### Terms and Conditions
- [x] I agree to the [Grant Agreement](https://9ba4718…c-5c73-47c3-a024-4fc4e5278803.usrfiles.com/ugd/9ba471_f81ef4e4b5f040038350270590eb2e42.pdf) terms if funded
- [x] I agree to [Provide KYC information](https://9ba4718c-5c73-47c3-a024-4fc4e5278803.usrfiles.com/ugd/9ba471_7d9e73d16b584a61bae92282b208efc4.pdf) if funded above $50,000 USD
- [x] I agree to disclose conflicts of interest
- [x] I agree to adhere to the [Code of Conduct](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/zcg-code-of-conduct/41787) and [Communication Guidelines](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/zcg-communication-guidelines/44284)
- [x] I understand all milestone deliverables will be validated and accepted by their intended users or their representatives, who will confirm that the deliverables meet the required quality, functionality, and usability for each user story.
- [x] I agree that for any new open-source software, I will create a `CONTRIBUTING.md` file that reflects the high standards of Zcash development, using the [`librustzcash` style guides](https://github.com/zcash/librustzcash/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#styleguides) as a primary reference.
- [x] I understand when contributing to existing Zcash code, I am required to adhere to the project specific contribution guidelines, paying close attention to any [merge](https://github.com/zcash/librustzcash/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#merge-workflow), [branch](https://github.com/zcash/librustzcash/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#branch-history), [pull request](https://github.com/zcash/librustzcash/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#pull-request-review), and [commit](https://github.com/zcash/librustzcash/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#commit-messages) guidelines as exemplified in the `librustzcash` repository.
- [x] I agree to post request details on the [Community Forum](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/c/grants/33)
- [x] I understand it is my responsibility to post a link to this issue on the [Zcash Community Forums](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/c/grants/33) after this application has been submitted so the community can give input. I understand this is required in order for ZCG to discuss and vote on this grant application.
### Application Owners (@Octocat, @Octocat1)
@Beyond
### Organization Name
Beyond
### How did you learn about Zcash Community Grants
Zcash Forum and ZecHub
### Requested Grant Amount (USD)
6000
### Category
Community
### Project Lead
```project-lead.yaml
Name: Beyond
Role: Coordinator of the Zcash Ukraine Regional Community Initiative.
Background: An educator in digital security and privacy, and a Web3 community organizer with experience in communities such as Nym and Web3Privacy Now. Coordinator of the Zcash Ukraine initiative since June 2025.
Responsibilities: Overall project management, strategic planning, content production oversight, organization of offline events, community engagement across platforms (Telegram, Twitter/X, Instagram), and management of the regional ambassador program.
```
### Additional Team Members
```team-members.yaml
Additional Team Member 1
Name: Regional Ambassador(s)
Role: Community Outreach and Event Support
Background: An engaged regional ambassador has already contributed significantly to event organization. The plan includes potentially onboarding one or two more ambassadors.
Responsibilities: Assisting in event planning and organization, local content creation, community outreach, and facilitating practical onboarding of new users at meetups.
```
### Project Summary
Zcash Ukraine is a six-month initiative to develop the Ukrainian-speaking Zcash community through localized education (~100 posts/month), active chats, and two offline meetups with practical wallet onboarding. The goal is to give Ukrainians the tools for private, censorship-resistant digital payments and scale the impact through an ambassador program.
### Project Description
The Zcash Ukraine Regional Community Initiative is a project dedicated to building and scaling a vibrant, Ukrainian-speaking community around Zcash. Launched in June 2025, the initiative has successfully established a presence across multiple social platforms, hosted offline events, and produced a significant volume of localized educational content. This proposal seeks continued funding for a six-month period (December 2025 – May 2026) to deepen our impact and expand our reach.
In the context of war, economic instability, and increasing financial surveillance in Ukraine, there is a growing demand for secure and private financial tools. Zcash, with its strong privacy protections, is uniquely positioned to empower Ukrainian freelancers, activists, entrepreneurs, and everyday citizens by offering a censorship-resistant means for financial autonomy. This project aims to bridge the knowledge gap and drive practical adoption of Zcash through consistent, high-quality education and community engagement.
**Project Goals:**
- Community Growth: Continue to grow and scale the Ukrainian-language Zcash community across platforms like Telegram, Twitter/X, and Instagram, fostering an active and engaged user base.
- Educational Content Creation: Produce and distribute a steady stream of high-quality, localized educational content (approximately 100 posts monthly, totaling over 600 pieces). This includes infographics, video explainers, news updates, and practical guides in Ukrainian to enhance understanding and usability.
- Practical Onboarding: Host two offline meetups in Dnipro or other Ukrainian cities. These events will focus on hands-on workshops and practical sessions to onboard new users directly to Zcash wallets, helping them understand and use the technology confidently.
