FWB Fellowships v2

Author(s): KD, Sinikiwe, Phelps, Renata, Filiberto, Renny, Kiru, Shannon, Nicholas, Ronin, Lia, Leanne + Social Impact channel

Abstract

This proposal seeks to re-establish the FWB Fellowships program, with a new cohort of 25 artists, builders, and thinkers interested in broadening their understanding of web3 and making an impact in wider communities. The cohort and educational program will encourage diverse (socioeconomically, racially, gender, and geographically) candidates with a myriad of skill sets to apply. We look to embolden this cohort to take on projects that impact (trans)local communities within and outside of FWB.

Motivation

Though market conditions have significantly changed since the first FWB Fellowships proposal passed, there is still a financial barrier to entry for many that prohibits joining the FWB community. With the proposal ratified last year to phase out the Local tier of membership, there is additional need to create meaningful on-ramps for people looking to join FWB and the web3 space at large.

We believe that FWB can extend the knowledge of the DAO and its members to wider communities, and can engage this opportunity by encouraging fellows to complete projects that foster cross-community collaboration.

Impact on FWB community

In line with the update to FWB’s Mission, Vision and Values, the Fellowships program provides an opportunity for the DAO to welcome new members and communities to convene and build a vision of a better internet. The program embodies several of FWB’s core principles, most notably our commitment to collective effort, being good neighbors, and using web3 tools to engage civically.

The Fellowship program stands to benefit the FWB community by onboarding a diverse (socioeconomically, racially, gender, and geographically) group of candidates into the DAO, bringing in fresh voices, opinions, and points of view. The Fellowship cohort is intended to act as a container, onboarding Fellows into the FWB community as a peer-group. Past FWB fellows have contributed to the DAO in meaningful ways as core contributors on the Operations, Membership and Editorial teams.

As this proposed Fellowship program seeks to encourage projects not just of the artistic variety, we hope these projects will also benefit the DAO by increasing visibility to new communities and creative thinkers.

Testimonial from V1 Fellowships participant

“The inaugural FWB Fellowships program was my onboarding ramp to the wild world of Web3, and with an almost full year under my belt since “graduation”, I can clearly see the invaluable impact it’s had on my recent trajectory. A web2 vocal artist for over a decade, I minted my first music NFT on Catalog as part of the Fellowships collection. It ended up being snagged by @C.Y. - @cxy, introducing us to each other and opening the floodgates for our epic collaborations. To this day, we’re passionately prototyping important story-telling tools for artists utilizing web3 tech. With weekly mints since fall 2022, and a museum-before-NFT-giftshop on the way, I have never felt so self-aware and confident as an artist. Feel free to check out the evolving narrative here, noting the emphasis on: ✰ collection optional ✰ ☑︎ enjoyment encouraged ☑︎ https://zez.am/forrestmortifeeNFTs All this is to say, I simply wouldn’t have had the means of entry (nor the push I needed!) to access these levels of alignment, abundance, and adventure this past year without the FWB Fellowships program. 10/10 would recommend to any artist just entering the space! ” - Forrest Mortifee#8565

Program Summary

FWB Fellowships v2 seeks to fund a 25-person fellowship cohort, taking place in the Fall of 2023. The Fellowship program will comprise an educational syllabus to onboard the cohort into web3 and the DAO, featuring a speaker series with leading voices in the space and office hours to discuss projects and challenges with the cohort and wider community. Successful completion of the program will also require fellows to complete an impact-minded project, extending the knowledge of the DAO + fellows to wider and broader communities.

Process: Application, Selection and Program

Application

The program will be open for all non-members and previous Local members to apply, and we will encourage the 400 applicants from the inaugural fellowship program to apply to the cohort. We enthusiastically open this fellowship to artists, builders, and thinkers interested in broadening their understanding of web3. Our desired candidate is inquisitive, seeks to contribute to our community, and because of extenuating circumstances, may otherwise not be able to join our DAO.

Selection

Applicants will be selected on the basis of need, merit and skill - as defined below.

• Need: One of the core motivations for Fellowships is to provide opportunities for candidates who may come from a less advantageous socioeconomic position.

• Merit: Those who have a penchant for creativity, a desire to make a thing, and a propensity to develop into tomorrow’s thought leaders.

• Skill: Those with who are keen to utilize their present skill set to create projects which will have an impact on the FWB and broader communities.

A committee of self-nominated FWB members (including the authors of this document, membership Host Committee, and other members interested in participating) will select a 25-person shortlist, which will be brought to the wider membership group for final selection in a Snapshot vote.

Program

The 25 selected candidates will take part in a 3 month fellowship cohort. The cohort will complete an educational program of synchronous and asynchronous material, including introductions to web3, wallet safety, and the speaker series, as well as an impact-minded project.

Each cohort will also have access to a current FWB member who will act as a guide and lead “Studio” channels in the Discord, which will break the cohort into smaller pods for discussion and questions. To complement the Discord studios, bi-weekly office hours will be held in the voice chat to discuss projects with the FWB community.

To demarcate the beginning and end of the Fellowship cohort, and to establish rituals within the group and DAO, commencement and “graduation” events will be planned in the voice chat and on Twitter Spaces.

