Stellar Community Fund

By KindFi

Social Impact Crowdfunding

SCF #35

$80.0K

Build

Awarded

Crowdfunding platform connecting donors with verified LATAM causes via milestone-based fund releases to prevent misuse of funds

Products & Services

Milestone-Based Fund Release Model: KindFi uses a milestone-based fund release model inspired by SCF, where each project receives funds in 2–3 tranches. Funds are held in smart contract escrows and only released when specific, verifiable milestones such as impact evidence, photos, or reports are met. Approval requires consensus from 3 of 4 platform admins. If milestones are not met, the smart contract automatically blocks further releases. In case of non-reimbursable donations, unused funds are redirected to a community fund; otherwise, they are returned to the donor.
KYC & Passkey-Based Authentication: KindFi integrates an advanced user authentication system built on the Stellar Passkey Kit, enhanced for seamless onboarding and security. Users can register and sign in using biometric passkey eliminating passwords while ensuring strong, Web3-native identity verification. In parallel, our AI-assisted KYC flow ensures fast, compliant, and secure verification. Identity checks are optimized to prevent duplication and fraud, with on-chain attestations recorded through Soroban smart contracts for transparency and traceability.
Community Fund & Governance: Once a year, locked funds from failed projects are redistributed through a community voting process powered by Soroban. Only users holding a Kinders NFT—earned through meaningful contributions—can vote to decide which eligible projects will receive the funds. This mechanism reinforces transparent, community-driven governance and gives real utility to the reputation-based NFTs
Kinders NFT as Governance Key: The Kinders NFT, built on Soroban, serves as a dynamic governance and participation tool. It evolves visually and functionally based on each user's on-chain reputation and activity. As users contribute to causes, their Kinders NFT gains reputation points, unlocking greater decision-making power in community votes. This incentivizes continued engagement while reinforcing trust and transparency in the ecosystem.
Reputation & Tiered Voting System: KindFi introduces evolving Kinders NFTs with progressive tiers—Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Diamond—based on each user’s on-chain reputation. Higher tiers grant more voting power (1 to 10 votes per round), early access to campaigns, and exclusive rewards. Reputation grows through impact-driven actions like donation streaks, referrals, category diversity, completing quests, and successfully supporting projects. All actions and NFT progression are tracked and powered by Soroban smart contracts.
On-Chain Referral Program: KindFi’s referral program lets users invite others to join and support causes using a unique referral code. When a referred user completes KYC and donates, both parties earn on-chain rewards powered by Soroban smart contracts. Rewards include reputation points and visual upgrades to their Kinders NFT. Soroban automates referral tracking, reputation updates, and tiered rewards, unlocking higher benefits as users grow their referral impact.
Streak System: KindFi’s streak system rewards consistent donor activity through Soroban smart contracts. Streaks are built by donating frequently, in volume, or across diverse causes. Active streaks enhance a user’s Kinders NFT with dynamic visual effects and unlock benefits like increased voting power, reputation growth, early campaign access, and exclusive badges. Soroban tracks activity and enforces a grace period; if the streak is broken, progress resets automatically.
Visibility & Recognition System: KindFi highlights top donors, projects, and organizations to foster community prestige and sustained engagement. Using Soroban smart contracts, the platform tracks real-time metrics like donation volume, campaign diversity, milestone success, and NFT level. Rankings dynamically update on-chain, powering the "Feature Kinder" section with titles like "Top Donor" or "Best Regional Contributor." Highlighted users and projects earn exclusive NFTs, increased voting power, early access, and visual platform badges. High-impact projects are automatically promoted, AI-recommended to new donors, and prioritized for matching fund campaigns, all managed transparently via Soroban contracts.
On-Chain Community Rankings & Rewards: KindFi’s community ranking system incentivizes sustained participation through automated, transparent rewards. Soroban smart contracts manage real-time leaderboards and prize distribution based on user reputation and platform activity.
Dynamic Contribution Challenges System: KindFi’s Quest System introduces gamified challenges that motivate users to donate consistently and across diverse campaigns. Quests encourage actions like supporting new categories, maintaining streaks, or completing non-refundable donations. This system promotes ongoing engagement, fuels user reputation growth, and sustains the flow of funds to the Impact and Community Funds, creating a more interconnected and resilient ecosystem.
Matching Funds (Impact Fund & Community Fund): KindFi amplifies individual donations through a matching model powered by two key sources: the Impact Fund (fed by success fees and direct donations) and the Community Fund (filled with unused funds from failed campaigns, redistributed via annual community vote). Soroban smart contracts and AI assess project history and projected impact to assign dynamic matching levels: Basic: +20% Intermediate: +50% Premium: +100%

This model incentivizes early contributions, enhances campaign momentum, and recycles unused funds to boost ecosystem resilience. Matching funds are fueled by retained campaign balances, fractional success fees (0.3–1%), quest completions, direct donations, and external sponsors seeking platform visibility.

