Call for Theme Sponsors (CED) – Invitation

 

Introduction

The Capacity Exchange DAO (CED) invites organizations to become Theme Sponsors for its themed programs in DEP 3.

CED is a DAO in Kambria's DAO Experimentation Program (DEP 3). It runs a live, global platform where people exchange skills through one-to-one online sessions — and the same person can be a Guide in one session and an Explorer in another.

A themed program focuses those sessions on one skill area that matters to a community, for a defined group of learners, over a defined period. A Theme Sponsor is the organization that makes it possible by funding the program, so that the learners take part for free.

A Theme Sponsor is different from a Community Partner, who helps CED reach and welcome Explorers and Guides rather than funding a program.

 

Two programs, side by side

In DEP 3, CED opens two themed programs, each run by its own DAO team on the CED platform:

	Theme A — Community Self-Governance Skills	Theme B — Recycled Crafts
Theme	Equipping community leads to run self-governing, increasingly decentralized communities — sharing ownership of the work, deciding together, coordinating shared resources, and bringing new members in	Equipping makers to turn discarded materials into products they can sell — sourcing safely, mastering a technique, designing, pricing, and selling with a circular story
Who learns	Around 30 community leads, free of charge	Around 30 makers — artisans, community and women's groups, youth, small makers — free of charge
How	About 200 live one-to-one sessions: six core sessions per lead plus up to two electives	About 200 live one-to-one sessions: six core sessions per maker plus up to two electives, with hands-on practice on camera
Cost	About $3,000 for the full program	About $3,000 for the full program
Status	Runs in DEP 3	Runs if pledges reach at least $1,500 by 31 December 2026 (see How to sponsor)

The Call for Theme Sponsors is open until 31 December 2026, so each program's funding is settled before DEP 3 opens its call for participants. Both programs run during DEP 3's execution phase, mid-April to mid-August 2027 (see Collaboration Timeline). The full picture for each — curriculum, how impact is measured — is in About Theme A and About Theme B.

Why two themes. Running two very different themes at the same time lets CED compare what works — a coordination skill against a hands-on livelihood skill — learn faster from both, and let the two DAO teams push each other in a healthy way. Sponsors of either program receive a short comparison of the two in their end-of-program report.

 

Why this matters

Theme A — Community Self-Governance Skills. Many local communities rest on one or two people who hold everything together; when they step back, the community stalls. This program helps leads share ownership, decide together, and bring new people in, so the community can carry itself.

Theme B — Recycled Crafts. Much of what communities throw away — plastic, fabric, paper, glass, wood — can become products people want to buy. The skill to do that well is usually held by a few makers and rarely passed on. This program helps makers turn discarded materials into consistent, sellable products, so waste becomes income and the know-how spreads.

Both programs are designed to keep going after the sessions end. Learners are encouraged to take an organic next step — for Theme A, running their own community's coordination cycle; for Theme B, continuing to make and sell, or teaching others — or becoming CED Guides themselves. What you fund seeds something that can stand on its own, not a one-off event.

 

Who we’re looking for

Organizations whose mission or growth is served by the theme they choose — for example:

Theme A — Community Self-Governance Skills

• DAO platforms and governance-tool providers, Web3 treasuries, and mission-aligned DAOs
• Companies with CSR/ESG, employee-volunteering, or community-investment programs
• Foundations and NGOs working on community development, education, or civic participation
• Crypto-forward philanthropy and international organizations

Theme B — Recycled Crafts

• Brands and producers with packaging, circularity, or extended producer responsibility (EPR) commitments
• Circular-economy funds and networks, and sustainable marketplaces
• ReFi, climate, and impact-focused DAOs and Web3 treasuries
• Foundations and NGOs working on livelihoods, waste, or the environment

You don't need to be a formal company: networks and collectives are welcome, with one named contact. If you're an individual, you're welcome to join CED as a Guide or Explorer instead.

