3 ♣ · Coordination · Draft

Time-bound Funding

A funding round with a fixed pot, a fixed deadline, and the top voted proposals taking the money.

The Time-bound Funding card: 3 ♣ of Coordination

How it works

The DAO sets aside a fixed amount of money and announces a round. Proposals can be submitted only during a set window, often one or two weeks. When the window closes, token holders vote on the proposals. Voting also runs for a fixed period. At the end, the proposals with the most votes split the pot, either equally or by rank. Everything else is dropped, and the next round starts fresh.

Use it when

  • You want to cap spending per period instead of approving proposals one by one.
  • Create a deadline that pushes builders to submit rather than wait.
  • Compare many small proposals against each other in one vote.

Watch out for

  • Good proposals that miss the window wait weeks, and weak ones can win a thin round.
  • Popularity contests: well-known names win votes over better but unknown proposals.

Example

Prop House. Nouns DAO launched Prop House in 2022, running rounds where builders submit ideas in a set window and the top voted ones each receive a fixed ETH grant.

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