# Near Community Trust

## Introduction: A NEAR Foundation for Accountability and Change

### The Slow and Inconsistent World of Grant Funding
- Grants are a critical source of funding for organizations and individuals working to make a positive impact in their communities. However, the grant application process can be slow and inconsistent, leaving many deserving teams and projects without the resources they need to succeed. The current grant funding process is bogged down by long wait times, inconsistent decision making, and a lack of transparency. This has resulted in a growing frustration among grant seekers and a decrease in the effectiveness of grant funding as a whole.
## The Solution:
### A Community-Driven Grant Management Platform
- To address these issues, we are proud to announce the launch of a new platform for grant management. This platform is designed to be community-driven, providing grant seekers with a fast, fair, and transparent process for securing funding. The platform utilizes smart contract voting proposals to streamline the grant application process and ensure that grant funding is distributed in a consistent and equitable manner. With community voting at the center of the process, grant seekers can be confident that their proposals are being evaluated based on merit, rather than personal connections or political considerations.
## The Power of Community Voting
- At the heart of the platform is a community voting system that allows grant seekers to submit their proposals and receive feedback from the community. Community members can review and vote on proposals, ensuring that the most deserving projects receive funding. The platform uses a variety of methods, including reputation scores and stake-weighted voting, to ensure that the voting process is transparent and tamper-proof. This eliminates the risk of malicious actors attempting to sway the outcome of the voting process.
## Automated Payouts for Quick and Efficient Funding
- The platform also includes automated payout systems, allowing grant seekers to receive funding quickly and efficiently. Once a proposal has received enough votes to secure funding, the platform will automatically disburse the funds to the grant recipient. This reduces the administrative burden on grant seekers and ensures that funding is disbursed in a timely manner.
## Building Trust and Transparency in the Grant Funding Process
- By putting the power of decision making into the hands of the community and automating the payout process, the platform is designed to build trust and transparency in the grant funding process. Grant seekers can be confident that their proposals are being evaluated fairly, while community members can be assured that the funds are being disbursed to the most deserving projects.
## Review
- The community-driven grant management platform is a game-changer for the world of grant funding. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and putting community voting at the center of the process, we are creating a faster, fairer, and more transparent way for organizations and individuals to secure the funding they need to make a positive impact. We believe that this platform will revolutionize the way that grant funding is distributed, providing grant seekers with the resources they need to succeed and building trust in the grant funding process.

# Methodology:
## A Comprehensive Approach to Community-Driven Grant Management
- The community-driven grant management platform is built on a foundation of transparency, efficiency, and accountability. The platform will utilize a range of innovative technologies and processes to streamline the grant application process and ensure that grant funding is disbursed in a consistent and equitable manner. In this section, we will outline the key components of our methodology, including:
## Transparent and User-Friendly Proposal Submission Format
- The platform will provide grant seekers with a clear and straightforward format for submitting their proposals. This format will be designed to be easy to use and will include all the information that community members need to evaluate the proposal and make an informed decision. The platform will also provide real-time updates on the status of each proposal, ensuring that grant seekers are always informed about the status of their application.
## Clear Voting and Submission Round Procedures
- The platform will have well-defined voting and submission round procedures to ensure that the grant application process is transparent and consistent. Community members will be able to vote on proposals using a variety of methods, including reputation scores and stake-weighted voting, to ensure that the outcome of the voting process is fair and tamper-proof. The platform will also have a clear schedule for voting rounds and submission deadlines, ensuring that grant seekers know exactly when they can expect to receive feedback on their proposals.
## Smart Contract Voting
- The platform will utilize smart contract technology to manage the voting process. This will ensure that the outcome of the voting process is tamper-proof and that the results are automatically recorded on the blockchain. Smart contract technology also eliminates the need for intermediaries, reducing the administrative burden on grant seekers and community members.
## Smart Contract Funds Distribution
- Once a proposal has received enough votes to secure funding, the platform will automatically disburse the funds to the grant recipient using smart contract technology. This will ensure that grant funding is disbursed in a timely manner and that grant seekers receive the funds they need to carry out their projects.
## Event and Project Management for Grantees
- The platform will provide grant recipients with a suite of tools to help them manage their projects and events. This will include scheduling tools, project management tools, and event management tools. These tools will help grant recipients to stay organized and on track, ensuring that their projects are delivered on time and to the highest standards.
## Foundation Management Tools
- In addition to tools for grantees, the platform will also include a suite of foundation management tools. These tools will help grant-making organizations to manage their funding programs, including tracking grant applications, evaluating proposals, and disbursing funds. The foundation management tools will also include tools for reporting and transparency, ensuring that grant-making organizations are held accountable for their funding decisions.
## Schedule Integration
- Finally, the platform will include integration with a range of scheduling tools, including calendars and project management software. This will allow grant seekers to easily coordinate their projects and events with their grant-making organizations, reducing the administrative burden and improving the efficiency of the grant application process.

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## Addendum on Methodology

In addition to these core components, we are continually exploring new and innovative ways to improve the grant application process. Our goal is to create a platform that is flexible, scalable, and adaptable to the changing needs of the community. We believe that by putting the power of decision making into the hands of the community and utilizing cutting-edge technology, we can revolutionize the way that grant funding is distributed, providing grant seekers with the resources they need to succeed and building trust in the grant funding process.