In 2022, Refraction launched the Creative Grants programme allocating 100k USDC from the DAO treasury to fund projects across the globe, from raves in Kuala Lumpur to internet flea markets in Miami. Applications to the Creative Grants programme were open to anyone, regardless of location or DAO membership, and were selected by Refraction’s curatorial team and a small self-nominated community committee.
The Community Fund is the next iteration of Refraction’s grants programme, introducing a more regenerative model for Refraction to support projects, and allowing the community to have a bigger stake in decision making.
Extending efforts from the inaugural Creative Grants programme, the Community Fund, powered by the Nouns builder, encourages further cross-collaboration via the funding of a new treasury. Continuing the programme mission of supporting and funding creative projects worldwide, this new funding and organizational structure allows the Refraction community to govern and fund projects in the ecosystem.
Fundraising period - until July 2nd
The Community Fund Nouns contract will officially launch on May 3rd, and will run for 60 days. NFTs sold using the Nouns builder platform will act as governance tokens during the proposal phase, and the proceeds from the sale will fund the Community Fund treasury. The NFT auction price will start at 0.03 ETH.
Artists and creative producers are encouraged to buy passes, which will allow them to submit proposals and govern the funds raised during the Proposal period. Silent stakeholders are also welcomed to buy passes during this time, allowing them to vote in the eventual governance process without requirement to generate proposals.
Proposal period - July 3rd-24th, 2023
The proposal period will last for 3 weeks following the final auction. Artists or communities holding Community Fund NFTs are welcome to raise proposals to the group of passholders. Proposals will be submitted via Prop House, to ensure that funds are distributed equitably. Proposals cannot be raised for more than 50% of the overall treasury, and must be submitted by a Community Fund NFT holder to be ratified.
Refraction’s Curatorial team will steward this proposal and governance process, holding weekly calls for proposal ideation and discussion. Artists will be encouraged to think about the longevity of this fund, considering projects that will further fund the treasury with NFT or ticket sales.
Voting period - July 24-28th, 2023
At the end of the proposal period, a vote will be held over the course of 7-days to allocate treasury funds to proposed projects.
Production period - August 1st-September 31st, 2023
In the following 2 months, successfully funded projects will commence production with the intention to complete projects within the production period.
We’ll be discussing the launch of the Community Fund during a Twitter Space, next Wednesday, May 10th @ 2pm EST. The call will be recorded for those unable to attend, and questions are always welcomed in the Refraction Discord server.
We look forward to seeing participants engage in this experimental new model!
Community Fund passes are now open to mint here: https://nouns.build/dao/0xd6491c2e762f3a9bae06cbc12a96560127916b48/7
Refraction and The Department of Decentralization are presenting the art programming at this year’s ETHBerlin from May 24-26. The exhibition is curated through an Open Call. Interested artists can submit their artwork from April 10th to May 10th.
We asked Brazilian-American artist Rick Silva a few questions ahead of his Refraction artwork drop—a reflection on the solar eclipse. The work is available exclusively for Refract Pass holders and exhibited for the first time at our New York event at Public Records on April 4th.
