Notice

The following proposal is a merger of three proposals: Grow The Chain, S+ Foundation, and Stars Align. The team (in alphabetical order) that collaborated on this proposal is: @aggroed, @bluefinstudios, @guiltyparties, @upheaver, and @whatsup. With input from the current and active working group members, @eonwarped, @llfarms and @shadowspub.

Overview

The goal of this proposal is to combine some of the best ideas put forward and work alongside Steemit Inc to build the most beneficial Community Foundation possible, through collaboration.

Roadmap

The first step would be to meet with Steemit Inc. We believe discussing the ideas as well as reaching out for professional guidance on the legalities involved in building a Foundation is vital. There are many contacts, ideas and knowledge they can offer in this process and the first step would be to discuss what is viable so we can then move forward to make it happen.

This proposal team will form the interim board with some volunteers from WGs, large communities, dapps, and other submitted proposals. Their first order of business is to get a system of voting into place for board positions.

Next, the group would need to formulate detailed role descriptions and get qualified individuals. Community feedback will be vital in this stage and, as explained in the structures section, many of these would be filled through an election.

The ongoing goal is to not only be self-sustaining, but also grow the holdings of the Foundation in order to provide greater value, year over year, to the Steem Blockchain.

Mission

The Foundation will champion the Steem ecosystem, focusing on its adoption, retention, public relations, and development.

Vision

The Foundation will be where community members, investors, developers, and influencers come together to advance the Steem ecosystem and underlying technology.

Values

Our values respect the diverse groups and individuals that make up the Steem ecosystem.

• community
• accountability
• inclusiveness
• leadership

Goals

• Encourage and offer support to projects that increase the value of the Steem token and enhance the user experience on the Steem Blockchain.

• Advance outreach programs to attract new users.

• Embrace Steem communities to work towards improving user retention.

• Support Open Source development to optimize and improve the functionality and scalability of the Steem blockchain.

• Empower investment, marketing, and promotional initiatives.

• Stimulate business adoption of Steem.

• Collaborate with influential businesses and communities to mainstream Steem.

The Foundation will be flexible and evolve to take on more responsibilities as it grows.

Fiat Legal Structure

Non-profit housed in the USA to allow for funding in the USA.

Structure

Voting Members/Board of Directors (15)

Executive (5)

Chair
Vice Chair
Secretary
Treasurer (Liaison)
Legal (Liaison)

Critical Partners (2)

Corporate Representative (Steemit Inc)
Witness Representative (Technical)

Directors (8)

Board Member 1
Board Member 2
Board Member 3
Board Member 4
Board Member 5
Board Member 6
Board Member 7
Board Member 8

Topical Sub-Boards/Committees

Community Success

Responsibilities

• Develop job descriptions
• Develop vendor selection processes
• Keep all vendor-related records
• Handle in-Foundation disputes
• Process member replacements
• Create and action communications plan
• Develop pieces of communication

Incubator and Delegations

Responsibilities

• Produce quarterly and year-end reports (fund management)
• Retain and catalog all receipts and financial records
• Develop and provide mentorship services
• Develop and implement functional delegation application and selection process
• Keep abreast of relevant legal developments
• Vet all projects for legal implications

Product and Development

Responsibilities

• Quality control of projects
• Produce quarterly and year-end reports of project milestones
• Code review where necessary
• Ensure all development is legitimate and unique

Marketing

Responsibilities

• Create and action marketing plan
• Source vendors for promotional materials
• Oversee all promotions
• Organize conference representation

Investor Relations

Responsibilities

• Develop fundraising plan and goals
• Develop fundraising budget
• Develop sponsorship package
• Establish relationship with donors
• Maintain donor database
• Attract and connect investors with Steem projects

Nomination

All Foundation members should be selected for the nomination process solely based on their skills, competencies and proficiencies. All skills are to be verifiable and self-evident. Self-identification of skills is vital.

