For the past four years, I’ve been working closely with Community Leaders, KOLs, ambassadors, creators, and ecosystem builders across multiple blockchain ecosystems. During this time, I’ve managed international KOL campaigns, coordinated creator communities, and built long-term relationships with Community Leaders from different countries.
Today, I actively work as a KOL Manager, and one thing has become very clear to me over the years:
Communities rarely grow because documentation exists. They grow because trusted people explain that knowledge in a way their own communities understand.
That observation inspired this proposal.
GitHub Proposal
Why this proposal?
The Zcash ecosystem already has excellent educational resources.
There are official documents, educational articles, and previously funded initiatives like the Mastering Zcash video series.
Rather than spending grant funding creating another educational course, I wanted to build something that complements the work that has already been done.
My goal is to transform existing educational resources into educated Community Leaders who can continue expanding Zcash education long after the grant is finished.
Instead of creating more educational content, I want to create more educators.
How does the program work?
The project introduces the Zcash Community Leaders Network (ZCLN).
It is designed as a season-based education program, making it sustainable rather than a one-time campaign.
Each season begins with an open application process.
Up to 20 Community Leaders from different countries and communities will be selected.
During the first week, participants will complete a structured learning path using existing Zcash educational resources, including official documentation and previously funded educational content.
After completing the learning materials, participants must pass a knowledge assessment.
Only participants who successfully pass the assessment will join the active Community Leader cohort.
The goal is simple:
Before someone teaches others about Zcash, they should first demonstrate that they understand it themselves.
Learning by Teaching
After passing the assessment, participants enter the active phase of the program.
For the next four weeks, they will educate their own communities using the communication formats that best fit their audience.
Examples include:
Educational X posts and threads
Telegram discussions
Articles
Videos
X Spaces
Educational AMA sessions
Wallet and privacy education
The purpose is not to create promotional campaigns.
The purpose is to encourage Community Leaders to share what they have genuinely learned with the communities that already trust them.
Every educational activity will be submitted through a Community Contribution Tracking System built with Google Forms.
Throughout the season, contributions will be reviewed based on:
Educational quality
Technical accuracy
Originality
Consistency
Community engagement
Overall contribution to the Zcash ecosystem
At the end of the season, the strongest contributors will receive performance-based rewards from the Community Reward Pool.
Educational AMA Sessions
Education shouldn’t only come from videos and documentation.
During each season, the program will invite one or two experienced Community Leaders to participate in educational AMA sessions.
These sessions will allow participants to ask questions, discuss community-building strategies, and learn from people with practical experience managing and growing communities.
Building Something That Lasts
One of the main objectives of this proposal is sustainability.
This isn’t designed as a one-time education campaign.
It is designed to become a program that continues season after season.
The project will establish an official ZCLN X account, which will serve as the public educational hub of the initiative.
The account will continuously publish beginner-friendly educational content, explain Zcash concepts in simple language, highlight outstanding Community Leader contributions, announce future seasons, and share educational resources with the broader community.
Participants will also be encouraged to tag the official account whenever they publish educational content, allowing the best educational content to be recognized and shared throughout the ecosystem.
After completing the program, graduates won’t simply disappear.
They will remain part of the ZCLN Alumni Network, where they can continue supporting future participants, mentor new Community Leaders, join AMA sessions, and continue contributing educational content.
This allows the network to become stronger every season instead of starting from zero each time.
The Long-Term Vision
The goal of this proposal isn’t simply to educate twenty Community Leaders.
The goal is to build a repeatable system that continuously develops knowledgeable Community Leaders who can introduce Zcash to new communities around the world.
By investing in trusted educators instead of short-term promotional campaigns, I believe we can create long-term educational value for the Zcash ecosystem while making the most of the excellent educational resources that already exist.
I’d genuinely appreciate any feedback, suggestions, or constructive criticism.
I’m especially interested in hearing your thoughts about:
The overall program structure
Participant selection
The learning and assessment process
The reward model
Long-term sustainability
Any ideas that could make the program even more valuable for the Zcash ecosystem
Thank you for taking the time to read the proposal, and I look forward to hearing your feedback.
Personally, I don’t trust most KOLs who show up in CT. In general, their accounts grow inorganically, many of them have an army of bots behind them, and they jump from one project to another in just days or weeks. I know there are a few who do work seriously and honestly, but in my years of experience in CT, I’ve seen that the majority of KOLs have low-quality followers who only show up for a giveaway or bounty and leave as soon as they get it.
Another issue is that many of them make shady, under-the-table deals to promote tokens that end up being scams, hurting unsuspecting retail investors.
Years ago, a report came out showing that the Polkadot DAO had invested $37M USD in marketing. Part of that money was paid to several KOLs, and it became a huge scandal because they had paid influencers who were actively involved in scamming people. Even ZachXBT posted about it.
That said, could you provide a list of at least 5 KOLs you work with so we can check their track records?
