How does Nightfund work?

Nightfund gathers funds into a community-controlled treasury. This treasury is used to give out grants to event creators who can apply for funding by submitting a proposal. The unique difference with Nightfund is that the decision-making process, for selecting which creators we support, is driven by members of the Nightfund community using a voting system.

Why now?

UK punters, venues, promoters and artists are all trying to adapt to intensifying cost pressures. The effects of the pandemic and subsequent economic upheavals are leading to a potent risk of ‘cultural wastelands’ (as termed by Space289) spreading across the country. Nightfund exists to stem this tide in London’s underground dance scene and beyond.

Why should I join Nightfund?

Aside from the key benefits like voting rights and free tickets to selected projects, you’ll be joining a community of likeminded individuals with exceptional passion and dedication to underground dance music. You’ll have unprecedented access to the event production process with opportunities to learn, contribute and get paid. Most importantly, Nightfund is your opportunity to help steer the evolution of club culture in London and beyond.

How many votes do members get?

Each member receives one vote, no matter how much money they’ve put into Nightfund.

Where does the money come from?

The first £5,000 was loaned to Nightfund by some close friends and family of the project leads, Jonty and Thor. When we are able to do so, this loan will need to be returned with 0% interest. The subsequent funds will be raised through private investors, brand partners, community members and other public grants. We will make all information on our funding transparent and publicly available.

How are the funds used?

80% of all funds raised are held in the treasury, ready to be invested in selected creators.

The remaining 20% is used to cover expenses which are broken down as follows:

• 4% - Jonty Harrison (Community Lead)

• 4% - Thor Kverndal (Events Lead)

• 4% - Designers / Content Creators

• 4% - split equally between our Advisors

• 4% - Operational Costs (Google Suite, Notion, Gnosis, Fanpad)

What’s the difference between a patron, creator and member?

Patrons are individuals or organisations who give funding to Nightfund either through investment, donations or sponsorship. In return for funding, patrons could receive a number of membership passes, equity in the Nightfund business, brand exposure at events, or just the feel-good factor of supporting valuable culture! The terms of each deal will vary on the patron.

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Members are individuals who own a membership pass which unlocks access to the voting system, Discord server and free tickets. At first, Nightfund will invite specific individuals and patrons to become members. In the future, we plan to sell membership passes to drive the bulk of crowdfunding campaigns.

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Any individual or organisation can become a Creator, but most applications are submitted by musicians and event promoters. Candidates apply for funding, and if selected by the members, they become a Creator, receiving a membership pass, a grant and additional support in the execution of their event.

How are grants given out?

Grants will be transferred via UK bank transfer in instalments. The specifics of these instalments will be established on a case by case basis, depending on the project(s) you plan to work on with Nightfund.

If you applied for a single project grant, you will receive the grant in 25% instalments, once per week for four weeks. After each week, Thor will be checking in to support and ensure progress is made before the next instalment is transferred.

If you applied for an event series grant, you will receive the first grant up front. Upon successful execution of the first event, the second grant will be transferred and similarly with the second event / third grant.

What kind of support can I get if my proposal is selected?

Project leads receive funding from the Nightfund treasury - more info on grants-giving can be viewed above.

Beyond the grants, Nightfund team leads and community members aim to support the execution of your proposal by opening doors, offering feedback, and making introductions, but we cannot guarantee certain things such as booking artists or venues on your behalf. An application would be stronger if these elements were tentatively agreed with the relevant parties before submitting.

What are the conditions for receiving a grant?

Selected creators must adhere to the following conditions:

• Reserve 10% of your capacity as free tickets for Nightfund members

• If Nightfund has any partnerships in place with brand sponsors, there may be certain requirements like featuring their branding on promo materials and their product at the event

  • Specifics of these conditions will be made clear before applications open

• Transfer a portion of ticket revenues to the Nightfund treasury after your event(s) takes place:

  • If you applied for a single project grant, you will be expected to return 50% of ticket revenues to Nightfund to be reinvested into the next season of Creators

  • If you applied for an event series grant, you will be expected to return 10% of ticket revenues from the first event, 15% from the second event and 20% from the third

Who has the final say on decisions - like which projects we support?

Members can vote to select which candidates become Creators, but the Project Leads, Thor and Jonty, will be vetting all candidates before they are put to a vote. All other decision-making will be driven by the Project Leads but with a consistent emphasis on involving the members. Thor and Jonty will regularly communicate and announce updates in the Discord server where members (and non-members) can voice their opinions, ask questions and help us arrive at the best action for all parties involved. It is of vital importance to Nightfund that your voice is heard so any feedback on how we can improve this process is always welcome.

What technology does Nightfund use?

We have a website, Instagram and Twitter page.

The first layer of membership exists in the Nightfund WhatsApp group chat for our initial community. You can sign up to join this group here.

Official membership passes will be awarded to those who attend a meet-up or event, or who demonstrate support for the project in the WhatsApp group.

We use blockchain-based technology to facilitate the creation and distribution of membership passes. The highlight.xyz platform allows us to create non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Polygon blockchain which act as membership passes. Why use a setup like this?

• highlight.xyz let’s anyone with an email address claim their membership pass and unlock their benefits. You don’t need any knowledge of web3 to interact with our system.

• highlight.xyz allows us to efficiently lock free tickets, discord channels and voting links behind a token gate which can only be unlocked using your NFT (email and password).

• highlight.xyz does not require any interaction with crypto currencies. When we start selling membership passes, you can purchase them on highlight using a debit card.

• Having an NFT attached to your email address is an efficient way of proving you’re a member online.

• By using NFTs, we can securely limit the number of passes in circulation and provide members with a means of selling their membership in the future if they wish.

• The Polygon blockchain is built on the Ethereum network, but it’s significantly more energy efficient and cheaper (almost free) to use.

What does the future hold for Nightfund?

The internal structuring is designed to be scalable, allowing us to kickstart temporary grants schemes for locally-focused seasons of events in new cities at a moments notice. Some ideas for future seasons include:

• University course and event pitch competition

• Crowdfund for a community hub and performance space

• Community-driven event tech hackathon and accelerator

The long term goal is to rally the global dance music community around supporting experiential excellence by investing in grass roots events, venues, creatives and tech around the world.