If you have been looking for support to build the next big thing on Stellar, this is the article you must read!
Stellar is a decentralized, public blockchain that is not only faster and cheaper but also more energy-efficient than most public blockchains, with an average cost of $0.0006667 per transaction, a global reach of 180+ countries, $167M TVL, and 5.3s settlement time.
To help builders and developers, Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has introduced various programs that you can apply to:
Instawards
Offered through local Stellar Ambassador Chapters, Instawards is a small funding opportunity for early-stage builders. It prioritizes builders with strong collaboration, commitment, and execution readiness.
Instawards are the first step toward bigger opportunities in the stellar ecosystem.
Build Award
Consisting of 3 tracks - Open, Integration, and RFP - the Build Award provides up to $150k in XLM for teams building on Stellar.
- Open Track: Teams with a plan to build something new on Stellar.
- Integration Track: Teams that are either incorporating an existing Stellar tool or dApp into their project OR already have existing significant traction on any chain or off-chain
- RFP Track: Developers and teams building tools or services, who are prepared to build and ship.
Review Process:
- Prescreen: Complete application and eligibility criteria are met
- Panel Review: Projects are evaluated based on ecosystem value, technical feasibility, roadmap clarity, and team capability.
- Revision Window: Teams are given time to make minor revisions to their submission. This happens before the community vote for Open Track; For the RFP and Integration Tracks, reviewers may request changes.
- Community Vote (For Open Track): SCF community members vote on projects. This drives the final decision.
Audit Bank
SDF covers audits for SCF-awarded projects
Public Goods Award
Public Goods Award supports public goods maintained by the community - key infrastructure, tools for the ecosystem, data, governance, and more of the Stellar ecosystem.
It is managed through Soroban Governor.
Applications for the Public Goods Award are invitation-only. If you meet the eligibility requirements, make sure to check the #scf-governance discord channel for next review period.
Liquidity Award
The Liquidity Award provides funding for the initial liquidity needs of financial protocols that have completed security audits and are live on Stellar mainnet. Liquidity Award can provide a Base Liquidity Award of $50K with a Supplemental Liquidity Award of an additional $50k.
Growth Hack
It is an 8-week, competition-style GTM/PMF program where 10-15 teams compete with $20k in initial funding to run a 4-week acquisition + 4-week retention campaign. Top performers receive a share of $200k. The program helps teams find PMF and serves as a bridge between development funding and further growth.
Each program has its own requirements and rules. The funds are provided in XLM, which is the native currency of Stellar.
You can choose which program to apply for based on your stage. If you are just starting out, apply for Instawards. Later, you can apply for SCF.
Stellar focuses heavily on DeFi products like remittances, asset tokenization, wallets, and payments. So, if you are building something related, you should definitely apply to these programs.
For more information, read the SCF handbook here: https://stellar.gitbook.io/scf-handbook
For information on SCF projects, upcoming rounds, and submission forms for eligible projects: communityfund.stellar.org
Happy developing!
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