Your proposal seems different because it has an educational focus and you’re requesting funds publicly with clear objectives. Since the Zcash community will eventually know who these KOLs are when the reports are published anyway, I don’t see any problem with us knowing them now so we can properly evaluate their quality.
I like the intention behind this proposal, but I came away with two questions.
First, if the goal is to educate community leaders, I’d expect the proposal to first demonstrate a deep understanding of the existing Zcash ecosystem. Before becoming an educator, I think it’s important to first become a student of the ecosystem.
Today we already have education and onboarding efforts through @ZecHub ambassador-led workshops, and contributor development initiatives like @ZecForge . I didn’t see much discussion of how those informed this proposal or where the current gaps are.
Secondly, why are you the right person to lead an education initiative? What experience within the Zcash ecosystem gives you confidence that you’re well-positioned to teach others and coordinate community leaders across different regions?
I think answering those two questions would make the proposal much stronger.
Aside from that, the average post reach is ~19k to ~100k users (just views), so its essentially paying upwards of 10 cents to a dollar per person who the posts reached
And of course, a deep, comprehensive and long understand of Zcash has to be demonstrated to be able to hold an AMA, and I don’t have the confidence in them because most of their images on X posts seem blatantly AI generated.
I appreciate the effort that went into this proposal and the focus on education.
That said, I have a few concerns. The proposal seems to rely on rewarding educational activity, but it’s not clear how success would be measured beyond the number of posts, AMAs, or other content. Those metrics don’t necessarily show whether people are actually learning about or adopting Zcash.
I’m also not sure how this is meaningfully different from ambassador or creator programs that already exist in many ecosystems. The structure is thoughtful, but I’d like to better understand the unique value it brings.
My biggest question is around sustainability. The proposal talks about future seasons and an alumni network, but it’s unclear how the program would continue once the grant ends if incentives are no longer available.
These are genuine questions, not criticisms. I think addressing them would make the proposal much stronger.
First of all, thank you for this question. I think it’s a very fair concern.
I actually agree with many of the points you raised.
I’ve been working as a KOL Manager for the past four years, managing a global network of more than 750 Community Leaders and creators. During that time, I’ve worked with hundreds of KOLs across different ecosystems.
Because of that experience, I know that many KOL accounts are artificially inflated with bots or low-quality followers, and unfortunately some people participate only in paid promotions without adding any real value to their communities.
I’ve seen this firsthand over the years, which is exactly why I designed this proposal differently.
This program is not based on paying influencers to promote Zcash.
Instead, every participant must first:
Study existing Zcash educational resources.
Pass a knowledge assessment.
Demonstrate a solid understanding of Zcash.
Only then become eligible to educate their own community.
In other words, the program follows a simple philosophy:
Learn → Prove your knowledge → Teach your community → Earn rewards based on educational quality and contribution.
Regarding your request to share five KOLs, I don’t think that would be appropriate.
The proposal is based on an open application process, not on a predefined list of people I have already selected. It also wouldn’t be fair to publicly share the names of people I’ve worked with before they have decided whether they even want to participate.
If the proposal is funded, the selection process, accepted participants, and final reports will all be public. At that point, the community will be able to evaluate not only who participated, but also the quality of their educational contributions.
The goal of this proposal isn’t to recruit influencers. It’s to develop trusted educators.
Thank you for the thoughtful questions. I appreciate them because they touch on two important aspects of the proposal.
Regarding the first point, I completely agree that anyone who educates others should first become a student of the ecosystem.
That is actually one of the main reasons why this proposal intentionally builds on existing Zcash educational resources rather than creating a new course from scratch. The goal is not to replace or compete with initiatives like ZecHub, ZecForge, or other community efforts. On the contrary, I see those initiatives as valuable resources that can strengthen the learning path for participants.
The gap I believe exists is different.
Today, we have educational resources. What we don’t yet have is a structured and repeatable system that identifies Community Leaders, verifies that they understand the material, and then supports them while they educate their own communities.
This proposal focuses on that missing layer.
Regarding your second question, over the past 33 days I’ve spent a significant amount of time studying the Zcash ecosystem. I’ve been reading forum discussions, reviewing previous ZCG proposals, going through official documentation, watching educational resources such as the Mastering Zcash series, and trying to understand not only the technology itself but also the ecosystem, community initiatives, and previous educational efforts.
At the same time, my professional experience comes from a different area.
For the past four years, I’ve worked with Community Leaders, KOLs, ambassadors, and creators across multiple blockchain ecosystems. My expertise is in building and coordinating Community Leader programs, developing structured education models, and helping communities grow through trusted educators.
I believe these two experiences complement each other. My understanding of the Zcash ecosystem allows me to design an effective learning program, while my experience managing Community Leaders helps me build a scalable system that can identify, educate, evaluate, and support participants over multiple seasons.
I think there may be a small misunderstanding about my role in this proposal.
This proposal is not asking ZCG to fund me as a KOL to promote Zcash.
My role is to design and coordinate the Community Leader program, recruit participants through an open application process, organize the learning process, oversee the knowledge assessment, coordinate educational activities, and evaluate contributions throughout each season.
