| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Grant Program Name | Metachrysalis Changemaker Community — Fraser Lowland (Round 01) |
| Application ID | APP-PLT5TGSI-3AFXDM |
| Application URL | https://app.karmahq.xyz/localism-fund/browse-applications/APP-PLT5TGSI-3AFXDM |
| Primary Contact | Daniel Lindenberger (Thaumazo Cofounder, Program Lead) |
| Organization | Thaumazo |
| Submission Date | November 4, 2025 10:02 PM (MST) |
| Round / Review Cycle | Round 01 – Cycle 1 |
| Total Score | 12.40 / 16 |
| Local Co-Funding Raised | $10,000 (account) |
| Estimated Disbursement | $11,200 |
| Application Status | Confirmed Approval |
| Operator Contact | Patricia ([email protected] / @patriciaparkinson on Telegram) |
| Evaluation Check | Status |
|---|---|
| Application Completed Sufficiently | ☑ Yes |
| Meets Program Criteria | ☑ Yes |
| Meets Round Criteria | ☑ Yes |
| Local Program Proceeding / Matching Funds Confirmed | ☑ Yes |
| Overall Readiness | Ready |
→ Total Average Score: 12.40 / 16
| Evaluation Category | Avg Score (out of 4) | Reviewer Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1️⃣ Program Scope & Strategic Alignment | 3.3 | *“Funding a network of local organizers, empowered to engage in self-directed but strategically coordinated local action is a compelling program design. The program could be improved by paying closer attention to the movement building strategy and self-organizing capacity of this emerging local organizer network. The program is nascent and will need to develop some significant learnings before it can mature into a sustainable model but the early signs indicate a promising direction in program design.” |
”This program is well thought out. The organization has a track record of funding allocation and local program development. The timeline feels a little tight but I believe they will be able to do it. The organization is positioning itself as a leader in their community and appears to build in an open source way that can be replicated.”
”Clear scope. Strong local grounding, centred in a bioregional approach. Replication strategy underway and open source playbook to be produced.”* | | 2️⃣ Local Co-Funding & Financial Sustainability | 3.0 | *“Strong co-funding history and commitments via the Partek community and Scott Nelson. This indicates at least one strong funding source with the possibility of securing additional philanthropic support in the near future. The program would score higher if more than one funder had an established funding relationship with Thaumazo.”
”$10k funding and additional funding in the works. “
”Strong donor engagement with $10k secured. However, funding sources lack diversity and round operational costs of 33% are rather high.”* | | 3️⃣ Round Operations, Mechanisms & Impact Framework | 3.0 | *“This is the area that could use the most improvement for this program. While the subsidiary and democratic mechanism of selected local organizers selecting local organizers for funding is compelling, the program lacks a coherent impact reporting approach. This makes sense given the early stage of the project but even proposing a formal approach to linking “warm data” collected by local communities about local organizer performance and submitting those warm data reports to Karma Gap would be enough to significantly improve this application. Additionally, DAO frameworks for self-governing the local organizing group would ensure that the program retains its self-organizing character as it evolves. Currently, it relies on a centralized decision-making body for the initial evaluations without a clear strategy to scale or replicate the program if it is successful. The current impact reporting and onchain component feel unclear and ungrounded. More work is needed to produce a clear operational roadmap that sets up the program for success.”
”They appear to have a solid plan for tooling with much of the work and impact being brought onchain. They are building out tooling that will be open sourced and provides the community with transparency, sovereignty and ownership of data. Will be interesting to see how the sociocratic decision making is conducted and brought onchain”
”Detailed operational plan with clear project phases and month-by-month timeline. Strong impact evaluation framework encompassing quantitative, qualitative and emergent data.”* | | 4️⃣ Team Capacity & Community Anchoring | 3.0 | *“The Metachrysalis team represents a strong combination of technical, local, and sociocratic knowledge required to engage local communities and empower them through participatory social processes. Direct knowledge of Karma Gap and other related reporting and onchain allocation tools may be limited which may create some gaps in knowledge that could effect program operations. With Darren Zal as the only Etherean on the team, much will fall to him in terms of implementation that might be beyond the scope of his availability given all of his other commitments. Daniel is clearly a capable operator and organizer but I have concerns about the capacity of the team to develop something with appropriate web3 technology integration.”
”A strong team based on the information provided. The team has many strenths and experience in web3 tooling, tokenomics, AI and more.”
”Committed and experienced team with solid community anchoring. Lack of Ethereum expertise beyond Darren Zal and no details about operational capacity beyond the core team.”* |
“Funding local organizers as a strategy for non-linear local systems change is a strategy I am keen to explore through Localism Fund. While this application leaves room for improvement in terms of onchain reporting and governance, its strength lies in the subsidiary and democratic mechanism used to allocate funds to local organizers as well as the strategic framing of the Metachrysalis game to provide scaffolding for coordinated yet self-organizing activities, an excellent example of coordinated action within self-organizing ecosystems.”
”This is an exciting pilot that will be exciting to watch. I love the concept and the open source approach that will enrich and educate not only the selected projects but the other projects in the cohort as well. My only critique is that the timeline feels tight but based on the teams skills I feel confident you will make it happen.”
”Well-designed bioregional program with strong local grounding and comprehensive Ethereum integration. Active replication strategy across different locations demonstrates strong potential. Operational costs seem high; more diversity in funding sources could bring more resilience and capacity for growth.”