Gov/en/Portal:Economy/Need-Driven-Funding

💡 In simple words: The Need-Driven Funding is a fair rule that decides how the monthly money is split. It makes sure the platform always keeps enough to run, then shares the rest between rewards and the community.

🎯 In 20 seconds (scientific summary): Need-Driven Funding (formerly "Boost", "Balanced Boost" or "Funding Stabilizer", deprecated names) is WikiDeal's core financial formula: it divides monthly subscription revenue between Rewards for early supporters and Karma tokens for the ecosystem, according to the platform's financial health. A minimum operational budget of CHF 25,000 per month is always covered first; below that threshold, all available funds go to operations and core rewards, while above it the ecosystem share grows with revenue. The mechanism protects early supporters, the ecosystem and operations at the same time, and removes any benefit from stagnation.

Formerly known as Boost, Balanced Boost or Funding Stabilizer: those names are deprecated.

Need-Driven Funding: The Subscription Distribution Formula

The Need-Driven Funding mechanism is WikiDeal's core financial formula. It determines how subscription revenue is divided between Rewards (paid to early supporters) and Karma tokens (contributed to the ecosystem) based on WikiDeal's financial health at any moment.

The Core Principle

WikiDeal must maintain a minimum operational budget of CHF 25,000 per month to cover:

• Project management and coordination
• Governance and voting infrastructure
• Annual community events and sessions
• Administrative overhead

The Need-Driven Funding formula automatically adjusts the cash-to-Karma-token ratio to ensure this minimum is always met, while maximizing the flow of value back to the community.

The Formula

Need-Driven Funding Distribution:

IF Monthly Subscription Revenue ≥ CHF 25,000:   • Rewards: Variable (remaining after minimum)   • Karma tokens: Balance (prioritized)

IF Monthly Subscription Revenue < CHF 25,000:   • Rewards: Priority (to meet minimum)   • Karma tokens: Remainder only

How It Works: Two Scenarios

Scenario	Monthly Subscription Revenue	Cash to Early Supporters	Karma tokens to Ecosystem	Decision
Growing (Healthy)	CHF 100,000+	~25% (CHF 25,000)	~75% (CHF 75,000+)	Generous reward ratio; ecosystem gets most
Bootstrapping (Lean)	CHF 25,000–50,000	~50% (CHF 12,500–25,000)	~50% (CHF 12,500–25,000)	Balanced; operational needs met
Critical (Survival)	<CHF 25,000	~100% (all available)	0% (deferred)	All funds to minimum operational budget

Why "Balanced"?

The formula is called "Balanced" because it:

• Protects early supporters: They receive a minimum redistribution if subscription revenue meets targets
• Protects the ecosystem: As revenue grows, Karma tokens flow increases exponentially, not linearly
• Protects operations: The CHF 25,000/month minimum ensures governance and events never suffer
• Creates incentives: Growing user adoption benefits everyone—no one benefits from stagnation

Examples

Example 1: Early Growth (10K Users)

Monthly subscription revenue: CHF 100,000 (10,000 users × CHF 10/year ÷ 12)

Distribution:

• Operational minimum: CHF 25,000
• Rewards (25%): CHF 25,000
• Karma tokens (remaining): CHF 50,000

Early supporters receive their share; ecosystem gets most.

Example 2: Bootstrapping (2K Users)

Monthly subscription revenue: CHF 16,667 (2,000 users × CHF 10/year ÷ 12)

Distribution:

• Operational minimum: CHF 16,667 (all available)
• Rewards: CHF 8,334 (50% of total)
• Karma tokens: CHF 8,334 (50% of total, still contributes)

No surplus; everything goes to operations and core rewards.

Example 3: Momentum (50K Users)

Monthly subscription revenue: CHF 416,667 (50,000 users × CHF 10/year ÷ 12)

Distribution:

• Operational minimum: CHF 25,000
• Rewards (25%): CHF 104,167
• Karma tokens (remaining): CHF 287,500

Explosive ecosystem growth; early supporters well-rewarded; operations fully funded.

The CHF 25,000/Month Minimum

This budget covers:

Project Coordination (50%)

CHF 12,500/month

Leadership, planning, stakeholder engagement

Governance & Events (30%)

CHF 7,500/month

Voting infrastructure, annual conference, monthly sessions

Administration & Operations (20%)

CHF 5,000/month

Legal, accounting, facilities, misc.

This is not fixed forever. As WikiDeal scales, operational costs may increase (more events, larger team, etc.). The formula will adjust accordingly, but the principle remains: operational health comes first, ecosystem growth second.

Karma tokens vs. Cash: The Trade-Off

In early, bootstrapping phases, there's an important trade-off:

⚠️ When revenue is tight: More cash goes to operations, fewer Karma tokens flow to the community. This is intentional. It's better to have a stable, well-run ecosystem with slower Karma tokens growth than an underfunded one that collapses.

However, as WikiDeal grows, Karma tokens accelerate exponentially because the operational minimum becomes a tiny fraction of total revenue.

Transparency & Auditing

WikiDeal commits to monthly public reporting of:

• Total subscription revenue
• Cash and Karma token distributions (absolute and percentage)
• Operational spending against the CHF 25,000 budget
• Cumulative totals toward the CHF 500M break-even target

Early adopters will have real-time visibility into how their subscription money flows through the system.

The Long-Term Vision

Need-Driven Funding is designed to be self-liquidating. As subscription revenue grows and early supporters' initial contribution is repaid (via the 25% allocation in the four-lot model), their need for rewards diminishes. Eventually, nearly 100% of subscription revenue can flow to ecosystem Karma tokens and community projects.

This creates a natural evolution:

• Years 1–3: Balanced (cash ↔ Karma tokens)
• Years 3–5: Karma-token-heavy (70–80% Karma tokens)
• Years 5+: Ecosystem-first (90%+ Karma tokens)

WikiDeal transforms from a startup (needing to repay founders) to a commons (where value flows to participants).