Authors: @jarisjames (Founder of daospace), amendment @jose_stablelab (StableLab)
Abstract
This proposal requests approval for the disbursement of Q2 2025 rewards under the amended RRC-40 Delegate Incentive Program. The updated framework introduces a fixed-per-activity reward model that simplifies compensation and aligns incentives with the DAO’s current scale and participation goals. Delegates are rewarded for onchain voting, rationale posting, and proposal authorship, each capped at 500 RARI per category, with a maximum total of 1,500 RARI per delegate. This update also includes a revised eligibility model that reflects the DAO’s dual governance setup on Ethereum and Rari Chain, along with a detailed breakdown of qualifying participants and payout calculations.
Motivation
The original Delegate Incentive Program was designed to enhance the quality and consistency of governance participation in RARI DAO. However, as governance activity on Rari Chain evolves, there is a need to adapt the incentive structure to remain aligned with the DAO’s scale, engagement, and financial sustainability.
This amendment introduces a clear, capped, and predictable reward model that supports fair compensation without overextending the DAO’s resources. The fixed model encourages broader participation by lowering entry barriers, while still promoting meaningful engagement through voting, rationale posting, and proposal authorship. The proposed structure also reflects community feedback around aligning compensation with governance workload, and aims to balance inclusivity with fiscal responsibility.
Rationale
This revised incentive model supports RARI DAO’s core values of transparency, decentralization, and open participation. By replacing the previous point-based model with fixed-per-activity rewards, the DAO simplifies operations, offers greater predictability to delegates, and ensures proportional compensation without administrative overhead.
The cap of 1,500 RARI per delegate per quarter reinforces the vision of scaling the program horizontally rather than vertically, distributing incentives more broadly to attract new contributors rather than concentrating rewards among a few.
In contrast to larger DAOs with complex participation metrics (e.g., Arbitrum or MakerDAO), RARI DAO operates with a modest governance cadence and budget. Accordingly, this program is designed to be lightweight and accessible, with low thresholds for participation and a strong emphasis on inclusivity. The 2,000 RARI voting threshold is deliberately modest, opening the door to a wider and more diverse delegate set.
Finally, by tying rewards to core activities and maintaining clarity in how rewards are earned, the DAO increases accountability while incentivizing vigilant participation. In the broader context, this helps to mitigate governance risks and aligns the incentives of contributors with the long-term security and decentralization of Rari DAO.
Specifications
Eligibility Criteria
To qualify for rewards in Q2 2025 under the RRC-40 Delegate Incentive Program, delegates were required to meet the following conditions:
- Minimum Voting Participation: Delegates must have at least 60% voting participation requirement set in RRC-40.
- Voting Power Requirement (Amended): Delegates must have at least 2,000 veRARI delegated to them on Ethereum Mainnet. However, to account for the dual-governance model introduced with Rari Chain, this requirement has been amended to also include delegates with at least 2,000 RARI voting power on Rari Chain.
- Active Delegate Thread: Delegates must maintain an active Delegate Thread on the RARI DAO governance forum, posting rationale for each vote during the quarter. Forum activity was reviewed to confirm compliance.
- Updated Delegate Profile in Tally including Delegate name and description, expertise and skills and previous achievements.
- Not already paid for delegate services by Foundation.
Reward structure (amended)
The RARI rewards are fixed per activity, and not dependent on a pooled points system. Each delegate’s payout is determined individually based on:
- Percentage of votes participated in
- Percentage of rationales submitted
- Number of proposals authored (capped at one 500 RARI reward per proposal, even with multiple authors)
This simple, transparent system ensures predictable, merit-based compensation for delegates while aligning with the DAO’s expectations for active participation.
1. Onchain Voting Activity – 500 RARI
Delegates are expected to actively vote on all onchain proposals on the RARI DAO via Tally. Participation in 100% of onchain votes during the quarter earns a delegate 500 RARI. If a delegate misses any votes, the reward will be prorated based on the percentage of votes participated in, e.g., voting on 80% of proposals will yield 400 RARI.
This component ensures that delegates remain consistently engaged with DAO decision-making.
2. Voting Rationales – 500 RARI
In addition to voting, delegates must maintain an active Delegate Thread on the RARI governance forum. After each vote, delegates should post a rationale within their thread (or link to a detailed comment left on the proposal’s forum thread) outlining:
- How they voted (For / Against / Abstain),
- Their reasoning for the vote,
- Any concerns or suggested improvements,
- Iteration ideas, even if they supported the proposal,
- Honest reflections if they lacked clarity on the topic.
Writing rationales for 100% of onchain votes in a quarter earns 500 RARI. Partial completion will be rewarded proportionally, e.g., rationales for 60% of votes will yield 300 RARI.
We encourage thoughtful, non-generic input. Rationales must reflect independent reasoning and constructive feedback.
3. Proposal Authorship – 500 RARI
Delegates who take initiative to author proposals will receive additional rewards:
- 500 RARI for authoring a proposal that passes the onchain stage.
- If multiple co-authors exist, the reward will be split equally among contributors.
- Proposals that include built-in author compensation (e.g., grants, working group budgets) are not eligible for this reward.
The proposal should be beneficial and aligned with the DAO’s strategic goals and promote growth for the DAO and/or the Rari ecosystem.
Key Terms
- veRARI: Voting-escrowed RARI
- RRC-40: The passed proposal establishing the Delegate Incentive Program
- Rationale: Delegate explanation of vote posted on the forum
- Point System: Scoring method that determines payouts
Steps to Implement
- Publish the Q2 report and proposal to the forum
- 7-day review period for community feedback
- Submit proposal to Tally for DAO vote
- Upon passing, disburse RARI to eligible walletsstrong text