For the past four years, I’ve worked as a KOL Manager and Community Leader coordinator across multiple blockchain ecosystems. My experience is in building communities, managing educational campaigns, and coordinating Community Leaders—not simply publishing promotional posts.
The educational foundation of this program comes from existing Zcash resources, including official documentation and previously funded educational initiatives. Every participant must study those materials and pass a knowledge assessment before becoming an active Community Leader.
The objective isn’t to create influencers or marketers. It’s to develop Community Leaders who have demonstrated an understanding of Zcash and can responsibly introduce it to their own communities.
I completely understand the concerns around influencer marketing in crypto, and that’s actually one of the reasons this proposal focuses on education, assessment, and accountability rather than paid promotion.
Thank you for your thoughtful questions. I really appreciate them.
Measuring Success
I completely agree that success shouldn’t be measured simply by the number of posts or AMA sessions.
The goal of this program is not to reward activity for the sake of activity. It’s to reward meaningful educational impact.
For that reason, participants will be evaluated using a scoring system rather than a single metric. The evaluation will combine multiple factors, including:
Educational quality and technical accuracy.
Originality of the content (rather than AI-generated or copied posts).
Consistency throughout the season.
Effort invested in creating educational content.
Number and variety of educational activities completed.
Community engagement and discussion generated.
Reach and audience size, as one factor among many—not the only one.
For example, a participant who writes thoughtful educational threads in their own style and actively answers questions from their community may receive a higher evaluation than someone who simply publishes many low-effort posts.
The objective is to identify Community Leaders who genuinely help people understand Zcash, not simply those who generate the highest numbers.
How is this different from a traditional ambassador program?
I believe the biggest difference is that this proposal doesn’t start with promotion.
It starts with education.
Most ambassador programs recruit participants and immediately ask them to create content.
In this program, participants must first study existing Zcash educational resources, pass a knowledge assessment, and only then begin educating their communities.
The objective isn’t to create marketers.
It’s to develop Community Leaders who have demonstrated that they understand Zcash before teaching others.
Sustainability
I also agree that sustainability is one of the most important questions.
The long-term vision isn’t to run a single six-week campaign.
Instead, each completed cohort becomes part of the ZCLN Alumni Network. Experienced Community Leaders will be encouraged to support future cohorts by mentoring new participants, joining AMA sessions, answering questions, and continuing to contribute educational content.
At the same time, the official ZCLN X account will remain active between seasons, continuously sharing educational resources, highlighting outstanding Community Leader contributions, announcing future cohorts, and serving as a long-term educational hub for the community.
The initial grant builds the foundation, but the goal is to create a self-improving network that grows stronger with every new season rather than starting from zero each time.
Thank you again for these questions. They are genuinely valuable, and they help improve both the proposal and the overall structure of the program.
It is extremely ironic that your responses are straight up generated by AI, likely passed through a filter. You didn’t even proofread your responses to the point that bullet points (the AI likely generated them) or headings were edited.
In a grant proposal. To get thousands of dollars.
This… does not give me faith in whatever you are claiming you are able to do. This IS content, writing is.
You’ve only been trying to slander people from an account you opened 3 days ago. I looked at your replies to other people; they’re just negative criticisms, you don’t have any positive feedback. You’re not transparent. I won’t argue with you any further.
Thanks for the clarification. I understand the distinction you’re trying to make.
One point I still disagree with is the claim that “we don’t yet have a structured and repeatable system.”
The ecosystem already has several structured initiatives addressing different parts of education and contributor development. @ZecHubZecHub has established educational resources and contributor pathways, ambassador-led workshops have already produced new contributors, and initiatives like @ZecForge are building structured systems for developing creators before they contribute.
You also mention spending the last 33 days studying the ecosystem. I’d expect that understanding to be reflected in the proposal itself. Instead, it overlooks existing initiatives while describing this as a missing layer, and I don’t see any demonstrated Zcash educational work or ecosystem contributions that substantiate that understanding.
This solidifies my resolve in building @ZecForge , the people championing Zcash shouldn’t be paid KOLs or shills, instead Zcash will be championed by people who were organically onboarded, interested in the privacy movement and Zcash infrastructure, skilled in their craft and knowledge of Zcash’s values.
This is being approached the wrong way; the community should evaluate the recipients of public funds before any money is actually distributed, in order to determine if it is appropriate.
In my opinion, funding an opaque network of KOLs is risky and yields low impact, especially given that we cannot identify who they are or review their past work. Frankly, I would not want to fund a KOL who has appeared on ZachXBT’s list or who promotes three low-cap memecoins a week, and the power to ensure that doesn’t happen lies in your hands.
Although you speak of attracting quality educators and community leaders, your network revolves around KOLs. With all due respect, in practice, KOLs are far from being community leaders or educators; as you yourself have stated and experienced.
I have further observations regarding other points in this proposal, but the issues already mentioned, combined with your responses here, lead me to decide not to support it.
