[DAO:7689078] Reduce DAO expenses on Grants Program

Governance
1

by 0x247e0896706bb09245549e476257a0a1129db418 (WebMoney)

SUMMARY

Proposal to decrease the percentage of MANA allocated from the vesting contract to the Grants Program, aiming to enhance the long-term financial stability of the Decentraland DAO.

ABSTRACT

The Decentraland DAO has been granted a 10-year vesting contract worth 222M MANA starting on Feb 19, 2020 which allows for a monthly vesting of 1.8M MANA to the DAO’s Fund.

Currently, up to 70% of the vested MANA is allocated to the Grants Program.

This proposal suggests reducing the percentage(%) of the vested MANA spent on Grants to strengthen the DAO’s long-term financial health and to ensure sustainability after the vesting contract ends.

INTRODUCTION

The Grants Program serves as a vital instrument for fostering the Decentraland ecosystem. However, growing concerns within the Community suggest that current spending on the Grants program is too high. This proposal aims to recalibrate the spending, ensuring the DAO’s sustainability and reducing the risk of depleting funds with approximately 6.5 years remaining until the MANA vesting contract ends.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

  • DAO expenses consistently and significantly surpass its income.

  • Big selling pressure exists on MANA, made both by the DAO and the Foundation.

  • The DAO lacks diverse and stable revenue streams to offset its expenses.

  • Current expenses inside the Grants Program appear inflated, necessitating clearer guidelines and greater accountability.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

  1. Lower the percentage of vested MANA that is allocated to the Grants Program.

  2. Reallocate the saved funds to enhance the DAO’s financial stability.

For instance, establish a Sustainability Fund to insulate the Decentraland DAO from economic fluctuations, ensuring it can maintain both its long-term and short-term operations and plans, irrespective of wider economic conditions.

The Fund could be sourced from a combination of the MANA vesting contract, the Treasury, and ongoing income streams. The money in this fund will be reserved exclusively for DAO core operations, development, investments and strategic planning. It will be used to generate new revenue streams, such as staking or liquidity provision, or bolster existing ones and won’t be allocated to the Grants Program.

  1. Conduct a thorough analysis to align each grant category with the DAO’s short-term and long-term objectives. Define strategic grants and priorities, such as the Platform category, and revise spending caps for each category based on a targeted strategy.

  2. Create a decision-making framework for grants that raises the quality and accountability of the Grants Program.

For example, this framework could involve a specialized squad or committee that posts non-binding recommendations/opinions in the grant comments section. These recommendations would be based on a comprehensive set of evaluation criteria designed to ensure that each Grant proposal aligns with the DAO’s strategic objectives and meets other relevant benchmarks for DAO’s standards. Here are some guiding questions the squad/committee could consider during the evaluation process as part of a decision-making framework for grants:

  • Will this proposal benefit Decentraland and the DAO in the short and long term ?

  • Are the project’s goals aligned with those of Decentraland and the DAO ?

  • Does the proposal provide concrete plans that will benefit Decentraland and the DAO ?

  • Is the requested grant amount reasonable for achieving the goals outlined in the grant proposal and comparable with market rates and other grants ?

  • Is the estimated timeframe for project completion realistic given the scope ?

  • Does the grantee or project team possess the necessary skills and experience to successfully execute the project, based on available data and past performance ?

  • How substantial is the project, and what contributions has it already made or is likely to make to Decentraland and the DAO, based on available data and plans ?

VOTING OPTIONS

YES: Reduce DAO expenses on Grants Program.

NO: Leave as it is.

This is a non-binding pre-proposal poll designed to assess Community sentiment. If approved, a working group will be opened for wider discussions and inputs. Finalized points will be submitted in the next governance stages.

Share your thoughts related to this proposal on the DAO Discord or in the comments. (Forum post)

  • YES
  • NO
  • Invalid question/options

Vote on this proposal on the Decentraland DAO

View this proposal on Snapshot

2

This is a flawed way of simplifying how the DAO budgeting works.

3

For a more detailed understanding, please refer to the “DAO Grants Program - Budgeting System” proposal, which I linked in my proposal.

https://governance.decentraland.org/proposal/?id=bfab7b70-7b75-11ed-ad27-015f26e7c35c

4

Of the 4 “solutions” listed. 1 and 2 are both part of the same solution that is related to the title of this prop. 2 of them are unrelated to the idea of reducing the amount of mana committed to the budget.

5

The solutions listed in the proposal are intended to serve as potential avenues that could be explored further in a working group. The main objective of this proposal remains to reduce the expenses allocated to the Grants Program, and these solutions are suggestions that could contribute to achieving that goal.

Reduce Expenses on Grants
Reduce Expenses on Grants1568×848 96.6 KB

6

We should reduce spending, I don’t have better ideas than the one mentioned in the proposal

At the start of this quarter on July 1st MANA was ~0.38$. As I understand the budget for the whole quarter was calculated around that date, but all MANA doesn’t get sold at that point, instead it happens gradually. Currently MANA is ~0.29$, way less than it was at the start of quarter, which means it is possible to spend more MANA by DAO than it is actually getting vested in some period.

3 Likes
7

I am voting no. This does not stop the siphoning of funds from the DAO.

The main issue with everything in the DAO is VP. That needs to be fixed first.

The DAO was created with a mandate. The mandate was, here’s money for 10 years. Go build. Go experiment. Good luck and hopefully you build something sustainable. The “something” to be sustainable isn’t the original mandate.

We should be SPENDING money. But on things that MAKE the platform SUSTAINABLE.

Reducing access to funds is not the way.

3 Likes
8

Vote: NO

Investment in the platform, accelerator, core unit, and content is money well spent if there is a return on that investment. Chucking money into the void of boondoggle proposals with no returns other than paltry metrics and “good vibes” is a sure way to fritter away the initial investment.

3 Likes
9

100% agree… let’s stop deflecting from the real issue. The DAO treasury has fallen victim to corruption. Proposals that were not favored by the community were passed by bad actors, collaborating behind closed doors and colluding only to benefit and enrich themselves, costing us millions.

We must tackle the root of our spending problem.

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Treasury Stats
Treasury Stats1706×1126 107 KB

11

Thank you for another copy and paste. The dao is supposed to support creators through the grant system. Your screenshot proves this. The dao isn’t meant to spend less on the community and more on itself. That is very counter to its mandate.

Spending more more on dao core functions and decision frameworks does not help any creator nor expand the platform.

12

Thank you for making the same comment again. My screenshot proves that the DAO is overspending on grants!

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Reduce DAO expenses on Grants Program

This proposal is now in status: FINISHED.

Voting Results:

  • Yes 46% 4,659,691 VP (41 votes)
  • No 53% 5,441,682 VP (49 votes)
  • Invalid question/options 1% 1 VP (1 votes)
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Reduce DAO expenses on Grants Program

This proposal has been REJECTED by a DAO Committee Member (0xfb1afa4dc069ffb47b19dbee196045d508fcd5a2)