This is our next-generation crowdfunding platform leveraging Soroban smart contracts, Stellar infrastructure, and AI to create a secure, transparent ecosystem building a global movement of trust, transparency, and lasting impact

Soroban

Yes

Requested Budget

$80.0K

Success Criteria

Success for KindFi means reshaping how social impact is funded by proving that our stellar based milestone, transparent crowdfunding can outperform traditional models and unlock real trust at scale. Post-mainnet, our core success targets include:

50+ verified social impact projects launched across LATAM
3,000+ unique contributors onboarded through passkey + KYC flow
$250K+ in tracked donations processed via Stellar Network
At least 1 community-led governance cycles completed using NFT-based voting

But metrics alone aren’t enough. True success means:

NGOs and grassroots causes choosing KindFi over legacy platforms because they trust our blockchain milestone and escrow base model
Contributors returning not just to donate, but to participate in governance, complete quests, and grow their Kinders reputation NFTs
Developers and creators using KindFi not just as a product, but as a platform they can contribute to, and evolve

We will know we’ve succeeded when a campaign’s credibility is defined not by who runs it, but by how it runs openly, transparently, and on-chain.

Ultimately, KindFi aims to prove that blockchain isn’t just viable for real-world impact, it’s superior. Success is not just launch. It’s adoption, accountability, and communities becoming their own stewards of change

Go-To-Market Plan

Our go-to-market strategy is grounded in real-world need, regional expertise, and a community-first approach, designed to scale KindFi from a LATAM-based pilot into a global, trust-driven crowdfunding platform. We are launching initially in Costa Rica, where our team is based and where we have already engaged local foundations and NGOs for early campaign onboarding. From there, we will expand across key LATAM regions where Stellar already has ambassador programs (e.g., Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile), aiming to co-create with those communities, identify trusted local projects, and onboard regional ambassadors into KindFi’s ecosystem. Our goal is to establish KindFi nodes in multiple countries, creating a real grassroots movement around verifiable social impact on Stellar.

As LATAM founders, we understand firsthand the systemic challenges in our region access to funds, transparency gaps, and donor mistrust. That’s why we prioritize partnering with other LATAM-based projects, builders, and communities, because no one understands the region’s needs better than those who live them. KindFi is not designed in abstraction; it’s built in context.

We will strengthen go-to-market through partnerships with other Stellar-based solutions like Meru, Palta Labs Team, and other ecosystem tools that support onboarding, identity, and create impact. Together, we create a more unified experience for users entering Web3 for the first time without needing to understand its complexity at once.

On the marketing and PR front, we will:

Launch public demo sessions featuring verified campaigns and live on-chain milestone releases
Publish impact stories of early KindFi projects through newsletters, social channels, and ecosystem blogs
Engage Web3 and social impact podcasts, LATAM blockchain communities, and Stellar’s own media channels
Engage alternative media and podcasters as "No pasa nada" and "Delfino" (Costa Rican Alternative News Source) to introduce the new way of changing things in LATAM using Stellar and KindFi together.
Build a contributor reward system that can be uses through the Only Dust program, incentivizing open-source participation, user-generated content, and social sharing enhanced with KindFi’s NFT badges and on-chain contributor recognition.
Participate in key regional events and hackathons to activate both developers and cause creators

Digital marketing will focus on multilingual content (ES, EN, PT) across platforms like Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and Instagram—anchored by a strong visual identity and messaging centered on “trustless transparency” and “real-world change powered by crypto and Stellar, the only blockchain truly impacting real-world causes."

Ultimately, KindFi’s adoption strategy is not just about reach it’s about depth. We are building a long-term presence in each region we serve, with local validators, community members, and project owners acting as stewards of impact. Our platform grows through trust, transparency, and local relevance not just paid promotion and dreams.

Traction Evidence

Pitched to Key Stakeholders: Successfully presented KindFi to representatives from USAID and other government programs, generating strong interest in its ability to ensure transparency and accountability in funding, as well as its potential to bring on-chain accountability to processes that are often handled off-chain.
NGO and Foundation Outreach: Initiated discussions with foundations and NGOs in Costa Rica to understand their funding challenges and demonstrate how KindFi’s blockchain-powered solution can effectively address these pain points
Developer Community Engagement: KindFi is connected to a global network of over 6,000 Web3 developers, actively raising awareness and visibility for the platform. Our current developer-focused channel includes more than 141 members from Argentina, Costa Rica, India, Nigeria, Colombia, and Chile.
LATAM Community Engagement: KindFi is deeply integrated with the Dojo Coding community, which brings together over 186 Web3 developers from across Latin America who are actively contributing to the platform’s growth and innovation.
Partnership: We have successfully established partnerships with several organizations working with highly vulnerable communities in the region, particularly in Costa Rica. One example is ACJ-YMCA, an organization present in over 170 countries and reaching more than 68 million people worldwide. Their mission to bring social justice and peace to youth and their communities will be supported through donation campaigns on KindFi once we go live on mainnet
Partnership: We have also formalized a partnership with the project and foundation Asociación Deportiva E.G Goicoechea to relaunch their efforts through fundraising campaigns on KindFi. This initiative began on March 5, 2011, in Costa Rica in collaboration with the international ISSOP foundation, under the name Escuela de Fútbol Holanda Purral. The project was designed to use sports as a way to reach vulnerable children and youth, offering them holistic development, improved living conditions, education in various non-sport areas, essential tools, and even access to meals. It successfully operated for 12 years and was sponsored by the Instituto Costarricense del Deporte y la Recreación, having supported over 1,500 children in extreme need. Unfortunately, the lack of funding led to its closure on March 3, 2023. Today, many of the children who were once uplifted through sports are left without hope or support.
Partnership: We have also secured agreements with animal rescue organizations in the region, including Auxilio Animal Cartago, SOS Rescates Felinos, Fundación Tierra de Animales, and Casas Cuna Puntarenas. These organizations operate in areas with significant needs, and their initiatives will be featured under the Animal Rescue category on KindFi once we launch on mainnet.