Two practical points: financial contributions are made in stablecoins, and you need to be able to send them where you operate.

 

How to sponsor

Theme Sponsors fund a program. Your contribution goes into the CED Learning Fund, ring-fenced for the program you choose, in USDT. For each program:

• Lead Sponsor — funds the full program (about $3,000).
• Co-sponsor — contributes from $1,000; several co-sponsors together fund the program.

You can sponsor one program or both. Each program has its own Lead Sponsor.

The fund pays verified Guides $6 per completed session (CED's current pilot rate) and the program work around each session — building the curriculum, recruiting and matching learners, and reporting.

 

Theme B: pledge first, transfer after the go

Theme B runs only if pledges reach at least $1,500 by 31 December 2026. Until then, Theme B sponsors confirm their scope and pledge in writing but send nothing. If the program goes ahead, CED confirms it by 7 January 2027 and you transfer within 14 days; the program is sized to the funding raised (see What your contribution achieves). If it doesn't, your pledge simply lapses — no money has moved — and CED offers you the choice of sponsoring Theme A instead or being first in line when Theme B opens again. 

Theme A runs regardless, so its sponsors confirm their scope by 31 December 2026 and contribute by 31 January 2027.

 

Your people as Guides (optional)

If people in your organization have the right expertise, they're welcome to apply as Guides — on the same terms as every Guide.

• They go through CED's standard verification, are matched to learners by topic and need, and are paid under the program's general policy ($6 per completed session); anyone who prefers not to be paid can waive it, and the amount stays in the program.
• Guides usually specialize in one or two topics they know well — for example, someone from a DAO platform might lead Core 3 — Decisions & meetings in Theme A, or a designer from a sustainable brand might lead Core 4 — Product & design in Theme B.
• Guiding takes about 1.5 hours a week: one 20–50 minute session, plus preparation before it and a short review after.

Your people's guiding doesn't change your contribution or sponsor level — it's a way for them to share their expertise, and for your organization to see the program from the inside.

 

What your contribution achieves

Both programs share the same economics. A session costs about $15 all-in: $6 paid to the Guide, and about $9 for the work that makes each session count — building the curriculum, recruiting and matching learners, delivering the sessions, and reporting. Each learner takes the six-session core track, plus up to two electives where they help — about $100 per learner on average.

Your contribution	Funds about	Takes about
$1,000 — the minimum, as a Co-sponsor	65 sessions	10 learners through the core track
$1,500 — the level at which Theme B runs	100 sessions	15 learners
$2,000	130 sessions	20 learners
$3,000 — a full program (Lead Sponsor)	200 sessions	30 learners — the whole program

 

What a full program aims to achieve

Each sponsor's report shows its program's results and the share its contribution funded — for example, "your $1,000 funded 65 of the 200 sessions." If Theme B runs below full funding, its targets scale with the number of learners.

Outcome	Theme A — Self-Governance	Theme B — Recycled Crafts
Sessions delivered	About 200	About 200
Learners reached	About 30 community leads	About 30 makers
Learners who complete the core track	At least 24 (80%)	At least 24 (80%)
Learners who apply it during the program	At least 10 run their own community's coordination cycle	At least 10 list or sell a product made from recycled materials
Learners who go on to become CED Guides	At least 5	At least 5
Learners who take an organic next step within about three months of completing the core	At least 25%	At least 25%

Targets are aims, not guarantees; the report shows what actually happened.

 

How it supports your impact goals

Both programs are built so their results can go straight into the impact reporting you already do.

