Introducing Community Grants Support Program

[Carla]

This framework has been authored by @Juansito, @gabriellamena, @Joey, @mimetista.eth and myself.

TL;DR

Pilot a simple 3-month community grant stream.

Owned and run by the Community Council.

Focused on events, meetups, hackathons, flex requests.

Budget: SCR 312,500

Application Link

Summary

The Community Council introduces the Community Grants Support Program, an initiative designed to fund projects worldwide that support the development and adoption of our technology in their regions. The primary objectives of this program are to:

• Foster community growth through educational, cultural, and innovative activities.
• Encourage the adoption of Scroll ecosystem products.
• Increase visibility and create new opportunities for the ecosystem across different contexts and territories.
• Promote geographic diversity and transparency in all funded initiatives.
• Support and recognize human efforts that drive growth within the Scroll ecosystem.
• Ensure traceability and demonstrable impact of allocated resources.
• Find new killer dapps and strong founders/builders in different regions

Scroll DAO will provide funding for various types of initiatives, grouped into specific categories, each with distinct guidelines and key performance indicators.

From now on, we will call applicants, teams and communities as Grantees.

All funded projects must deliver a comprehensive report demonstrating completion of the guidelines and achievement of success metrics.

Motivation

The implementation of this proposal by Scroll DAO would represent a crucial step in transferring protocol ownership to the community. This measure is intended to support communities with which we have had an incredible experience in the past and that may not yet be ready for a Local Node, as well as new event requests that would fall under this new structure with an emphasis on quality and community growth.

We believe it is important for Scroll’s success to continue supporting the grassroots relationships we have built and to have clear indicators that drive and motivate the building of relationships with new key allies.

Budget

The first iteration of the Scroll Grants Program managed by the Community Council will only disburse grants between $200 and $10,000, allowing the Community Council to refine operational efficiency before being able to distribute larger grant requests. Check the proposed budget here.

The season will last approximately 3 months, and any remaining funds will be carried over to the next season.

Disclaimer: If the grant request is happening within a Local Node Region with their endorsement, the Community Council will determine using budget from the Local Nodes budget instead of the Community Grant budget. This program should mainly focus on supporting grant requests from regions other than Local Nodes.

Types of Grants

(Categories & Guidelines)

Classified into initiatives that expand the Scroll ecosystem; these can be Events, Meetups, Hackathons, or Flex.

The guidelines described are capabilities that Grantees will execute the proposal must have. KPIs are indicators of the initiative’s measurable results that must be included in the final report.

General items to consider any of four types of grants for final report:

• When possible, a Luma event site should be created.
• When possible, registration information to be shared with the Community Council.
• Attendee satisfaction survey with a minimum score of 70%.
• Social media content plan (views, mentions, retweets, spaces).
• Event documentation (photos and videos).
• Create an engagement activity that encourages attendees to explore the Scroll ecosystem (e.g., wallet onboarding, EtherFi Cash, ChatterPay, SynthOs, HoneyPop and Polystream).
• Wherever a speaking slot, workshop slot, panel discussion, or anything alike is available
  • If Scroll Foundation has the ability to provide the speaker, it should be stated in the proposal.
  • Otherwise, the grantee should propose a speaker that needs to be vetted by the Community Council.

Community activity categories:

1. Events

Planned meetings aimed at more than 100 attendees, organized in person or virtually by a team/community to strengthen networks, exchange knowledge, and promote Scroll’s ecosystem products on their agenda.

Guidelines:

• Organizing team with experience in community event management.
• Present a detailed event plan, agenda, and target audience.

KPIs:

• Minimum participation of 100 attendees.
• At least 50% of attendees interact with Scroll products during the event, such as EtherFi Cash.
• Number of emerging projects, alliances, or collaborations documented in the final report

2. Meetups

A meetup is a community gathering focused on exploring the Scroll ecosystem. Its mission is to connect attendees, spark collaboration, and inspire new ways to build within Scroll.

Guidelines:

• Organizing team with experience in hosting meetups.
• Present at least one practical activity (gamification, onboarding, workshop, Scroll dApp demo).

