Stars Align is a proposal for the community to consider for a non-profit organization on the Steem blockchain with a primary purpose of mainstreaming the Steem blockchain.
In order to mainstream the blockchain we have to consider two major components: carbon based lifeforms and silicon chips. This proposal is designed to allow the general Steem public to request funding from the non-profit and then use that in a variety of ways to mainstream the Steem Blockchain.
The general structure works like this: We'll have 5 "Topical Boards" that are organized by the "Executive Board" and decisions are approved by the "Board of Directors." The public will present requests for funding to the Topical Boards, if approved they'll be merged into a common budget with oversight by the Executive Board, and then presented to the Board of Directors for approval. This way people with expertise can review the requests, a team of administrators can ensure it's all above board and working to mainstream Steem, and the stakeholders that are on the Board of Directors get final approval.
**Purpose: ** Mainstream the Steem blockchain.
Primary Benefits: This structure is designed to promote Steem to people and improve the underlying technology to ensure we have the best tech available in a highly competitive space.
Mission: to allow the general public to have access to funds through a competitive approval process from a team of domain experts to make sure projects are vetted, have oversight, and people are held accountable for delivering on promises.
Organization Structure: The off chain structure will be a very simple 501-C3 non-profit in the USA. The on chain/Discord structure will comprise of 5 Topical Boards which can approve funding requests to be reviewed for the budget, a Board of Directors that helps organize all goals and formally set a budget, and a Board of Directors with authority to approve presented budgets.
Foundation membership: this doc goes into more detail: https://hackmd.io/WpsItvpTS06mmKA2CIS82w?view
Initally we'll launch by populating the Executive Board with members of the first and second working group. They'll be tasked with getting a polling solution similar to witness voting that will allow the public to apply for the various boards and the Stake Holders to vote for them. There will be 11 members of each Topical Board and the Executive Board. There will be 21 members of the Board of Directors.
Leadership Roles: each Board will have a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and Liason. Chair will set the agenda, Vice Chair fills in for other roles if they are vacant for any period, Secretary will be tasked for communication from the Board, Treasurer will handle financial transaction on behalf of the Board, and a Liason will be picked from each Topical Board each Topical Board to serve on the Executive Board to ensure each Topical Board is represented in budget setting.
Community Involvement: The general public has the ability to run a campaign to serve on any of the boards. They also have the ability to present requests for funding to the board. Communication is built into the role of secretary for broadcasting, and set weekly meeting times of Board to make sure that community members can be heard.
Accountability: 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 bad ways the community can unvote them from the role.
Fiat Legal Structure: Non-profit house in the USA to allow for funding in the USA.
Foundation Funding: The startup funding is hopefully provided by Steemit Inc either through direction donation or by working with the Blocktrades DAO. Once funding is setup the goal is to ensure that all the activities that are supported with funding provide benefit back to the Stars Align foundation. Focusing on low interest loans, upvotes, grants, delegations, and equity deals for start up funding can ensure that the project is well funded. Additionally, the DAO can be requested for funds and individuals or outside corporations can contribute.
Project Funding: As described above this is central to the purspose of the organization and how it's structured. The public requests funding from Topical Boards for projects that will help mainstream Steem. Budgets are compiled by the Executive Board and approved by the Board of Directors.
Collaboration: The Stars Align proposal can get ongoing funding from the DAO, but there are also many communities that operate independantly of one another that can be brought together. There's PALnet, Helpie, and Steem Onboarding that can help with Community Success and work together on a common purpose. There is the Steem Communities and witness group that can be approached for blockchain development. The Steem business alliance can be brought into the Business Incubator and Delegation Board to drive business adoption.
Conclusion: the Stars Align proposal for a non-profit foundation with a purpose of mainstreaming Steem can help the general public take necessary steps for platform growth into our own hands and utilize public funding mechanism to ensure there is leadership and financial incentive for all community members. By voting the for Stars Align project Steemians will get a project that opens up funding for the general public to mainstream steem through facilitating community involvement, attracting businesses, building the best blockchain technology, growth through marketing, and attracting investors to pour money into the Steem ecosystem.
If you'd like to see what the day to day operations of the Stars Align Foundation would look like please visit this Discord group for a sense of how it would go: https://discord.gg/3z3bjZj