The Psychedelic Giving Circle
How it works
A fund is its members
A fund is a group of people who each give a little and take turns deciding where it goes. No board, just the community.
Each cycle, a random fifth decides
Each cycle, 20% of the community are called to rank their choices within the budget constraints. Cumulative votes determine rankings, and grants are funded in descending order until the money runs out.
The cycle
- 1Chip inMembers give a little on a schedule. The money pools up, held by the fund's sponsor, never by us.
- 2The pool fillsWhen it reaches the cycle goal, a funding cycle opens. Every dollar in and out is on a public ledger.
- 3Members applyAny member can put forward a project while a cycle is open. Entries close when the cycle's voters are drawn.
- 4A jury is drawnA share of the members is drawn at random to vote, so no one campaigns and no one is in charge.
- 5They voteEach voter picks the projects they would fund within the budget. The most-backed projects win, down the list; the last may be partially funded.
- 6Money goes outEveryone can skip individual winners first. Then the sponsor pays, winners report back, and the pool starts filling again.
- What it costs
- $1, $2, $5 or $10 a week, charged once a year. The card fee is added on top so the full amount reaches the pool.
- Who decides
- A random draw of the members each cycle. Every eligible project and verified nonprofit nomination is on the ballot, one entry per member. Everyone gets a say in the confirmation step.
- Where the money sits
- With the fund’s sponsor: a nonprofit fiscal sponsor, or a trust held by the fund’s stewards, with its own bank account and named on the fund’s page. The platform never holds it.
Questions
Who legally holds contributions?
Contributions are held in an unincorporated trust with three board members: Kwasi Adusei, Wilhelmina De Castro and Mike Margoleis. The trust has its own bank account; Kleros never holds the money.
How are funds accounted for?
Every dollar in and out is on the circle's public ledger: each contribution, the sponsor's fee, the card processing members cover, and each award paid out. The ledger shows amounts and dates, never names.
Stripe is the record of what was charged, and the ledger is reconciled against it.
How are grantees nominated and selected?
While a cycle is open, any member can enter one idea: their own project, or a nonprofit they nominate. Every eligible entry goes on the ballot.
When entries close, a random share of the members is drawn to vote. Each voter backs the projects they would fund within the cycle's budget. The most-backed projects are funded first, down the list, until the budget runs out; the last one over the line may be partly funded.
Before anything is paid, every member sees the result and can confirm their share or skip a project.
What are voting rights, and do higher levels get more votes?
One member, one vote, one entry per cycle, at every level. A higher level puts more into the pool and buys no extra say. Voters are drawn at random from all the members, so no one campaigns and no one is in charge.
Are contributions tax-deductible, and who issues receipts?
Today, contributions are not tax-deductible. In the future, under a fiscal sponsorship, they can be, excluding any optional support for Kleros, the platform that hosts the circle. The fiscal sponsor will issue receipts.
What happens on cancellation or non-renewal?
Contributions are non-refundable, though in case-by-case circumstances a cancellation may be refunded. If you do not renew, you will not be charged in a subsequent year, and you can stay up to date with the work the circle's members amplify.
How is Kleros funded, including voluntary support?
Kleros takes no fee from your contribution. The platform runs on the optional support members choose to add when they join: any amount, including none, shown as its own line at checkout and on your receipt, renewing with your membership until you change or remove it from your account page.
Support never comes out of the circle's money.
What happens if a funding cycle does not proceed?
If no entries come in, the cycle closes with nothing on the ballot and its budget stays in the pool for the next one. If a vote ends with no ballots cast, or the pool cannot cover the awards, the stewards hold the cycle and look before anything is paid.
Your contribution is never lost; it waits in the pool for the next cycle.