KPIs:

• Minimum participation of 30 attendees.
• At least 50% of attendees interact with Scroll products during the event, such as EtherFi Cash.

3. Hackathon

Virtual or in-person competition for Web2 or Web3 developers to discover the Scroll ecosystem, either solo or as a team. Leveraging Scroll’s technology or ecosystem to build new novel solutions.

Guidelines:

• Hackathon must be an Ethereum Ecosystem hackathon.
• Selection of the mentor(s) for the hackathon, to be reported to the Community Council.
• Clarification on the level of expertise of hackers (beginner, intermediate, advance).
• Encourage participants to register to the Open Economy program.
• Open Economy is focusing Season 3 applications around the following criteria:
  • Mobile first
  • Consumer Crypto
• Provide a proposal for a Scroll dedicated track/bounty.
• Judging for Scroll tracks can be done by Scroll Foundation team, arranged with the Community Council.
• Follow-up plan for hackers after the hackathon.

KPIs:

• % of attendees who deployed on Scroll.
• Number of high quality submissions.

4. Flex

The flex category exists to support community-driven initiatives that don’t fall under hackathons, events, or meetups. We welcome applications for education programs, scholarships, or other creative proposals that strengthen and expand the Scroll community. This category is designed to give flexibility for unique ideas that bring value to the ecosystem.

Grant Process

Outline Process for Grant Application

1. Interested individuals may apply through this application form.
2. Community Council will evaluate each application within 7 days.
3. Detailed feedback will be provided by Community Council on each application.
4. Approval of proposals should happen within 30 days of application.
5. Execution and reporting will be arranged alongside the Community Council.

Submitting a Proposal (22 Sep - 19 Dec)

For an initiative to be considered, interested individuals / teams must submit an Evaluation of Grants Program through the form. Submit your proposal here.

Some relevant ideas to propose an initiative could be aligned with:

• Onboarding people to any of our native ecosystem projects:
  • EtherFi Cash
  • SynthOs
  • Polystream
  • HoneyPop
  • ChatterPay
• Leads to high potential founders.
• Introduce the Open Economy program to a founder audience.

The proposal should provide detailed context about:

• General Information: Project leader, team, and team experience information.
• Regional context: Web3 adoption level, regulatory landscape, adoption challenges, local ecosystem, existing communities.
• Proposal information: Grant type, funding request, proposal details, KPIs, detailed budget separated by milestones.

• Motivation: Why we should support your proposal and what impact you want to create with Scroll.

Evaluation (Rolling Basis)

All applications will be evaluated by the Community Council based on criteria such as strategic alignment, execution capacity, expected metrics, community impact, and financial viability.

A meeting with Grantees will be requested if necessary.

The budget costs for each type of grant will be assessed based on regional costs. The Community Council’s voting result and summary rationales will be published in the Scroll governance forum.

Approval

Grant approval will take a maximum of 30 days from the date of application by Community Council, communicated in the Scroll Forum and through established communication channels with grantees.

Rejected applications will receive written feedback.

Initial payment within 7 days of approval and last payment within 7 days of the last milestone submission. All payments will be done to the wallet provided in the application form and will be paid out in USDC on Scroll Mainnet.

Legal

• KYC/KYB will only be required for grants >$2k.
• Grant agreements will not be required for this program.
• AML Statements will need to be signed via the application form.

Execution

Funded initiatives must be implemented and finished by 31 January, 2026.

A Telegram group will be created for faster communication in the coordination and execution of the grant. Community Council may ask for meetings to oversee execution of the activity or support in the process.

Report

Grantee must submit a final report with metrics and evidence within 7 days of the proposed implementation date of the initiative on the Community Grants section on Scroll Forum. All forum reports must provide information about milestones on Karma GAP, links according Grant Type KPIs and guidelines completed.

Check KPIs in the Grants Type KPIs section.

