Committee will be in contact with you to support your project till completion.
Applicants can use Grant only for purposes of the Project.
Stage 6: Launch Your Project
Approximate Project Eligibility
Amount
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Is the requested grant amount reasonable?
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Are the project roadmap and team size reasonable?
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What exactly is the grant requested for?
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What is the estimation of developers’ working hours to achieve project goals and follow the roadmap?;
Team
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Is the team experienced in Web3?
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How many Web3 projects have they launched?;
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Do they have live projects on other chains?;
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How many years of experience do the team’s developers have?;
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Have their projects had security audits?;
Project type
- What value will it bring to the AURORA ecosystem and community?
- DeFi: DEXs, bridges, oracles, derivatives, indexers, aggregators, AMM, stableswap, lending, stablecoins, bridges, automation (autofarm, yearn), liquid staking, liquidity-as-a-service;
- NFTs: marketplace, art, music, collectibles, memes, sports moments, domain names;
- Gaming: free-to-play; play-to-earn;
Project Token
- What is the token economy?
- What platform will be used for token launch/IDO?
Other:
- Any other relevant criteria depending on the project.
Projects must be suitable and respect the AURORA ecosystem’s culture and values:
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Projects must not contain elements that are shocking, sensational, disrespectful, or violent, or depict arms or other weapons;
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Projects must not promote illegal products, services or activities, or content that is inappropriate or unsafe;
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Projects must not promote alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, or pharmaceutical medical products;
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Projects must not be of an adult or sexual nature – for example, nudity, depictions of characters/individuals in explicit suggestive positions, or activities that are sexually suggestive or provocative;
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Projects must not discriminate against, harass, provoke, or disparage people based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, gender identity, and serious disability or disease;
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Projects must not promote betting and/or online gambling.
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Project must not use Grant directly or indirectly for political purposes, including polling, lobbying, or advocating for legislative programs or changes; campaigning for, endorsing, contributing to, or otherwise supporting political candidates or parties; and voter registration or get-out-the-vote campaigns.
AURORA is a place where each member of the ecosystem can make a safe, respectful, and high-quality impact and share it with AURORA’s community. For this reason, we are waiting for the Applicant to have any licenses and permissions if they will be required for their Project.
Operational process for Grants up to USD 10,000:
Stage 1: After the relevant application is submitted, it is directed to the Grant’s Committee. Grant’s Committee assesses the project and makes a conclusion on its acceptance.
Stage 2: After the conclusion is made, the Resolution, with a clear description of the project and its potential effect on the AURORA ecosystem, is transferred to Finance and Legal teams for a short review.
Stage 3: Upon the completion of the review, the resolution is transferred for execution to an independent financial outsourcing team from the Fast Grants budget.
Stage 4: Once a quarter, a list of executed transfers with a description is submitted to the Board of Directors of the Aurora DAO. Board of Directors approves and issues Resolution on distributed Fast Grants.
Operational process for Grants between USD 10,000 and USD 50,000*:
Stage 1: After the relevant application is submitted, it is directed to the Grant’s Committee. Grant’s Committee assesses the project and makes a conclusion on its acceptance.
Stage 2: After the conclusion is made, the Resolution, with a clear description of the project and its potential effect on the AURORA ecosystem, is transferred to Finance and Legal teams for a short review. Legal team: 1. Assesses legitimacy 2. Control completeness of KYC/AML with 3rd party provider 3. Prepare Grant agreement 4. Provides approval. Finance team: 1. Review the budget: 2. Review the Grant agreement 3. Make legitimacy review 4. Provides approval.
Stage 3: Upon the completion of the review, the resolution is transferred for execution to an independent financial outsourcing team from the Fast Grants budget.
Stage 4: Once a quarter, a list of executed transfers with a description is submitted to the Board of Directors of Aurora DAO. The Board of Directors approves and issues Resolution on distributed Fast Grants, and the parties sign the Grant Agreement.
*for certain cases where amounts extended from USD 50,000 up to USD 200,000 the process is similar to Grants between USD 10,000 and USD 50,000.
Operational process for special grants (above USD 200,000):
Stage 1: After the relevant application is submitted, it is directed to the Grant’s Committee. Grant’s Committee assesses the project and makes an initial conclusion on its acceptance.
Stage 2: After the conclusion is made, the Resolution, with a clear description of the project and its potential effect on the AURORA ecosystem, is transferred to Finance and Legal teams for a short review. Legal team: 1. Assesses legitimacy 2. Control completeness of KYC/AML with 3rd party provider 3. Prepare Grant agreement 4. Provides approval. Finance team: 1. Review the budget: 2. Review the Grant agreement 3. Make legitimacy review 4. Provides approval.
Stage 3: Upon the completion of review by the Legal and Finance teams, the relevant proposal is submitted for DAO approval onchain.
Stage 4: As DAO voting is done and acceptance decision is made, the Board of Directors of Aurora DAO prepares a separate resolution, the parties sign a Grant Agreement and transfer it for execution to an independent financial outsourcing team.
Others
Changes. At our sole discretion, Aurora DAO reserves the right to change or modify portions of these Fast Grants Policy at any time. If we do this, we will post the changes on this page and indicate at the top of this page the date these terms were last revised. Any such changes will become effective no earlier than five (5) days after they are posted, except that changes made for legal reasons will be effective immediately.
Termination. Aurora DAO could terminate Grant Program immediately with any Applicants if the Applicant broke this Fast Grants Policy and/or Grant Agreement. Additionally, every further application could be denied by Aurora DAO if the Applicant broke the Fast Grants Policy and/or Grant Agreement before.
Intellectual properties. Using the open-source software of the AURORA blockchain platform, you should conduct with any additional terms and licenses specified on the page of software and AURORA blockchain platform.
Trademark. This Fast Grants Policy does not grant permission to use the trade names, trademarks, service marks, or product names without prior written permission of Aurora DAO.
Governing Law. All matters relating to this Fast Grant Policies and any dispute or claim arising therefrom or related thereto shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the British Virgin Islands.
