ZF Grants

ZF Grants Overview

Geographic Scope: Global

Focus Areas:

• Projects that grow or strengthen the Zcash ecosystem
• Wallet development
• Community outreach
• Security analysis and improvement
• User experience improvements
• Technical research
• Online services
• Second-layer technologies
• Financial integration
• Privacy-focused tools

Award Amount: The Foundation planned to dispense the Zcash equivalent of $500,000 through ZF Grants in 2019. Awards are made in ZEC (Zcash cryptocurrency) to Sapling shielded addresses. Proposal and request funding is denominated in USD, with payouts determined by real-time market price of Zcash.

What They Fund:

• Individual developer projects
• Company proposals
• Academic research
• Solid approaches with proven track records
• High-risk/high-gain innovative approaches
• Projects with clear milestones and deliverables

Evaluation Criteria:

• Audacity: How crucial is the problem being solved?
• Clarity: Does the team understand the problem? Is the timeline believable? Are outcomes concrete and explicit?
• Excellence: Does the team have technical capability to deliver?
• Accountability: Can the team work independently? Do they have experience with remote work?
• Importance to the community
• Likelihood of success
• Security implications
• Budget reasonableness
• Balance across topics and recipient types

Eligibility:

• Open to individuals, companies, and academic institutions
• Proposers must be serious about their project
• Projects should benefit Zcash ecosystem
• Small ZEC stake required to prevent spam (amount may vary)

What They Don't Fund:

• Spam or frivolous proposals
• Projects without clear milestones or deliverables

Key Features:

• Milestone-based funding structure (at least one milestone required)
• Foundation can match funds or attach bounty payments
• Foundation can appoint an "arbiter" to oversee milestone completion and fund disbursement
• Community members can also pledge ZEC to projects
• Non-attributed contributions accepted (no account required)
• Projects can receive funding solely through community contributions

Platform Privacy:

• Contributions initially through transparent transactions (t-addresses) though origin can be private via z-addresses
• Campaign payouts made to shielded Sapling addresses
• Fully private z-to-z contributions planned once Sapling viewing keys available
• Non-attributed contributions not tied to accounts

Related Pages:

• Grant ideas list available on platform
• Guide to writing fantastic proposals available
• Tutorial on submitting proposals available
• Platform: https://grants.zfnd.org (implied from context)

Additional Features (2.0):

• Submit proposals requesting ZF funding
• Submit requests suggesting ZF fund particular ideas
• Discuss proposals in comments
• Follow proposals for update notifications
• "Like" proposals to show approval
• Attach Sapling z-address for direct ZEC tips

How to Apply

1. Prepare Your Proposal
   • Review the guide to writing a fantastic proposal
   • Review the ZF engineering roadmap for 2020 (if pursuing technical grant)
   • Consider the evaluation criteria (Audacity, Clarity, Excellence, Accountability)
2. Submit on ZF Grants Platform
   • Go to ZF Grants website
   • Create proposal or submit request
   • Define milestones (at least one required for milestone-based funding)
   • Specify funding amount needed in USD
   • Provide detailed project description
   • Include realistic timeline
   • Outline concrete, explicit outcomes for each milestone
3. Required Information
   • Project title and description
   • Team/proposer background and track record
   • Detailed technical approach
   • Realistic timeline with milestones
   • Explicit deliverables for each milestone
   • Budget breakdown
   • Evidence of team capability
   • Sapling z-address for receiving funds
   • Proposed arbiter (if applicable) or acceptance of Foundation-appointed arbiter
4. Submission Process
   • Pay small ZEC stake with proposal (prevents spam)
   • Submit via ZF Grants platform
   • Foundation staff will approve or reject proposal
   • Foundation evaluates on rolling basis
   • Community can discuss proposals in comments
   • Community can pledge ZEC to projects
   • Foundation may attach bounty or match funds
5. After Submission
   • Expect feedback from Grant Review Committee
   • Committee may suggest scope or budget adjustments
   • Arbiter monitors milestone completion
   • Funds disbursed upon milestone achievement
   • Provide progress updates as required

Proposal Elements

Format:

• Five paragraphs or less recommended for initial candidacy announcements
• Full written proposals for selected candidates
• Can include attachments and supplementary materials

Key Questions to Address:

• Why does this project matter to Zcash?
• What problem are you solving?
• How will you solve it technically?
• What is your timeline?
• What are your specific deliverables?
• How will community know you've succeeded?
• What is your budget and why?
• Who is on your team and what are their qualifications?
• Have you worked on similar projects before?
• Can you work independently and remotely?

Contact for Feedback:

• Email [email protected] with questions or proposal ideas
• Seek feedback before formal submission
• Community forum discussion encouraged