Summary

Reserve $1.2M USDC from the Treasury to fund H2 2023 DAO operating expenditure.

Motivation

Context

KIP-30, which was passed in December 2022, allocated $1.5M USDC from the Treasury to fund operating expenditure for the DAO. This injection of capital enabled us to deliver several projects that continue to position KlimaDAO as the market leader in digital carbon globally.

• With the launch of Carbonmark, we have delivered key technologies covering the entire value chain for digital carbon, from tokenization and trading through to retirement and analytics.
• Through our webinars, reports and direct engagement with industry bodies, we have improved credibility and educated the market about the benefits of digital carbon.
• Through our solutions and sales efforts, we have directly (and indirectly) retired tens of thousands of tonnes of carbon from companies and individuals around the world

The DAO Treasury currently holds $8.3M in USDC, and it is anticipated that by the end of June 2023, the DAO wallet will hold $125K in USDC (and 44K $KLIMA). As per our current policy, the DAO will continue to utilize USDC as the primary payment token for all operating expenditure for the foreseeable future.

To continue to fund project development and growth, the DAO is now requesting an additional allocation of $1.2M USDC from the Treasury for H2 2023 (July to December 2023).

See the forum post and discussion below for full context.

Proposed funding for H2 2023

The DAO is now requesting an allocation of $1.2M USDC from the Treasury to fund operating expenditure for the second half of 2023. Alongside our existing cash balance, the H2 budget request will extend the runway for the DAO until January 2024. This includes ~$188K/month for payroll, and $12K/month for other expenses (e.g. travel, accommodation, events, software, etc.). Note, this runway calculation excludes any future inflows of $KLIMA or $USDC from the sale of digital carbon, trading fees, retirement bonds or traditional bonds.

Use of funds

We propose the following deliverables and workstreams for H2 2023.

Product (Engineering, Product, and Design)

• Upgrade Carbonmark with complete core trading and offsetting features
• Speed up implementation of user-driven features, performance, and UX enhancements
• Expand offerings for integration and automation partners, including APIs, SDKs, and data analytics

Growth (Sales, Marketing, Creative, and Community)

• Acquire new Carbonmark customers through coordinated sales and marketing efforts
• Drive volume by engaging, educating, and deepening relationships with existing customers
• Update brand and launch no-code website to drive funnel performance for KlimaDAO and Carbonmark
• Gather and share customer insights to support marketing campaigns and product development
• Enhance moderation and support, amplify engagement, and implement systems to drive loyalty

Ecosystem (Partnerships and Policy)

• Nurture relationships with VCM and DCM participants, focusing on integrating carbon registries into KlimaDAO
• Collaborate with supply-side stakeholders to diversify carbon supply and align technology stack
• Represent KlimaDAO in carbon-focused industry groups to establish presence and drive the conversation
• Calibrate bond capacities, manage liquidity, and oversee treasury assets for alignment with goals
• Translate strategic objectives into actionable policies, focusing on stability, efficiency, and carbon bonding

Organization (Operations and Legal)

• Enhance performance visibility through metrics and tracking for informed decision-making
• Drive efficiency via financial management, automation, and resource optimization
• Implement DWG recommendations to drive transparency and accountability throughout the organization
• Manage legal and compliance risks and advance our go-to-market from a legal perspective

Detailed breakdown for the use of funds of each department can be found here.