Alongside completion of the education program, Fellows will be required to use their skills on an impact-based project, either within or outside of the FWB ecosystem. This could be hosting an event, participating in a local community project, creating an art piece, or another initiative relevant to the Fellow. The project will need to be completed by the end of the cohort cycle in November 2023.

Roadmap

May 2023

• Proposal is brought to community for feedback and discussion

• Insights from feedback round integrated into proposal and brought to vote on Snapshot

June 2023

• Fellowships application developed, with consideration of inaugural Fellowship application

• Open call for Fellowships Selection Committee and Fellowships Guides within FWB

July 2023

• Fellowship applications open for 4 weeks

• Education syllabus developed

August 2023

• Speaker series confirmed

• Fellows selected by fellowship committee

• Fellows notified and prompted to mint non-transferable NFT

September 2023

• Fellowships program begins, kicking off with commencement voice chat with the DAO

• Weekly speaker series

• Bi-weekly Office Hours in the voice chat, all members encouraged to join to meet and follow Fellows journey

October 2023

• Fellowships program continues, projects are confirmed and production work begins

• Weekly speaker series continues

• Bi-weekly Office Hours continues

November 2023

• Cohort completion, projects are finished and presented to the community in the Discord voice chat and Twitter Spaces

Outcomes

• Fellows will be required to use their skills on an impact-based project, either within or outside of the FWB ecosystem. This could be hosting an event, participating in a local community project, creating an art piece, or another initiative relevant to the Fellow

• Fellows will be granted a membership NFT to join FWB

• Fellows will gain working knowledge of the Web3 ecosystem

Looking forward

Ideally, the Fellowships will become an evergreen program in FWB, taking place twice per year and constantly growing and incorporating feedback from previous cohorts. To iterate on the program, program facilitators, number of fellowships awarded, and budget, proposals will be brought to the community each year.

Resourcing and budget

Operations Requirements

Fellowship Coordinator - Sinikiwe Stephanie Dhliwayo

The Fellowships Coordinator for 6 months (June- November 2023) will be responsible for overseeing the fellowships program. This will require working directly with each of the twenty fellows to develop and execute their final projects. From making the proper introductions where possible to providing logistical support.

The Fellowships Coordinator will book and coordinate all the biweekly fellowships meetings, including booking speakers and facilitating those sessions.

The Fellowships Coordinator will also champion the mental and physical well-being of the fellows. The pace of web3 is often fast moving and not forgiving when it pertains to taking time to step away. The fellowships coordinator will ensure that the fellows feel supported in the process of the fellowships program.

The coordinator will be remunerated @ 0.75 ETH/month (part-time) for 3 months, for a total of 2.25 ETH from the Fellowships treasury.

During the active months of the Fellowship cohort, the coordinator will be remunerated @ 3000$ USD/month (full-time) for 3 months, for a total of $9000 from FWB treasury.

Fellowship Facilitators - KD + FWB member TBC

Two fellowship facilitators will assist the Fellowship Coordinator in developing the Fellowships curriculum, stewarding the application process, onboarding fellows and seeing projects through to completion.

The 2 facilitators will each be remunerated @ 20 $FWB/month for 6 months (June-November 2023), for a total of 240 $FWB from Fellowships treasury.

Fellowship Committee - Host Committee + FWB members TBC

Following the application period, the Fellowship Committee will determine the short-list of Fellows for the wider FWB community to vote on. The Committee will be composed of current Host Committee members and self-nominated FWB members.

The 20 committee members will be remunerated 10 $FWB (1 time, August 2023), for a total of 200 $FWB from Fellowships treasury.

Fellowship Guides - FWB members TBC

The Fellowship Guides will lead Discord “studio” channels, engaging with Fellows in onboarding to FWB and questions about the DAO and web3 at large.

5 guides will be remunerated @ 10 $FWB/month for 3 months (September-November 2023), totalling 150 $FWB from Fellowships treasury.

Fellowship speakers - TBC

As part of the Fellowships curriculum, 5 speakers will be invited to engage with the cohort and discuss their professional journeys.

5 speakers will be remunerated @ 10 $FWB, totalling 50 $FWB from Fellowships treasury.

Fellowship NFTs

This proposal asks for 25 transferable membership NFTs to be minted by the DAO and transferred to Fellows, with gas fees to be covered by the DAO.

Budget

Fellowships treasury

Fellowships v2 Budget
Total ETH (Fellowships Treasury)	2.25
Total USDC (FWB Treasury)	9,000
Total $FWB (Fellowships Treausry)	640

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Fellowships budget	Jun-23	July-23	Aug-23	Sept-23	Oct-23	Nov-23	Total
Fellowships Coordinator (ETH)	0.75	0.75	0.75	0	0	0	2.25
Fellowships Coordinator (USDC)	0	0	0	3,000	3,000	3,000	9,000
Fellowships Facilititator (x2) ($FWB)	40	40	40	40	40	40	240
Fellowships Committee (x20) ($FWB)	0	0	200	0	0	0	200
Fellowship Guides (x5) ($FWB)	0	0	0	50	50	50	150
Fellowship Speakers (x5) ($FWB)	0	0	0	0	0	50	50

Discussion Call

Here is a link to the recording of the Fellowships v2 proposal discussion call.