CDC Developer Grant Program
Describes the program by which Rally.io seeks to engage developers from the at-large community to get funding from Rally.io to build tools and applications for Creator Coin utilization.
Click here to go to the Application
Click here to view info about the Rally API and how to become an Approved Developer
Overview
Purpose
To deploy $RLY for the direct enablement of community-proposed development projects which provide tools to further the goals of Rally.io Creators, specifically through utilization of their Creator Coins, in a timely and fiscally responsible way.
To build new Creator Coin projects that offer a tangible benefit the Rally community, including Creators, Developers, or coin holders.
Prerequisites
Applicant must be an Approved Developer (instructions here).
All applicants must list at least one (more is better) Rally "creator mentor" in their application -- This is a Rally creator who they are talking to as they develop their idea and build their product. This is to ensure product market fit.
We recommend that all applicants join the Developer channels in our Discord, and also join our weekly Developer and Bi-Weekly Developer calls when possible.
Budget
Starting October 1, 2021, Rally.io has approved a budget of 1 million $RLY per quarter for developer grants and bounties.
Oversight
The Community Developer Council (CDC) will provide the application format; review applications for fit, scope, and budget; and determine final approval or denial status.
Grant Proposal Review Schedule
All of the grant proposals submitted prior to the first of the month will be reviewed within the first 7 days of the month and summarized during the next available CDC meeting which occurs after the 7th day of the month.
Feedback
Initial requests for additional feedback or council decision will be sent no later than the 14th day of the month.
Grant Disbursements
Grant disbursements take place at the end of each month/start of the next month.
Processes
Grant Process
Notice of receipt sent to submitter with copy of expected timeline.
CDC makes a copy of the proposal with Comments On, shares with CDC.
CDC members review the application independently, provide comments, and ready to discuss during next CDC meeting.
Question/Feedback/revision rounds via email with grant submitter as needed. Copy of proposal sent to submitter for review/detail.
Notice of “feedback complete, deliberation commencing” sent to submitter.
Decision and Disbursement schedule communication.
[If approval] Send communication of approved details to Finance.
Review Process
Each proposal will be meritoriously evaluated for:
Alignment with current Rally/Council high level goals/objectives when available (Growth, Utility, Engagement, etc).
Reviewer’s level of agreement with each premise/factual statement.
Adherence to reasonable cost range. Focus on utility and deployment of funds vs standardization of resource cost. ie while it may be more cost-effective to hire a developer team in the Ukraine, as long as development costs are “in line” with norms, they shouldn’t typically warrant a challenge. Budgeting $300k for a single 3-month engineer is not typically in-line with even aggressive compensation levels, for example.
Grant Acceptance
The grantee is responsible for providing:
Rally.io Finance with payment details.
Status upon [monthly] request by the CDC. The CDC will send reminder notices to grant recipients at the beginning of each month to request a status update where necessary.
Grant Funding Terms
Payment will be delivered on a monthly basis, with full payment divided against the number of months of the project (eg, if 6 months, then 6 equal payments). First payment will be at the start of the next full month.
Grant receiver will be introduced via email to Rally Finance by Rally Staff member with the full approved budget and terms (including dates) of project. In this email, the Approved Developer will have first call to action to submit a W9 and an $RLY compatible mainnet wallet address.
Upon receipt of these payment details, Rally Finance will begin tracking payments per schedule.
If the CDC determines a project is not delivering to schedule, the CDC will work with Rally Finance to make a determination about further payment.
Grant Rejection
In the case a proposal is not accepted by the Council, a notice shall be sent with brief information on the reason.
Some example reasons for rejection:
Insufficient data presented
Inability to validate the premises presented
Alignment with current goals
Size of budget requested
Insufficient validation of demonstrated demand
Grant Structure
Each proposal should include a 1 page summary and then a detailed overview of each section.
Title of Project
Description: Full description of project
Budget: Line item breakdown of costs and resources needed. Include build, infrastructure/other costs, and support
Team Definition: Who will be working on it, what are their credentials?
Timeline: Include specific milestones for progress checks/updates (for the CDC to set review and community expectations)
Target Audience: Who will benefit from the project and how do they benefit? What will it enable? What is the value provided? What research have you done to determine product market fit?
Go to Market strategy: How will the project be released?
Monetization: Is there a cost to the end user? If so, what is the cost, and how does the user pay?
Support/Sustainability Plan: After build, what is the operational budget?
Creator Mentor: Which creator(s) are you working with for guidance?
Rally Support Needed: What is needed from the Rally team to make the project possible? (Keep in mind that requests for features/APIs that do not yet exist will typically lead to a grant not being approved.)
Last updated