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Program Structure

The CoW Grants Program operates under a structured governance framework as defined in CIP-82, which renewed the program for 2026.

Committee Composition​

CIP-82 established a five-member committee (three community members and two core team members) with a 3/5 signing threshold, designed to prevent core team veto while maintaining distributed control. Following the departure of @middleway.eth in March 2026, the committee now consists of four members with a 3/4 threshold:

Committee Roles​

Each committee member may serve in one or more of these roles:

Technical Lead​

  • Conducts technical assessments of grant applications
  • Manages the technical infrastructure
  • Provides technical guidance to stewards and grantees

Grant Steward​

  • Serves as primary point of contact for assigned grantees
  • Monitors and evaluates grant milestones
  • Facilitates safe and timely execution of payments
  • Consolidates grantee updates for the community

Grant Moderator​

  • Screens applications and ensures timely reviews
  • Monitors communication channels
  • Maintains order and transparency in the process

Safe Structure​

As updated in January 2026, the Grants Treasury Safe has been migrated to Ethereum Mainnet to simplify accounting and treasury top-ups:

  • The Grants Committee Safe (eth:0xCA1F000D520c21C47E6c634DD31b92b91A6338bD) manages grant disbursements
  • To improve capital efficiency, funds are released in quarterly increments (25% of the annual allocation)
  • The committee maintains the authority to return up to 75% of idle assets to the CoW Treasury
  • CoW DAO remains the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) of the Committee Safe

Decision Making Process​

  1. Grant proposals are submitted on the forum
  2. The committee assigns a steward and reviewer
  3. Community discussion and feedback takes place
  4. The proposal moves to Snapshot for formal voting
  5. With 3/4 committee approval, the grant is executed

Grant Lifecycle Management​

For each approved grant:

  • A steward oversees the grant's progress
  • A reviewer (internal or external) evaluates technical milestones
  • Monthly payout cycles process approved milestone payments
  • Grantee Feedback Forms are completed upon project conclusion to drive operational improvements
  • Regular updates are shared via the CoW Grants Hub

Communication and Resources​

For questions about the program structure, please post in the grants section of the forum.