The Metaplex DAO treasury includes $MPLX that may be used to help facilitate the continual growth of the Metaplex ecosystem. One way the DAO can help accomplish this goal is to grant $MPLX (or other assets available in its treasury, as the case may be) to ecosystem contributors that promote the adoption of the Metaplex Protocol and further integration of $MPLX functionality within the Protocol.
All $MPLX tokens delivered via DAO grants will be locked for 1 year.
If you have any questions about grant proposals or the submission process, please contact grants@metaplex.foundation.
TLDR: The Metaplex Foundation will implement the following procedure for Metaplex DAO grant proposals:
- Proposals. Any eligible $MPLX owner may submit a grant proposal for $MPLX (“Grant Proposal”). Grant Proposals should specify how the grant will help advance the Metaplex ecosystem by, for example, helping to address specific needs voiced by the community of NFT creators, collectors, and app developers that rely on the Metaplex Protocol or by furthering the principles of permission-lessness, censorship resistance, or decentralization. All proposals must abide by applicable laws and regulations. Those who submit proposals will be required to properly identify themselves using Know Your Customer (KYC) verification.
- Initial Review. The Metaplex Foundation will review all proposals on a rolling basis, determine if more information is required, and then send follow-up requests, questions, or ideas to the submitting team if necessary. The Metaplex Foundation will screen out submissions that are spam, made in bad faith, fail to include necessary information, or would violate any applicable laws or regulations.
- Community Feedback & Voting Period. Grant Proposals that proceed past the initial review will be posted on the Metaplex Foundation Github Repo (“Repo”) where the community can provide feedback or ask questions about the proposed grant. At the same time, the voting period for the Grant Proposal will begin in the DAO. Voting will be based on $MPLX ownership, meaning that one $MPLX equals one vote. The Metaplex Foundation will specify the minimum number of total votes that must be submitted for the vote to count. Approval requires (a) >66% of votes are “Yes” votes (the “Approval Threshold”), and (b) total votes cast exceeds the specified minimum number of votes (the “Quorum”).
- If approved by the community via a DAO vote, then the DAO Council will execute the transfer of $MPLX to the grant beneficiary by means of a direct transfer, or a vesting smart contract, subject to certain lockup provisions. Prior to claiming any such transfer, the grant beneficiary must agree to customary contract terms.
Note: The Metaplex Foundation may change the procedure for submitting and reviewing grant proposals over time based on experience and community feedback.
Any eligible $MPLX owner may submit a Grant Proposal by: 1) completing a proposal form; and 2) proving ownership of 200 $MPLX (subject to revision by the Metaplex Foundation and the DAO) on the Metaplex governance website (located here: https://mip.metaplex.com). By submitting a proposal form, you consent to the information you include being shared for purposes of considering the grant proposal. You further acknowledge agreement to our privacy policy (https://dao.metaplex.com/privacy). The proposal form will require the following information to be completed fully and accurately:
Provide a title that is concise and descriptive for your grant request. This title will appear as the header of your proposal’s detail page and the community feedback thread generated for your proposal. (80 characters)
Please explain the key components of the intended purpose for the grant. This should include a description of the feature or content you want to create, what needs or goals your work may satisfy, and the skills or experience you have that will contribute to your success. This is your chance to make a good first impression on the community. (600 characters)
Elaborate on why your proposal should be approved, the problems that the $MPLX grant will help solve, or the benefits it will bring to the Metaplex ecosystem. (3000 characters)
Enter the exact amount of $MPLX you are requesting. If applicable, include the number of months your project will take to be developed. This will define the duration of your vesting contract.
Please list who will be working to execute on the proposal if granted and include an explicit overview of their relevant skillset and experience. You may provide links to portfolios or profiles to help the Metaplex community get to know who the DAO will be funding and how their backgrounds will contribute to the project’s success. Provide from each team member: name/Identity; role/position; about them; and a relevant link (optional).
The address that will receive the $MPLX tokens. This must be a Solana SPL address to which the beneficiary alone holds the keys. Entering a non-Solana address or other wallet that cannot receive $MPLX, including an account with an exchange, may result in a permanent loss of the granted tokens.
This email address will be used by the Metaplex Foundation to contact you following the submission of your grant proposal and to check the progress of the project, set up meetings and maintain an open communication channel. Note that the address will be published in the proposal and publicly visible.
Describe the roadmap for executing on the project, making sure to include any relevant milestones that the community should be aware of and how you will share progress you have made. Clearly communicating progress for long-term projects with milestones will help ensure timely token deliveries for the respective milestones. (1500 characters)
After filling out every field in the proposal form to the best of your abilities and connecting your wallet to demonstrate ownership of 200 $MPLX, click Submit proposal.
After submitting your proposal, you will be prompted to complete a KYC check. Successful completion of the KYC is a requirement for any grant proposal to proceed. It is recommended that you complete the identification process within 3 days of submitting your proposal to avoid delays.
Each $MPLX Grant Proposal submission will be reviewed by the Metaplex Foundation on a rolling basis. The Metaplex Foundation will determine if more information is required, and then send follow-up requests, questions, or ideas to the submitting team as necessary, and will aim to respond to all submissions within 2 weeks.
The Metaplex Foundation will screen out submissions that are spam, made in bad faith, fail to include necessary information, or would violate any applicable laws or regulations. If the Metaplex Foundation screens out a Grant Proposal it will communicate the rationale for doing so. Grant Proposals that are screened out will be removed from consideration.
After the initial review, assuming all requirements are met, the Grant Proposal will be published for voting in the DAO and for discussion in the Metaplex Foundation Github Repo (“Repo”). This will trigger a 14-day voting period.
When the Metaplex Foundation opens the voting period, it will specify the minimum number of total votes that must be submitted for the vote to count (the “Quorum”). Voting will be based on $MPLX ownership, meaning that one $MPLX equals one vote. The Metaplex Foundation will announce via Twitter (@MetaplexFndn) and on the Metaplex Discord channel when a $MPLX token Grant Proposal voting period is beginning and direct the community to where it can cast votes on the Metaplex DAO. The voting mechanics may change in the future based on feedback and experience.
The Grant Proposal will pass if (a) >66% of votes are “Yes” votes, and (b) total votes cast exceed the Quorum. If either condition is not met, the proposal will fail.
After the grant has been approved by the community, the grant beneficiary will need to agree to customary contract terms before receiving the grant. This will enable the DAO Council to execute the transfer of $MPLX to the grant beneficiary by means of a direct transfer, or a vesting contract, subject to certain lockup provisions. All $MPLX tokens delivered via DAO grants will be locked for 1 year.