[RFC]: Q3 & Q4 2023 | DAO Teams Budget Request Proposal
Six-month funding request: $263,550
Funding period: 1 August 2023 to 31 January 2024
Review period: 12–24 June
Overview
In the last two quarters, the existing DAO teams–Communication, Marketing, Operations, Research and Development (R&D), and Investment Committee–have worked on behalf of members and focused on the priorities outlined in the Q1 & Q2 2023 | Proposed Teams, Priorities, and 6-month Budget Breakdown forum post.
Now that the six-month funding period is coming to an end, we, the DAO team leads, have outlined the proposed teams, their current priorities, and each team’s six-month budget breakdown in the Q3 & Q4 2023 | Proposed Teams, Priorities, and 6-month Budget Breakdown, which accompanies this proposal.
Mission
Our mission is to build an ecosystem in which anyone can protect anyone else by sharing risk. We often refer to this as the global risk marketplace.
Values
Nexus Mutual members value:
- Trust–our commitment to transparency and our track record for paying claims should speak for itself, as we know we earn trust through our actions.
- Egalitarianism–we are building towards an open protocol and DAO, so that protection is accessible by anyone.
- Integrity–we engage honestly with one another, keep our word, and always choose the right decision even when it’s difficult.
Roadmap
In Q2 2023, The Operations team shared the Nexus Mutual Roadmap, which outlines the high level priorities for the Nexus Mutual DAO teams and the Foundation teams.
Funding renewal for existing DAO teams for Q3 & Q4 2023
Community team
Purpose
Provide support to and educational content for members, staking pool managers, DAOs and our wider community in order to expand coverage. Design communication channels to drive community engagement, member retention.
How team aligns with DAO values, mission
The Community team provides key support to members in a variety of ways, whether it’s day-to-day questions or direct assistance during claim events. Through consistent support, communication, and engagement, this team strives to improve the member experience and improve access to resources.
This team aligns with Nexus Mutual’s three core values.
Team
The proposed Head of Community (i.e., team lead) is BraveNewDeFi, who has worked for the DAO since 2021. In that time, he has updated and maintained the V1 documentation, written and improved the V2 documentation, developed the mutual’s DAO working group model, launched the first DAO team, and standardized the claims process to reduce friction for those submitting claims.
Sem has served as Community Manager since February 2022, when she joined the team and began providing support to members on Discord and LinkedIn. In that time, Sem has conducted research for the Discord reorganization, potential moderation tools, risk, and governance models. Sem oversees the Nexus Mutual Discord server, provides support across the DAO teams Notion, writes and publishes the weekly newsletter, hosts the bi-weekly community calls, provides research support, and puts together the weekly cover sales, active coverage data.
Marketing team
Purpose
Expand Nexus Mutual’s brand awareness, engagement with target audiences and drive growth in new membership. Create and execute marketing campaigns; develop and distribute content; and manage Nexus Mutual’s marketing channels.
How team aligns with DAO values, mission
The Marketing team creates awareness about the risk marketplace and reaches prospective members around the world. With a defined content strategy and data-driven metrics to demonstrate their impact, the Marketing team can grow brand awareness and membership within the mutual, while providing DAO members with a measure of their success.
This team aligns with Nexus Mutual’s three core values.
Team
The proposed Head of Marketing (i.e., team lead) is Claudio, who has worked for the DAO since May 2022 and brings with him 10 years’ experience in digital marketing. As a strategic marketer, Claudio is data-driven, customer-centric, and passionate about online branding and visibility with a specialized focus in online advertising.
Operations team
Purpose
Provide support to the DAO teams, manage projects between DAO teams to improve communication and efficiency, coordinate online and in-person events, and improve internal operations within the DAO.
How team aligns with DAO values, mission
The Operations team strives to bring DAO community ownership to coordination of funds, projects, and events.
Through increased transparency, communication/coordination among DAO members and teams, and accountability around funding/performance, this team helps further decentralize the mutual and scale the DAO.
This team aligns with Nexus Mutual’s three core values.
Team
The proposed Head of Operation (i.e., team lead) is Kayleigh, who has served for Q1 & Q2 2023 in this position. Previously, Kayleigh provided community, communications, and marketing support for the mutual since 2018 within the Foundation.
R&D team
Purpose
Overcome hard problems faced by the protocol and ecosystem. Decentralize the problem-solving function, increase transparency, and attract skilled members who want to solve difficult problems.
How team aligns with DAO values, mission
The R&D team strives to overcome hard issues the right way, retaining focus on our mission and values, instead of taking shortcuts that may undermine them.
With a dedicated R&D team, members can effectively work together to face difficult problems and we will aim to attract skilled, active members to discuss, challenge and work together toward solutions.
This team aligns with Nexus Mutual’s three core values.
Team
The proposed Head of R&D (i.e., team lead) is Rei, who has served for Q1 & Q2 2023 in this position. Before serving as Head of R&D, Rei was a founding member of the Nexus Mutual protocol and made a variety of contributions since 2018. Notably, Rei leads the new tokenomics project and acts as liaison for the Investment Committee.
Investment committee
Purpose
Invest Nexus Mutual’s assets in a way that maximizes the return without negatively impacting the mutual’s ability to pay claims on a timely basis.
How committee aligns with DAO values, mission
The Investment committee reviews investment opportunities, writes detailed investment strategy proposals for the governance forum, where they provide members with the potential benefits, risks, and considerations necessary to make an informed decision ahead of on-chain governance votes.
This committee aligns with Nexus Mutual’s three core values.
Committee
The committee is made up of Rei, Gauthier, Nico, and oSaaT, all of whom have served on the Investment committee since its launch in November 2021.
Total DAO team funding requests
| Team | Requested funding for six-month period |
|---|---|
| Community | $110,550 |
| Investment | (Funded from surplus) |
| Marketing | $117,000 |
| Operations | (Funded from surplus) |
| R&D | $36,000 |
| Discretionary budget (shared by teams) | (Funded from surplus) |
| Total | $263,550 |
See the Q3 & Q4 2023 | Proposed Teams, Priorities, and 6-month Budget Breakdown post for a detailed breakdown of costs.
Surplus from Q1 & Q2 2023 funding request
Based on our funding from last quarter, the DAO teams is projecting a surplus of roughly $120,000, which is currently held in USDC within the DAO teams multisig. With this surplus, we will offset expenses for the next six months with these funds.
Namely, Kayleigh’s pay as Head of Operations, the Investment committee funding, and the discretionary budget for the next six months will be funded from this surplus.
These costs have been outlined in the request with a note that they will be funded from the surplus. The requested amount does not reflect these line items funded from the surplus.
Review period
The following two forum posts make up the DAO team funding requests for Q3 & Q4 2023.
- Q3 & Q4 2023 | DAO Teams Budget Request Proposal (this proposal)
-
Q3 & Q4 2023 | Proposed Teams, Priorities, and 6-month Budget Breakdown
- Review of DAO team purpose, priorities, ongoing responsibilities, team members, and budget request
- Existing teams also include Q1 & Q2 2023 performance reviews
These posts will be open for review and comment from 12–24 June.
NMDP
If no substantial comments are received, this funding proposal will transition to a Nexus Mutual DAO Proposal (NMDP), which will open for comment from 25 June and will close on 8 July.
Snapshot vote
After 8 July, the NMDP proposal will transition to a Snapshot vote, which will open on 10 July and will close on 16 July.
We look forward to the community’s review and comments!
Proposal Status
- Open for comment