Balancer Community is the ecosystem surrounding the development of Balancer Protocol. Our goal is to build a Protocol that is the building block of DeFi, allowing it to capture the largest percentage of DeFi market share through flexibility and simplicity.
Everyone contributes to building the community and we are all responsible for creating a safe, energized and inclusive environment. We are driven by our passion for DeFi and Balancer Protocol. With respect to privacy, all members have the freedom to participate in the form they prefer, allowing for the opportunity to maintain their anonymity.
As Balancer Community becomes more autonomous in the process of creating a Community Lead Organization, the levels of participation and engagement with the Ecosystem develop. You can think of Balancer Community in the concept of circles
Balancer Governors decided to allocate part of the ecosystem fund to reward efforts of the contributors that stand out in their expertise, helpfulness, and time they allocate to Balancer. These rewards take 3 Forms: Grants, Bounties and Balleries.
Grants Program is in place to support research and innovation. Anyone can submit a proposal for a grant with description of the project and how it will contribute to the growth of the protocol. Grant Stewards review and approve/deny Grants. Grant Stewards submit a report to the Governors summarizing quarterly activity and requesting a new batch of funding.
You can apply for a grant using grants.balancer.finance
Bounties are put up by the Governors (and temporarily by employees of Balancer Labs) to fund targeted research and development. If the community is in need of a certain solution/feature, a bounty can be defined to provide financial incentive to the outside world to work on the projects. Most of the bounties are announced through GitCoin.
Balleries are BAL rewards to the community volunteers that are tasked with overseeing the continued growth and decentralization of the Balancer protocol, including BAL governance. There are four main objectives for this group (sometimes called the Ballers)
(1) help others learn more
(2) interface with other community members
(3) interface with projects
(4) provide guidance on the development of Balancer Protocol.
Receiving a Ballery for your contributions is rare and is a recognition of your seniority in the Balancer Community. Early contributors and participants should not expect to receive a Ballery unless they work on a strategically important project. It is the Community's intention to only approve candidates that are driven by the passion for Balancer Protocol. Becoming a Baller is not applying for a job - there is no interview, no contract and no salary.
Right now, we see 4 levels of balleries, based on ongoing engagement: