Summary
Builder DAO has been awarded $140,500 equivalent in XLM to bring Nouns Builder to Stellar. This is a major win. We receive external funding to expand Builder to a new ecosystem, which pays for the work, and returns $16,600 to the DAO treasury.
The first 10% grant payment of $14,050 in XLM has arrived in the Stellar multisig. This proposal asks the DAO to ratify the grant, its delivery team, and the high-level allocation below.
Proposal
The grant funds a Soroban-native version of Nouns Builder: a no-code DAO launchpad with auctions and membership launches, governance tokens, an on-chain treasury, proposals and voting, modular upgrades, and a web application that makes the contracts accessible.
The work is led by Satori as Community Resident and benedictvs and dan13ram as Tech Residents, with support from the Ops Working Group and limited external technical and design contributors.
The DAO is asked to ratify this allocation across the full award:
| Allocation | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Development and delivery | Core team delivery plus external technical advice, design, and contingency | $108,900 (77.5089%) |
| Ops Working Group | Accrued progressively with grant payouts and transferred only through follow-on DAO proposals | $15,000 (10.6762%) |
| Builder DAO treasury | Returned to and retained by the DAO in USDC as grant tranches are paid | $16,600 (11.8149%) |
| TOTAL | $140,500 |
The grant is paid in four stages; 10% on approval, then 20% for the MVP, 30% for testnet, and 40% for mainnet. The DAO and Ops shares accrue proportionally as each payment is received.
The first payment was received on 3 September 2026 in this Stellar transaction.
What to expect
The work runs through three delivery phases over roughly six months:
- MVP: core Soroban contracts and a usable testnet DAO creation, auction, treasury and governance flow.
- Testnet: security hardening, membership launches, modular governance/NQG compatibility, improved UX, legal-wrapper export and pilot onboarding.
- Mainnet: security review and remediation, production deployment, operational runbooks, public documentation and launch support for 2–3 pilot DAOs.
The launch of Builder on Stellar is to be expected in Q1 2027. The team will report both to the DAO and SCF on milestone completion and timeline.
Treasury impact
This proposal requests no funds from the Builder DAO treasury. It ratifies the receipt and management of third-party grant proceeds.
Across the full award, $16,600 in USDC is allocated to and retained by the Builder DAO treasury. A further $15,000 Ops allocation will accrue with grant payments. Following each conversion and treasury deposit, Ops withdrawals require a separate DAO proposal.
Grant proceeds also cover the upcoming September and October Tech Residency tranches previously approved under Proposal 65. This proposal re-ratifies the use of third-party funding for the residency.
Accountability and transparency
The Stellar multisig is operated by Satori, benedictvs, dan13ram, and patti. Several operators are also funded contributors. Those overlapping roles are disclosed here expressly: they are necessary for delivery but do not permit unilateral payments.
The team will:
- use the multisig’s on-chain approval threshold for payments;
- maintain a ledger of grant receipts, conversions, fees and disbursements;
- publish milestone and financial updates;
- route the DAO and Ops shares through the Builder DAO treasury in USDC;
- use separate proposals for Ops withdrawals; and
- return unused contingency and residual funds to the DAO treasury unless the DAO approves another use.
North Star check
Builder DAO exists to create and develop free and accessible DAO infrastructure as a public good. This grant advances that mission without drawing development funding from the DAO treasury, brings Builder into the Stellar ecosystem, and creates new open-source infrastructure for communities launching and governing on-chain organisations.
Exchange-Rate Disclaimer
Grant proceeds are received in XLM, while the USDC amounts stated in this proposal represent the approved payout targets. Where the net XLM-to-USDC conversion proceeds are sufficient to meet those targets, the stated USDC amounts will be paid in full.
If the exchange rate falls below the level required to meet them, the available proceeds will instead be distributed proportionally according to the ratified allocation percentages.
Vote
A vote FOR ratifies:
- acceptance and execution of the $140,500 Stellar grant;
- the delivery roles of Satori, benedictvs, dan13ram, the Ops Working Group and external support;
- the $108,900 development / $15,000 Ops / $16,600 DAO treasury allocation;
- custody and grant administration through the disclosed Stellar multisig;
- conversion and deposit of the DAO and accrued Ops shares into the Builder DAO treasury in USDC; and
- coverage of the upcoming Proposal 65 residency tranches from grant proceeds without duplicate payment.
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