2025 Community Programs and Activities: Updated for Q3/Q4

[CaptainSplince]

Akash Community Activities: Q3 2025

Overview

This is a simplified proposal with a few minor updates based on the 2025 Akash Ecosystem Growth and Support proposal that went through multiple rounds of feedback at the end of 2024. This proposal seeks to establish and fund essential community activities for the Akash Network throughout Q3 of 2025.

Activities Overview

Hackathons & Conferences

The original 2025 activities proposal supported two types of hackathons: owned and sponsored. However, over the past two quarters, community feedback has highlighted that community-owned and -managed events are a more effective way to engage developers and interested parties.

While owned hackathons have delivered some value, the time-intensive development has not justified their continuation in their current form. Beginning in Q3, the hackathons budget will be adjusted to include conferences and hackathons sourced by the Insider’s community.

Community Events

Q1 & Q2 Update

We co-hosted one pilot event with local community members in Q1. However, planning and executing this type of activation proved to be time intensive, with limited payoff.

Revised Plan for Q3 (and potentially Q4)

We propose to maintain the existing budget but pivot from co-hosted community events to attendance and participation in grassroots and community-focused crypto and AI events.

• Revised Goal: Establish relationships with event organizers and actively participate with projects, people, and organizations at relevant community events.

Community Bounties

The Community Bounties program is a strategic initiative designed to foster active participation and innovation within the Akash Network ecosystem.

Q3 Update:
In Q1 and Q2, we experimented with a Bounty Program Manager who has excelled at defining guidelines, scoping contributions, and driving community activation.
We will continue working with the Program Manager in Q3 and provide a detailed report in the Q4 Community Activities Governance Proposal.

• Goal: Encourage technical and non-technical contributions across a variety of areas within the Akash ecosystem.

SF Community Lead

The SF community lead role is a pilot activity focused on establishing our presence within San Francisco's thriving AI, Crypto, and DePIN communities. The focus of the role is to build relationships with industry leaders, organize events, and create a dedicated Akash Network community hub in the Bay Area.

• Goal: Onboard local startups to Akash, establish relationships with community organizers, co-working spaces, and accelerators, and create a strong foothold for Akash within the SF tech ecosystem.

Updated Q3 Budget

Total Q3 2025 Request: $123,393.75 USD in AKT

Proposal Validation

This proposal has undergone rigorous review and validation processes to ensure alignment with the broader Akash community's goals and priorities. Key steps in this process included:

• SIG Community Call Review: LINK to discussion
• Akash Insiders Input
• Overclock Labs Team Collaboration

Operational Notes

• Overclock Labs will custody funds in a distinct wallet
• AKT funds may not be liquidated immediately depending on market conditions
• Overclock Labs may cover upfront costs in USD if necessary

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Akash Community Programs: Q3 2025

Overview

This is a simplified proposal based on the 2025 Akash Ecosystem Growth and Support proposal that went through multiple rounds of feedback at the end of 2024. This proposal seeks to establish and fund essential community programs for the Akash Network throughout Q3 of 2025.

Programs Overview

Vanguards

The Vanguards represent a select group of distinguished Akash community leaders, chosen from the Akash Insiders based on their exceptional contributions and expertise.

• Goal: Reduce response time to community member questions on Akash-owned social channels
• Program Update: The Vanguards continue to be the front line for Akash community technical support, responding to over 70% of all community questions on Discord.

Navigators

The Navigators program selects highly skilled technical members from the Akash Insiders community who provide hands-on assistance to users throughout their Akash journey.

• Goal: Help onboard new companies and projects into the Akash ecosystem
• Program Update: The program is still ramping up with 3 Navigators actively supporting end users of Akash. We now have the processes and pipeline in place for growth.

Alchemists

Alchemists are skilled content creators who make learning Akash easier for everyone.

• Goal: Develop turn-key, self-service Akash educational curriculum
• Program Update: We’ve successfully launched 4 new AkashEDU courses and are currently working on 5 more. We anticipate having 10 courses by EOY 2025.

Ringmasters

The Akash Ringmasters program empowers Akash Insiders to create and host impactful local meetups.

• Goal: Develop local Akash community hubs around the world
• Program Update: Over the past quarter, Ringmasters have hosted 12 events with over 1,500 attendees.

Regional Leads (New for Q3)

Regional Leads are an extension of the Insider’s program. They are Akash representatives in geographic locations of significance, helping develop Akash business opportunities and onboarding new community members through various programs.

• Goal: Establish 4 Akash-centric hubs across different regions (Countries), powered by committed community members with connections to business, community, and culture by EOY 2025.