Grants Program Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

As the first pilot of the Grants Program, the goal is for the funding of different projects to contribute to the growth of the Scroll ecosystem in a transparent and impactful manner. Therefore, the Community Council will deliver a final report that will determine success of the program including the following metrics:

Conclusions

• The Scroll Grants Program Pilot promotes discovery of the Scroll ecosystem and technology across various regions by supporting strategic community initiatives with clear, measurable criteria. It will seek to fund events, meetups, hackathons, and flex initiatives with amounts ranging from $200 to $10,000, resulting in a total average expenditure of SCR 312,500. The Community Council is committed to managing these funds, providing team follow up and achieving team reports. CC delivers a final report on the success of this pilot.
• Management and transparency are ensured by the Community Council, which evaluates each proposal using objective standards and oversees the proper allocation and tracking of the budget throughout the three-month pilot.
• The program fosters inclusion, geographic diversity, and sustainable growth of the Scroll ecosystem, establishing impact indicators that facilitate traceability and continuous improvement for future cycles.

For all those interested, we look forward to reviewing and collaborating on your applications to our Community Grants Support Program.

[unite]

Good one @Carla

I have few questions and opinions as well.

1. Why is the review/approval process set at up to 30 days when many events (especially meetups or hackathons) often require faster planning cycles? In my view, a shorter review track (e.g., fast-track approvals for grants under $2,000) could help smaller organizers execute timely events without being discouraged by long waits.
2. How much of the grant is actually released as the initial payment, and is it sufficient to cover upfront costs like venue deposits or logistics?
3. How flexible are KPIs like “50% of attendees must interact with Scroll products,” especially for regions with low Web3 penetration or smaller grassroots communities? In my opinion, the KPIs should be region-sensitive and scaled according to ecosystem maturity, so emerging markets aren’t penalized for lacking infrastructure or being able to achieve targets. Some emerging markets could have good potentials in the long run but could be harmed because bias would set in when these markets are not delivering on KPIs that are bing set with the margin of an established market. Some of the products you mentioned may not connect with these community And this would lead to my next question.
4. What measures are in place to ensure that funding isn’t concentrated only in established hubs (Europe, US, Asia) and that grassroots regions (Africa, LATAM, smaller Asian markets) also get fair opportunities? Because if these new emerging markets are not meeting target now, doesn’t mean they wouldn’t? The key here is adoption, and the users would also need to relate with the products to increase adoption. If a market see no need for converting fiat to digital asset, it would be hard convincing them on this, like one of project my team and I, plan to submit aligns to the local economy. This makes it easier for adoption. I think there should be regional quotas or diversity targets/products to guarantee fair distribution of grants and metrics KPIs across different geographies. And also working also with products that align with that ecosystem.
5. Is it really necessary for very small grants (e.g., $200–$500) to require the same level of detailed KPIs, surveys, and reporting as larger grants? I feel requirements should be tiered, lighter reporting for microgrants, more robust tracking for larger grants. This would encourage more grassroots participation. This could be just the key. I’m not saying scrutiny shouldn’t be employed. I’ll even suggest a KYC for all grants going out, this aid acceptability as well. But again, lesser demands. Maybe we can have categories say less than $2k, less than $5k and that’s 3 categories with distinct metrics for approval. With this anyone applying knows what they are up against.

At the same time, what the team has done is still a good job.

[bitblondy]

This looks like a very solid proposal and helps fill a gap for community events that aren’t covered by local nodes.
While small one-time grants can sometimes lack impact, the inclusion of KPIs, reporting requirements, and structured reviews makes this as robust as it can be. I also appreciate the focus on highlighting ecosystem projects.

Given the “restructuring” of the DAO, how is this expected to progress, though?

[Carla]

Hey @unite!

Thanks for the comments, further clarifications follow.

@unite

Why is the review/approval process set at up to 30 days when many events (especially meetups or hackathons) often require faster planning cycles? In my view, a shorter review track (e.g., fast-track approvals for grants under $2,000) could help smaller organizers execute timely events without being discouraged by long waits.