Engagement

Foundation members would be required to maintain an active participation rate of 80%, including the attendance of 8/10 meetings, and serve on no less than 2 Topical Sub-Boards each. No member should serve on more than 3 Topical Sub-Boards to prevent both monopoly and burnout.

Remuneration

Board members and volunteers are expected to operate pro-bono without receiving financial compensation in the official capacity. Official compensation includes upvotes, delegation or anything else monetary in nature. That does not mean that expenses accrued for the purposes of service should not be reimbursed.

Community Involvement

The general public has the ability to run a campaign to serve on any of the Topical Sub-Boards. They also have the ability to present requests for funding to the board.

Communication and Meetings

Communication between Foundation members and the general userbase will be facilitated at regular intervals through accessible methods of scheduled public forums.

Communication is built into the role of Secretary for broadcasting, and setting a regular schedule to ensure that community members can be heard.

All communication will be kept professional and free of biases.

Major, public General Meetings, hosted via teleconferencing or at a physical location of the Foundation's choice (with a teleconference option), will be held on a semi-annual basis. No longer than 6 months will pass between meetings.

Content of Meetings

• Reports
• Recognition and project overviews
• Community input
• Relevant metrics
• Membership (voting in)
• Resignations
• Other announcements
• Alterations to Board structure where necessary (ie. adding seats)

Foundation Funding

The startup funding is anticipated to come from Steemit Inc through direct donation or other agreed upon method. Once funding is set up, the goal is to ensure that all the activities supported with funding provide benefits back to the foundation. The foundation will focus on seeking out grants, delegations, equity deals and possibly low interest loans as part of the initial funding to ensure the project is well-funded and sustainable. Additionally, the DAO can be requested for funds and individuals or outside corporations can contribute.

Project Funding

Project funding is central to the purpose of the organization and how it's structured. The Foundation is designed to allow the community to request funding from Topical Sub-Boards for quality projects that will help mainstream Steem.

All funding requests will be called for, accepted and processed in an open and public manner. Favoritism and nepotism will be investigated and addressed. Budgets and final figures are compiled by the Executive Board and approved by the Board of Directors.

Incubators

The purpose of incubators is to support excellent community innovation initiatives and projects. No funding will be distributed based on ideas or mockups that lack feasibility, community support and owner investment.

Accountability

Accounts / Wallets

All Steem accounts owned by the Foundation should be set to @steem as Trustee and monitored for unauthorized advanced changes (ie. vesting route, trustee account, active authority) as well as unauthorized use of third party services. To mitigate inadvertent loss of control, third party services should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. No individual user should ever be set as Trustee for a Foundation account.

Ethics

There are ways to remove bad actors from the various Boards. There are community guidelines included in the structure designed to allow other members to enforce rules and standards. Voting is public and always available. If people act in a manner that constitutes a breach of community trust, the community can unvote them from the role.

Foundation board members found to be engaged in unethical practices will be expected to immediately resign or will be removed from their positions of trust. Rules and procedures will be put in place to allow removal of board members and executive committee members that are not responsive or are acting against the goals and mission of the Foundation.

No board member will attempt to leverage his or her position to gain favor, support or otherwise promotion for any activity outside of the Foundation. The board and body of the Foundation are to remain separate from any and all non-Foundation leadership and governance structures including but not limited to witnessing, major project ownership, community leadership or business ventures. No board member will introduce him or herself as a board member and witness or whatever other role(s) on the platform held.

Witness Bias

Support for individual witnesses should never be implied, directly or indirectly, by any Foundation account or active board member unless said member is a witness themselves and are speaking from a non-Foundation standpoint.

Foundation accounts should not be voting for witnesses or curating content.

Closing Remarks

We envision a future where Steem is everywhere and business rely on the innovation and power of the blockchain. Where strong communities use the ecosystem to build, share and broadcast their message in and beyond their immediate group. Investors will pour money into the ecosystem to capture the best returns possible. And best in class content creators and consumers will gather here. For this, we need a strong and unified Foundation.