Cardano Open: Ecosystem

Budget Available

Total Budget: ₳3,000,000 available

Proposal Range: from ₳15K to ₳60K

Overview

Cardano Open: Ecosystem will fund non-technical initiatives that drive grassroots ecosystem growth, education, and community engagement to broaden Cardano’s reach and onboard new users.

Cardano’s passionate global community is a foundation for growth, yet more can be done to expand adoption. This category focuses on building the creative capacity to deliver local campaigns and beyond that bring awareness and attention to Cardano from the hearts and minds of the grassroots community collective.

Learn more at cardano.org.

Category Requirements

Do

• Deliver Community engagement projects

• Deliver grassroots growth, education projects

• Clearly outline goals, activities, and measurable outcomes

• Design for new Cardano communities

Don’t

• No software or hardware development

• No vague or irrelevant value to Cardano

• No clear targets or KPIs

Who should apply?

This category is for educators, marketers, content creators, and community leaders passionate about expanding Cardano’s global reach through non-technical initiatives, such as marketing experts launching social media campaigns, educators developing blockchain courses, or community organizers hosting hackathons. If your proposal focuses on software or hardware development, apply to Cardano Use Cases or Cardano Open: Developers instead.

Areas of Interest

Proposals may focus on non-technical initiatives, such as:

• Cardano Community Hubs that create or maintain a local Cardano presence in cities or regions worldwide

• Growth-focused marketing campaigns and public outreach e.g. a social media campaign to promote Cardano adoption.

• Community hackathons or builder outreach events e.g. a virtual workshop for new developers.

• Content creation or curation e.g. educational videos on Cardano’s features.

• Mentorship, incubation, or collaboration programs e.g. a startup accelerator for Cardano-based projects.

• Educational advancements e.g. a university course on blockchain with Cardano case studies.

• Local policy, standards, or regulation advocacy e.g. a policy paper on Cardano’s role in regional finance and pathways to present to local authorities

Proposal Guidance

• Proposals must focus on non-technical initiatives like marketing, education, or community building, not software/hardware development.

• Clearly articulate how the initiative will expand Cardano’s global footprint or onboard new users, using measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and relevant metrics e.g. event attendance, content reach, new user registrations.

• Ensure activities are inclusive and accessible to both existing and new Cardano communities.

• Proposals must have a delivery timeline of no more than 12 months.

• Publicly accessible outputs where applicable e.g. educational content, event reports, or marketing materials.

• A timeline with clear milestones e.g. campaign launch, event dates, content release.

• Optional: Plans for sustained community engagement, such as follow-up events, social media campaigns, or mentorship programs.

Eligibility Criteria

The following will not be funded:

• Proposals not primarily focused on grassroots ecosystem growth through marketing, education, or community building.

• Proposals centered on software or hardware development e.g. a fan loyalty platform or marketing automation tool belong in Cardano Use Cases category.

• Proposals lacking clear goals, measurable outcomes, KPIs, or relevance to Cardano’s ecosystem.