The approval of proposal applications within a 30-day period does not mean that all proposals must be evaluated and reviewed in 30 days. Rather, this timeframe ensures that the CC will provide timely responses and feedback to all proposals we receive. Now, returning to the example, in my opinion a hackathon requires a more detailed planning cycle due to the event design, infrastructure, sponsor selection, registrations, and other phases.

@unite

• How much of the grant is actually released as the initial payment, and is it sufficient to cover upfront costs like venue deposits or logistics?

The initial payment is allocated to operations and is equal to or less than 30% of the overall budget. Each team must present a budget broken down by milestones and indicate, to a good extent, the timeline in which the milestone will be achieved.

@unite

How flexible are KPIs like “50% of attendees must interact with Scroll products,” especially for regions with low Web3 penetration or smaller grassroots communities? In my opinion, the KPIs should be region-sensitive and scaled according to ecosystem maturity, so emerging markets aren’t penalized for lacking infrastructure or being able to achieve targets. Some emerging markets could have good potentials in the long run but could be harmed because bias would set in when these markets are not delivering on KPIs that are bing set with the margin of an established market. Some of the products you mentioned may not connect with these community And this would lead to my next question.

This is a point that the CC has already assessed. We are aware that there are markets with limitations when it comes to interacting with Scroll’s products, which is why each application will be evaluated individually, not only based on percentages but also on the general items (see “general items to consider for any of the four types of grants”). Our intention with this pilot framework is to provide clear guidance to encourage and support initiatives that have not been supported in the past or that are not yet ready for a Local Node.

@unite

What measures are in place to ensure that funding isn’t concentrated only in established hubs (Europe, US, Asia) and that grassroots regions (Africa, LATAM, smaller Asian markets) also get fair opportunities? Because if these new emerging markets are not meeting target now, doesn’t mean they wouldn’t? The key here is adoption, and the users would also need to relate with the products to increase adoption. If a market see no need for converting fiat to digital asset, it would be hard convincing them on this, like one of project my team and I, plan to submit aligns to the local economy. This makes it easier for adoption. I think there should be regional quotas or diversity targets/products to guarantee fair distribution of grants and metrics KPIs across different geographies. And also working also with products that align with that ecosystem.

In my opinion, the first deliberate and voluntary step the DAO has taken has been the formation of the CC with a multidisciplinary and multiregional team that has no biases and can operate as a governing body. Going back to the previous point, if one of the objectives of the CC formation proposal is to support initiatives that have not previously been supported through the Community Grants Support Program, then the CC’s evaluations will be carried out under this premise. The most evident KPI to demonstrate the participation of new communities and their outcomes is the demographic and geographic diversity reached (see Grants Program Key Performance Indicators, which refer to those that will be delivered as part of a final report by the CC).

@unite

Is it really necessary for very small grants (e.g., $200–$500) to require the same level of detailed KPIs, surveys, and reporting as larger grants? I feel requirements should be tiered, lighter reporting for microgrants, more robust tracking for larger grants. This would encourage more grassroots participation. This could be just the key. I’m not saying scrutiny shouldn’t be employed. I’ll even suggest a KYC for all grants going out, this aid acceptability as well. But again, lesser demands. Maybe we can have categories say less than $2k, less than $5k and that’s 3 categories with distinct metrics for approval. With this anyone applying knows what they are up against.

In my view, what is not measured cannot be improved. The key point here is that this is a pilot program that we hope can continue to be refined and improved based on the needs of Scroll DAO and its community in future cohorts. As I mentioned earlier, there is flexibility, and each application will be evaluated by considering general aspects as well as specific KPIs depending on the type of event, created to standardize the program.

We believe that the framework we have designed not only facilitates applications but also guarantees transparency and accountability.

[Carla]

Hey @bitblondy!

It’s a pleasure to greet you here. Thank you for the feedback.

This initiative is already approved as part of the CC. What has been presented is a framework that facilitates the process of applications, evaluations, approvals, and reporting, ensuring transparency and accountability.

This proposal has the approved budget described, and the processes are covered by that budget.

[unite]

Thank you so much for the time to explain. @Carla this is well clarified.