• CSR and ESG. Your contribution is a community investment with clear inputs (your contribution), outputs (sessions delivered, learners trained), and outcomes (learners applying the skill, self-assessed skill gains) — the structure community-investment frameworks such as B4SI use. Theme A sits in the social pillar; Theme B spans social and environmental, adding materials reused and products made. If your people serve as Guides, their experience adds employee-engagement stories.
• SDG alignment. Theme A aligns most directly with SDG 16.7 (participatory decision-making), 11.3 (participatory community planning), 4.7 (education for active citizenship), 10 (free access for communities with fewer resources), and 17 (partnerships). Theme B aligns with SDG 12.5 (reducing waste through reuse and recycling), 8.3 (decent work and micro-enterprise), 4.4 (skills for work and entrepreneurship), 10, and 17.
• Ecosystem growth (Web3 sponsors). Theme A grows the number of people able to run proposals, decisions, and shared resources in a decentralized community. Theme B gives ReFi and impact-focused funders a measurable, people-level circular outcome.
• Grant outcomes (foundations and NGOs). A bounded, verifiable unit of impact: a defined cohort, a defined budget, and results checked against platform records.
• Verifiable by design. Contributions arrive on-chain, Guide payments run through the Kambria DAOs Framework, and session figures come from platform records — so a reviewer or auditor can trace both the money and the activity.

 

What you receive

Every Theme Sponsor receives:

• An impact report — a mid-program progress note and an end-of-program report, verifiable against platform records: sessions delivered, learners reached, core-track completion, session feedback, a before/after self-assessment, Explorer→Guide transitions, and how many learners took an organic next step — plus, with consent, two or three participant stories, and a short comparison with the other program where both run. Figures are reported as measured; skill gains are reported as self-assessed.
• Recognition — your name, logo, and a short description on Our Collaboration Network; credit in the program's reports and materials and at the DEP 3 showcase; and a sponsor certificate.
• A named contact at CED, and a clear view of how your contribution is used.

Beyond that, what you receive depends on your sponsor level.

	Lead Sponsor (~$3,000)	Co-sponsor (from $1,000)
Your name on the program	✓	—
Shape the curriculum	Propose one elective session built on your expertise or tool	Suggest elective topics
Priority place in the next program in this theme	✓	—

At either level, if your people serve as Guides, you also receive their contribution documented (see below).

 

What each benefit means

• Your name on the program. Recognition credits you; naming puts your name on the program itself. The cohort is titled with your support — for example, "Recycled Crafts Program — Cohort 1, supported by [Sponsor]" — and your logo appears alongside CED's on the program page and on the completion certificates the learners receive. Only one sponsor per program can hold this, so it goes to that program's Lead Sponsor.
• Shape the curriculum. The core track stays neutral, so every learner gains skills they can use anywhere. Electives are where sponsors add their expertise. A Lead Sponsor can propose one elective session built on its own expertise or tool — for example, a DAO platform proposing a hands-on session on running proposals and votes with its tool (Theme A), or a marketplace proposing a session on listing products on its platform (Theme B). Co-sponsors can suggest elective topics. Every proposed session is reviewed by CED and Kambria, must teach a practical skill rather than promote a product, and is offered to learners as an elective they choose, never a requirement.
• Priority place in the next program. Each program has only one Lead Sponsor, so this place is worth holding. When the program ends, CED reserves the Lead Sponsor place in the next program in the same theme for you and asks you first. You confirm whether you'll continue within 30 days of receiving the end-of-program report, and until then the place isn't offered to anyone else. If you confirm, you continue as Lead Sponsor — with your name on the next program too; if not, the place opens to other sponsors.
• Your people's contribution as Guides, documented. For each of your people who serves as a Guide, you receive a record of the sessions they led with the aggregated learner feedback, a short write-up of their experience with a quote or two (with their consent), and a certificate of contribution. You can use these for internal communications, employee-engagement programs, or ESG reporting.

 

How to join

1. Read About Theme A or About Theme B, and the Terms & Conditions for Theme Sponsors.
2. Raise your hand through the DEP 3 DAO Partnership Interest form — choose Capacity Exchange DAO (CED) and Support, and mention "Theme Sponsor — Self-Governance" or "Theme Sponsor — Recycled Crafts" (or both) in your message. Prefer to talk first? Book a 20–30 minute chat.
3. Meet CED's Partnerships team — joined by Kambria during this pilot — on a discovery call to shape the scope together.
4. Confirm the scope in writing. For Theme A, make your contribution and you're onboarded and listed. For Theme B, your pledge is recorded; you're listed and transfer once the program is confirmed.