- Ambassador Network Expansion: Support and expand the network of regional ambassadors. By empowering local advocates, we aim to create a sustainable, self-perpetuating model for Zcash advocacy and community growth beyond the grant period.
- Enhance Zcash's Reputation: Solidify Zcash's reputation in Ukraine as a leading and practical solution for private digital payments, increasing its visibility among IT professionals, activists, and the broader crypto community.
### Proposed Problem
The primary challenge this project addresses is the critical need for accessible, private, and censorship-resistant financial tools among Ukrainian citizens facing a combination of severe pressures:
1. War and Economic Instability: The ongoing conflict has disrupted traditional banking infrastructure and created significant economic uncertainty, forcing people to seek alternative ways to safeguard their assets and conduct transactions.
2. Increased Financial Surveillance: In response to the crisis, there is a trend towards greater financial monitoring and control, which can limit financial freedom and privacy for ordinary citizens, freelancers, and activists.
3. High Crypto Adoption Without Sufficient Education: While Ukraine ranks among the top countries globally for cryptocurrency adoption, much of this adoption is happening without deep, practical knowledge, especially concerning privacy-preserving technologies. Users often lack the understanding to securely manage and transact with privacy-focused assets like Zcash, leaving them vulnerable.
This project directly tackles the gap between the high demand for financial autonomy and the low availability of localized, practical education on how to achieve it using Zcash. Without a dedicated educational initiative, the potential of Zcash to empower Ukrainians remains largely untapped.
### Proposed Solution
Our solution is a multi-faceted, community-centric strategy designed to directly address the identified challenges by transforming Zcash from an abstract concept into a practical, everyday tool for financial autonomy. We will achieve this through three core pillars of activity:
1. Consistent, High-Quality Education: We will produce a steady stream of localized content (~100 posts/month) across Telegram, Twitter/X, and Instagram. This content will be tailored to a Ukrainian audience, breaking down complex topics into simple, actionable information, including news, infographics, and video explainers. The goal is to build a foundational understanding of why privacy is important and how to use Zcash safely and effectively.
2. Practical, Hands-On Onboarding: Theory alone is insufficient. We will organize two in-person meetups that serve as practical workshops. These events will guide new users through the entire process of setting up and using a Zcash wallet for shielded transactions. This direct, face-to-face interaction is crucial for building trust and overcoming technical hurdles, ensuring users leave with the confidence to transact privately.
3. Sustainable, Scalable Growth: To ensure the project's long-term impact, we will continue to support and expand our regional ambassador program. By identifying and empowering motivated local advocates, we create a network effect, allowing community growth and education to continue organically. This model decentralizes the initiative and builds a resilient, self-sustaining community that can carry the mission forward beyond the grant period.
By combining accessible digital content with practical in-person training and a sustainable growth model, we will solve the problem by not just raising awareness, but by actively creating confident, empowered Zcash users across Ukraine.
### Solution Format
The solution will be delivered through a combination of digital content, community management, and in-person events. The primary deliverables for this 6-month period are:
**Digital Content & Community Engagement:**
_Format: A continuous stream of localized, Ukrainian-language educational content distributed across multiple platforms._
**Deliverables:**
- Approximately 600 individual content pieces (averaging 100 per month) including social media posts, threads, infographics, and short video explainers on Telegram, Twitter/X, and Instagram.
- Active management and moderation of the Zcash Ukraine Telegram community, including hosting regular interactive sessions like AMAs, Q&A sessions, and polls to foster engagement and answer user questions.
- Monthly progress reports shared with the Zcash community to ensure transparency and showcase results.
**In-Person Events:**
_Format: Offline community meetups focused on practical education and networking._
**Deliverables:**
- Two fully organized offline meetups held in Dnipro or other accessible Ukrainian cities. Each event will feature hands-on workshops for Zcash wallet setup and practical demonstrations of shielded transactions.
**Community Infrastructure:**
_Format: A structured support system for local advocates._
**Deliverables:**
- _A developed and supported network of regional ambassadors (maintaining at least one active ambassador and onboarding one or two more). This includes providing them with resources and compensation to assist in event organization and local outreach._
### Dependencies
Resources
Budget of $1,000/month for: content production and moderation (~100 posts/month), logistics for 2 offline meetups (space rental, equipment, consumables), ambassador support.
Event locations (Dnipro or other cities), equipment (projector/screen, Wi-Fi, power supply), handouts.
Design/video tools, localization and editing in Ukrainian, content templates, and brand guidelines.
Collaborations
Interaction with Zcash Community Grants (reporting, feedback), Zcash Global, and ZecHub (cross-posts, content synergy).
