Introducing Stellar Community Fund 6.0

The Stellar Community Fund enters its sixth iteration with a renewed focus on strategic ecosystem growth. Leveraging Stellar’s new smart contract capabilities, SCF now offers streamlined support for projects from ideation to launch and beyond. This version emphasizes rapid iteration and funding for qualified projects, prioritizing viable solutions with potential for real-world impact. SCF’s goal is to accelerate the development of sustainable, high-impact projects on the Stellar network.

What’s New?

1. Integrating ‘Kickstart’ to Onboard New Projects With Expert Mentorship

SCF now incorporates Kickstart, a 5-day bootcamp formerly known as Startup Camp. This program guides new teams from initial idea to actionable Proof of Concept. Participants can win a Kickstart Award of up to $15K in XLM to further develop their projects.

Kickstart Cohort #7 is scheduled for September 30 through October 4! Apply before September 15 to be considered.

2. Supercharging Build Awards to Encourage Project Launch

The SCF Build Award merges the previous Activation and Community Award structure into a single streamlined process. Eligible projects meeting this award’s validation requirements can apply for up to $150K in XLM, disbursed across tranches to support project launch in the Stellar ecosystem.

The upcoming award round for the SCF Build Award is SCF #30! Apply before September 18.

3. Fostering Project Growth Post-Development

Recognizing the need for user traction, SCF will increasingly launch and improve initiatives that support the growth and scaling phases of projects. Starting this fall, strategic connections with accelerator programs such as DraperU aim to support the growth of projects after launch, and a dedicated Stellar LaunchKit is underway to prepare those looking to successfully launch their projects with direct connections and support for audits, infrastructure, marketing, and investments.

DraperU invites promising startups building on Stellar to participate in its Embark Accelerator, offering US$50K guaranteed investment to startups that complete the Accelerator program! Apply before September 20 to be considered.

4. Introducing Category Specific Quorum Delegation

To improve efficiency and efficacy while maintaining decentralization, SCF 6.0 will feature Delegate Panels for specific project categories of the SCF Build Award. Each quarter, the top 6 delegates of a given category (as decided by Quorum Delegation) become part of that category’s Delegate Panel. These Panels, consisting of subject matter experts, will provide targeted input for submission criteria and guidelines, as well as provide extensive feedback to projects.

Nominations for Q4 Category Delegate Panels are open! If you’re an SCF Pilot or Navigator, nominate yourself in #verified-panel in the Stellar Dev Discord to become next quarter’s delegate by September 11.

Phased Launch

SCF 6.0 will roll out in phases, starting with immediate enhancements and introducing additional growth and funding avenues, such as SCF Kickstart, SCF Build Award, and our collaboration with DraperU’s Embark Accelerator. Following initial launch, additional components and programs will be introduced in the coming months.

• September 4, 2024: Official launch of SCF 6.0, along with the opening of submissions for SCF #30.
• Mid October, 2024: Releasing SCF 6.1, which will include collaborations with additional new accelerators and features to support growth and connection between developers and companies in the Stellar ecosystem.
• Mid November, 2024: Releasing SCF 6.2, which will include the initiation of new pilots as part of SCF’s Growth track.
• Mid/End January, 2025: Releasing SCF 6.3, which will include the implementation of such pilot programs into the SCF Growth Track.

Join us!

Whether you are looking to launch your project, contribute to the ecosystem, or simply learn more about SCF’s initiatives, now is the perfect time to get involved. Learn more by joining us for a workshop on how to succeed in the Stellar Community Fund on September 12th at 12 PM ET!

*The USD valuation of the budget request in XLM will be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on the day of payment as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker XLMUSD_RR) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR).

Introducing Stellar Community Fund 6.0 was originally published in Stellar Community on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.