→ DEP 3 DAO Partnership Interest form: link · Book a chat: link

 

One thing to know: your partnership is with CED, which designs and delivers both programs. During this pilot, your contribution is held for CED by Kambria, in a dedicated wallet you can check on-chain (see Terms & Conditions for Theme Sponsors, clauses 3–4). Kambria also supports the pilot and its partnerships alongside CED — so you'll likely meet both teams. Payment details only ever come in writing from your named CED contact's @kambria.io address, and always match the CED Learning Fund address published on this page: [wallet address to be updated] — never from any other individual.

 

Quick answers

Why two programs at once? To compare what works across two very different skills, learn faster from both, and let the two DAO teams push each other. Sponsors of either program see the comparison in their report.

What if Theme B doesn't reach $1,500? It doesn't run in DEP 3. Because Theme B sponsors pledge first and transfer only after the go, no money has moved and nothing needs refunding. CED offers you the choice of sponsoring Theme A instead or being first in line when Theme B opens again.

Can we sponsor both programs? Yes. Each contribution is ring-fenced for its own program, and each program has its own Lead Sponsor.

Can we contribute less than $3,000? Yes — from $1,000, as a Co-sponsor alongside others.

Can our own people be Guides? Yes. They apply like any Guide, go through the same verification, and are paid under the program's general policy. Anyone who prefers not to be paid can waive it, and the amount stays in the program. Their guiding doesn't change your contribution or sponsor level.

Is our contribution tax-deductible? No. CED is a DAO, not a registered charity, so it cannot issue a tax-deductible receipt. You receive the on-chain transaction record and a written acknowledgement of your contribution.

Who holds our contribution, and can we check it? During this pilot, Kambria holds it for CED in a dedicated USDT wallet for the CED Learning Fund, ring-fenced by program, and releases it to the DAO in stages as the program runs rather than all at once. The wallet's balance and every transaction are public on-chain, so you can check at any time that your contribution arrived and how it is being released. The aim is for future contributions to go directly to the DAO once the Kambria DAOs Framework has completed its first live run.

Can an Ambassador or anyone else collect our contribution? No. Kambria and CED will never ask you to send funds through an Ambassador or any individual. Contributions go only to the CED Learning Fund address published on this page, which your named CED contact also confirms to you in writing from an @kambria.io address. Kambria Ambassadors may introduce you to CED, but they don't negotiate terms or handle payment details. If an Ambassador introduced you, Kambria pays them a referral reward from its own Ambassador budget; it does not come out of your contribution, which stays ring-fenced for the program. If anyone asks you to pay elsewhere, write to [email protected] before sending anything — a team member will reply.

What if the program costs less than planned? Any unused funds roll forward into CED's next program in the same theme, and we report this to you.

Can we choose the communities? You can propose communities during scoping. Every learner goes through the same qualification, so the program reaches the learners it's designed for.

What exactly does our contribution pay for? It is ring-fenced in the CED Learning Fund for the program you sponsor only. For a full program, about $1,200 pays verified Guides $6 per completed session; about $1,700 pays the program's DAO members, per completed task, to run it — building the curriculum, readying Guides, recruiting and matching learners, delivering sessions, and reporting; about $100 is contingency. A smaller program scales these in proportion. Every payment is recorded and shown in your report. Your sponsorship funds the program for the learners — it isn't a service CED sells to you.

 

In this section: 

• About Theme A — Community Self-Governance Skills 
• About Theme B — Recycled Crafts 
• Terms & Conditions for Theme Sponsors 
• Collaboration Timeline (CED)