### Technical Approach
-
### Upstream Merge Opportunities
-
### Hardware/Software Costs (USD)
0
### Hardware/Software Justification
-
### Service Costs (USD)
0
### Service Costs Justification
-
### Compensation Costs (USD)
6000
### Compensation Costs Justification
For executing these activities, we request funding of 1000 per month over 6 months , totaling 6000.
### Total Budget (USD)
6000
### Previous Funding
No
### Previous Funding Details
Our initiative has received preliminary grants from ZecHub and community support, enabling us to make significant progress since its launch in June 2025. The results of the preliminary funding have laid a solid foundation for the work described in this new proposal.
### Other Funding Sources
No
### Other Funding Sources Details
_No response_
### Implementation Risks
-
### Potential Side Effects
-
### Success Metrics
We will measure the success of the project using a set of quantitative and qualitative indicators grouped by key areas of activity.
Content and Reach
Amount of content (Quantitative): Publication of at least 100 pieces of localized Ukrainian content (posts, infographics, videos) per month, totaling over 600 pieces over a 6-month period.
Audience Growth (Quantitative): Continuous increase in the number of subscribers on key platforms: Telegram, Twitter/X, and Instagram.
Reach and engagement (quantitative): Tracking reach metrics (e.g., Instagram views, which reached 18,500 in September) and engagement levels (likes, comments, reposts) to assess content resonance.
Search visibility (Qualitative): Maintaining top positions in Google search results for the key query “Zcash Ukraine”.
Practical implementation and events
Offline events (Quantitative): Successful organization and holding of two offline meetups during the grant period.
Onboarding rate (Quantitative): Achieving a high percentage of successful installation and use of Zcash wallets (e.g., Zashi) among event participants, with the goal of reaching 100%, as in previous events.
New Users (Quantitative): Counting the specific number of new users who were onboarded and made their first transaction during the workshops.
Onboarding Quality (Qualitative): Collecting feedback from participants on the ease of use of the wallet and their confidence in continuing to use Zcash for real-world needs.
Community Development and Sustainability
Community Activity (Qualitative): Assessing the level of activity in the Telegram chat through discussions, Q&A sessions, and not just by the number of participants.
Ambassador Program (Quantitative/Qualitative): Support at least one active regional ambassador and recruit 1-2 new ones. Success will be measured by their contribution to event organization and local engagement.
Transparency and accountability (Qualitative): Timely publication of detailed monthly reports for the community and grant committee, demonstrating progress and results.
Strategic partnerships (Qualitative): Recording of unsolicited proposals for cooperation from other organizations (e.g., as a proposal from Red Bull Ukraine), indicating the growing reputation of the project.
### Startup Funding (USD)
0
### Startup Funding Justification
-
### Milestone Details
```milestones.yaml
Milestone 1 (Month 1 - December 2025)
Description: Project launch, content strategy update, and logistics planning for the first offline event.
Deliverables:
Publication of ~100 pieces of content.
Finalized content plan for Q1 2026.
Progress report for the first month.
Funding: $1,000 upon completion.
Milestone 2 (Month 2 - January 2026)
Description: Active preparation and promotion of the first offline meetup, continuation of the content plan.
Deliverables:
Publication of ~100 pieces of content.
Approved date, venue, and program for Meetup #1.
Promotional campaign for the meetup launched.
Progress report for the second month.
Funding: $1,000 upon completion.
Milestone 3 (Month 3 - February 2026)
Description: Holding the first offline meetup and analyzing the results, strengthening community growth.
Deliverables:
Publication of ~100 pieces of content.
Successful offline meetup #1.
Report on the results of the meetup (number of participants, feedback, number of onboarding).
Progress report for the third month.
Funding: $1,000 upon completion.
Milestone 4 (Month 4 - March 2026)
Description: Interim project analysis, strategy optimization, and expansion of the ambassador program.
Deliverables:
Publication of ~100 pieces of content.
Recruitment of at least one new regional ambassador.
Start planning for Meetup #2.
Progress report for month 4.
Funding: $1,000 upon completion.
Milestone 5 (Month 5 - April 2026)
Description: Active preparation and promotion of the second offline meetup, final push to grow the audience.
Deliverables:
Publication of ~100 pieces of content.
Approved date, venue, and program for Meetup #2.
Promotional campaign for the second meetup launched.
Progress report for month 5.
Funding: $1,000 upon completion.
Milestone 6 (Month 6 - May 2026)
Description: Holding the second meetup, summarizing the grant results, and developing a plan for further sustainable activities.
Deliverables:
Publication of ~100 pieces of content (total number >600).
Successful offline meetup #2.
Final comprehensive report for the entire 6-month period.
Plan for sustainable community development for the next period.
Funding: $1,000 upon completion.
```
### Supporting Documents
```files.yaml
```