Updated Budget: Q3 2025

Q3 2025 Request: $122,750 USD in AKT

Proposal Validation

This proposal has undergone rigorous review and validation processes to ensure alignment with the broader Akash community's goals and priorities. Key steps in this process included:

• SIG Community Call Review: LINK to discussion
• Akash Insiders Input
• Overclock Labs Team Collaboration

Operational Notes

• Overclock Labs will custody funds in a distinct wallet
• AKT funds may not be liquidated immediately depending on market conditions
• Overclock Labs may cover upfront costs in USD if necessary

[dmikey]

For Programs Overview, is there a suggested way to split the funds for funding allowances? Curious as to what monetary incentive will be tied to each category.

[CaptainSplince]

Hey @dmikey - each program has a budget that allows for a certain amount of program members. In the proposal, you can see a link to the budget breakdown the details.

[fenilmodi00]

✅ I support this proposal!

As a member of the Ringmasters, I hosted/organized 4 Akash-related events in Q2 — including several Count watch parties — bringing my total to 5 events this quarter.

However, based on the results I've seen, there’s very Akashian activity coming from India. I’d really love to see stronger engagement from the region!

India has great potential — let’s work on increasing visibility, empowering local devs, and making Akash a platform they trust and use, just like an "Airbnb for cloud computing."

[CaptainSplince]

Thanks @fenilmodi00

[jaseemuddinn]

Appreciate how this version trims the fat and focuses on what’s actually delivering value, the shift toward supporting community-sourced events (via Insiders) is 100% the right call. Better ROI, stronger buy-in, more organic growth.

but on the Programs side, Vanguards are clearly carrying a heavy load on Discord. Might be time to think about layering in some lightweight tooling (auto-responses, categorization, etc.) to help them scale better without burnout.

all together, this feels like a team that’s listening, iterating, and cutting what's not working. love that energy. Q3 looks like a foundation phase before a much bigger push in Q4. 🥳

[CaptainSplince]

Thanks @jaseemuddinn - I'm really excited about the updates!

[Popeblack2]

Every one of these programs has contributed to the growth of Akash globally, and has brought together excellent contributors to Akash. We've seen new builders building on Akash, joining the insider, new members joining the community, and increasing usage of chips on Akash, There's still so much more to do, and it's still day one.

[CaptainSplince]

Thanks @Popeblack2. I think the updates will have a strong impact on community growth.

[piber-dev]

hi @CaptainSplince i support everything written here and did prior to the minor changes i suggested as well. i would like to see the type of hackathons being revisited in the future and this is something i have a lot of ideas for, but i agree that maybe the focus should continue like you wrote for the time being. i have faith that this will pass and am looking forward for ideas to grow over the future quarters and years!

[CaptainSplince]

I agree. Hackathons need to be more a priority. The issue comes down to bandwidth. Owned hackathons especially take vast resources to produce and make successful. This prop does include some budget for hackathons that the community is interested in participating in. But only open to Insider's to propose.

[roabhi]

Even when I just joined the community a few weeks ago I can clearly see the potential and commitment of the community!. This update and planning for Q3/Q4 looks exciting.

My feedback:

• Based on my previous experience as CM and DevRel and more specifically on my contribution as host for the Accelerate Watch Party in Barcelona I would recommend to increase a little the budget dedicated to events or at least take into account the different needs for different regions. 750USD for hosting a event and 500USD for the ringmasters program per event quarterly is a bit too tight to pay for expenses in Europe. Cost of living and USD/ Euro change are a key factor for the request if we want to deliver high quality events.

• Is there a list of (technical) requirements to join the vanguards program?. Is there a fixed contribution for those individuals? I assisted to a potential partner at the Accelarate Event with questions regarding basic info about the network. Who can participate in the network. Users vs providers, the nature of centralized vs decentralized cloud computing and so on. If the requirements are online somewhere I would love to take a look.

[CaptainSplince]

Thanks for your thoughts @roabhi!

• I hear you on the event hosting budget. Geographic location weighs heavily into the budget. The idea for now is a happy medium between expense locations and less expensive locations. I think in future props, we may want to adjust depending on geographic locations.
• The vanguards are required to have a base level amount of technical skills. One other variable is the amount of Vanguards needed. Currently, Vanguards answer 1-5 Q's per day across Discord and Telegram. If that number goes to 10+ questions per day, we may consider adding additional Vanguard support.

[roabhi]

Hey thanks for the answers @CaptainSplince :)

[harystyleseze]

This is a well-structured proposal with a clear focus on community engagement. Shifting toward grassroots efforts and adding Regional Leads is a smart and strategic next step. Overall, this represents a great step in the right direction. Great job, @CaptainSplince!

[CaptainSplince]

Thanks @harystyleseze. I'm really excited about the Regional Lead program.