AI-Admin-Assistant: Add donation mechanism (pre-purchased subscriptions), no voting rights, ×50 falls at CHF 25k — from Théo dictation

2026-06-19T11:48:44Z

Add donation mechanism (pre-purchased subscriptions), no voting rights, ×50 falls at CHF 25k — from Théo dictation

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:48, 19 June 2026
Line 58:		Line 58:
	</blockquote>		</blockquote>

			== How donations are channelled: pre-purchased subscriptions ==
			WikiDeal accepts public funding and donations — including from '''foundations''' or others wishing to support this kind of approach — without giving them priority. The mechanism is deliberately simple: funders '''allocate the benefit as years of subscription''', pre-purchased for '''target audiences'''. The money goes directly into '''pre-purchased subscription years''', which in turn '''further stimulates private funding'''.

			Two points must be stated clearly:

			* '''No voting rights.''' Private funding grants '''no specific voting rights''' of any kind — only '''rewards'''.
			* '''The ×50 is front-loaded and decreasing.''' The average ×50 multiplier '''starts to fall as soon as CHF 25,000''' is reached, consistent with the decreasing bonding curve.
	----		----

AI-Admin-Assistant: Create Public Funding position & strategy (Article 3) — from Théo dictation

2026-06-19T11:47:18Z

Create Public Funding position & strategy (Article 3) — from Théo dictation

New page

{{KidsIntro|This page explains how WikiDeal can also receive money from public institutions — as gifts for the common good, not as investments expecting profit.}}

{{NotApproved}}

= Public Funding: Position & Strategy =
''From WikiDeal, the Wikipedia of e-commerce — [[Gov/en/Portal:Economy/Main|Economy Portal]]''

<blockquote>funding (Article 3).
</blockquote>

-----

== The key principle: donation, not investment ==

Public funding can run '''in parallel''' with private support. But it must take one form only: '''donation / grant against deliverables, in service of the commons''' — and in '''no case''' a guaranteed return on investment.

This is the number-one point. WikiDeal steps entirely outside the logic of investment funds: there are '''no guaranteed shares, no stock options, no shareholder return'''. The counterpart is a '''reward if the project succeeds''', not control over equity.

<blockquote>A pure grant model — which, for a cold start, is actually well suited.
</blockquote>
== A track record in public programmes ==

The Ynternet.org Foundation is no newcomer to public funding. It has filed:

* '''20+ projects''' under '''FP7 / Horizon 2020''';
* close to '''100 projects''' under the '''Lifelong Learning Programme (EACEA)'''.

Experience in pure research programmes is more limited — and that experience taught two lessons.

== The difficulties identified ==

# '''AI has flooded the funnel.''' The sheer number of submitted projects is now extreme, and they all use the same keywords. It has become very hard for evaluators to see the genuine difference between proposals.
# '''The Wiki culture is hard to evaluate.''' Several times the foundation reached the final shortlist, faced expert questions, and saw how difficult it was for evaluators to grasp the Wiki culture — leading to dysfunctional assumptions about how the project would operate.

A striking, even shocking, example: '''billions — possibly tens of billions''' — have been invested in '''decentralised Semantic Web''' approaches (such as '''Solid''', by Tim Berners-Lee) and decentralised data structures. Despite those sums, there has been '''virtually no emergence''' — and nothing that today serves a project like WikiDeal. (See also the structured-data discussion in the Data portal.)

== The strategic position: deposit, but don’t depend ==

The conclusion is nuanced:

* '''Will we take part in publicly funded research projects''' (EU or otherwise)? '''Yes.'''
* '''Will we file applications?''' '''Yes.'''
* '''Will we count on them, or prioritise them?''' '''No''' — because of their all-or-nothing nature and the time lost (a failed call can mean waiting another full year).

The chosen strategy is deliberately different.

== The “guerrilla” mode ==

WikiDeal’s primary approach is what we call '''guerrilla mode''': a '''small, highly mobile team''', able to receive '''tens or hundreds of thousands of Swiss francs in donations''', and to promise '''rewards in return''' — for people whose key motivation is not equity control, but a '''reward if the project works''', and belief in it.

== Why public funding would still help ==

Public funding would nonetheless be welcome. If the '''bonding curve''' continues to be used, public money creates a '''provision fund''' for the Ynternet.org Foundation — a reserve to '''prevent risks and stimulate trends'''.

Concretely, the first prototype currently runs at an '''average ×50''': for each franc of support, the reward is on average fifty times greater.

<blockquote>This is '''not''' enormous compared with the outcomes of successful start-ups — but it is enormous '''in terms of image'''. That distinction matters, and must be stated clearly.
</blockquote>

----

== See Also ==
* [[Gov/en/Portal:Economy/Initial-Funding|Initial Funding]]
* [[Gov/en/Portal:Economy/Why-Fund-WikiDeal|Why Fund WikiDeal?]]
* [[Gov/en/Portal:Economy/Bonding-Curve|Bonding Curve]]
* [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Research:Why-And-How-It-Can-Work|Why and How WikiDeal Can Work]]

[[Category:Migration June 2026]]

Gov/en/Portal:Economy/Public-Funding - Revision history

AI-Admin-Assistant: Add donation mechanism (pre-purchased subscriptions), no voting rights, ×50 falls at CHF 25k — from Théo dictation

AI-Admin-Assistant: Create Public Funding position & strategy (Article 3) — from Théo dictation