In September 2022, I joined the Community Grants Committee on the Moonbeam Network “Interim Grants Program”. My role has been representing the interests of the Moonbeam’s community during the grant issuing process and helping to make decisions that will benefit the Moonbeam ecosystem as a whole.
Being a non-Foundation Community Member is a rewarding experience, but it was also challenging for me at the beginning because I do not have a strong technical background, and the projects have been very diverse: from DeFi and NFT to gaming as well as other eccentric types. Nevertheless, having worked and learned a lot, I believe the acquired knowledge and my passion for the Moonbeam project vision helped me to overcome these challenges. In addition, my role as an Onboarding Officer in the Moonbeam Ambassador Program was useful because I had to evaluate projects similar to what I did with people’s applications but on a larger scale.
One of the most important parts of being a Grant Committee Member is doing due diligence for the projects applying for financial and marketing support. One has to dive deeply into the grant application which has been submitted to the Foundation and do research about the project which includes reviewing posts on its social media channels, analyzing online content, reading the documentation, gathering information about the team etc. Since the new version of the program started, we have reviewed around 70 projects of different kinds.
However, the most exciting part for me has been the diligence calls because we have met professional teams from all over the globe and seen possible applications of crypto in the real world: from creating immersive events with NFT ticketing for UNESCO, estimating carbon footprint and identifying how to offset it to providing short term loans in Brazil, building a social platform for cycling in India and transferring funds across borders of East African countries.
During our weekly calls, every Committee Member presents and advocates the projects which they believe
- will drive new users and activity to Moonbeam
- will add value in the form of a new connected contract use case making the Moonbeam Network a hub of cross-chain activity
- fill a gap for which there is a demand from existing users and/or developers
- are the best for the ecosystem’s development and growth.
I do like that the Grant Committee acts as one team and the opinion of each member is taken into account when making a decision. I want to thank @sicco-moonbeam and @aaron.mbf from the Moonbeam Foundation for sharing their knowledge and valuing our opinions. I was honored to work with @Jim_CertHum and Thiago who demonstrated a high level of dedication and responsibility and both are early supporters of the Moonbeam project ideas and active community members.
Overall, being a Grant Committee Member is a great experience that requires a lot of knowledge, time and commitment but gives back much more. It brings me a feeling of involvement in the ecosystem’s growth and being a part of a larger team. I want to believe that I have coped with the role of a Grant Committee Member successfully and would like to continue bringing value to the community and the project. In my opinion, the new extension of the Grants Program (see here) will make the process better and facilitate the further development of the ecosystem.