Links:

Tranche 1 (Deliverable Roadmap) - MVP

Estimated completion: August 2025
Budget: $45,000 in XLM

Brief description:
The MVP represents the foundation of KindFi’s platform establishing a secure, decentralized, and transparent crowdfunding flow that validates both user and project authenticity from the first interaction. This phase includes the deployment of our end-to-end authentication and identity verification system, campaign creation interface, escrow-based fund custody, and contribution flows tied to milestone releases.

Our architecture leverages the Stellar blockchain to handle secure fund management, real-time indexing, and on-chain verification of campaign data. Contributors can register, verify their identity through an AI-assisted KYC process that complies with SEP-0012, and securely log in using device-native Passkey authentication (biometric WebAuthn). This guarantees phishing-resistant access and links every user to a verified Stellar address through Soroban smart contracts.

Project creators (Kindlers) will be able to create a campaign with clearly defined milestones. These milestones are recorded on-chain, and donations are held in escrow until completion is verified. An internal reviewer dashboard will allow milestone approvals to trigger on-chain releases of funds. While AI will eventually support verification flows, human administrators will validate them manually at this stage, with auditability ensured via SubQuery-based ledger indexing.

The MVP also includes:

Initial onboarding integration using test mode to simulate real-world access
A multilingual frontend experience built with Next.js 15, React 19, Tailwind, and shadcn/ui
Contributor and project creator dashboards for basic account and project management
Early implementation of NFT-based contributor identity and badge placeholders (non-dynamic at this stage)

All smart contracts deployed in this phase (authentication and escrow) will operate on Stellar testnet, and all user flows will be fully testable with dev data and mock user verification.

How to measure completion:

Fully working flow from Passkey-based registration to first testnet donation
Admin dashboard triggers milestone-based fund release logic on testnet
SEP-0012-compatible KYC verification pipeline functional and connected to blockchain addresses
Campaigns are stored with milestone definitions and locked under escrow
Users can simulate donations using testnet wallets
Project creation, updates, basic search, and language toggle implemented in frontend

This MVP unlocks not only our internal dogfooding and testing, but also external testing by contributors and community reviewers, who will be invited to audit and validate the core infrastructure

Tranche 2 (Deliverable Roadmap) - Testnet

Estimated completion: November 2025
Budget: $0 (Access to Stellar LaunchKit for audits and infra support)

Brief description:
The Testnet milestone focuses on expanding core functionality into a fully feature-complete product, operating on Stellar testnet and integrating Soroban-based smart contracts, gamification layers, and advanced contribution logic. This phase introduces the first version of our dynamic NFT-based reputation system, milestone automation, and AI-assisted moderation and onboarding tools. All flows will be testable end-to-end and structured for external audit and simulation.

Key developments during this phase include:

Dynamic NFT Reputation System (Kinders)

The Kinders NFT system, deployed on Soroban, evolves based on user impact. During Testnet, contributors will begin earning NFTs that grow in visual complexity and functionality based on their behavior (e.g., donation frequency, diversity of causes, completed quests, and referral performance). NFTs will be tied on-chain to each user’s account and updated via Soroban logic and contribution triggers. We will implement four progressive NFT tiers (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond), each conferring a different number of governance votes and early-access privileges. This system establishes the basis for future DAO-style community engagement and voting on fund redistribution

AI-Powered Project Review & KYC Enhancement

We will introduce our first live implementation of KindFi's AI layer, focused on assisting in:

Project legitimacy checks using Multimodal RAG for evaluating images, documents, and impact descriptions
AI moderation agents that detect fraudulent campaign signals or inconsistencies
Enhanced KYC confidence scoring and auto-flagging of suspicious submissions
An AI assistant that helps project creators write better campaign narratives, verify milestone documentation, and simulate expected impact

While human validation remains critical, AI tooling will accelerate throughput, help prioritize reviews, and maintain consistent standards

Quest, Streak, and Referral Systems

We will deploy the first logic for KindFi’s gamified contributor experience, including:

Quest Engine: Smart contract and UI for goal-based participation (e.g., support a campaign in 3 different regions; donate 3 weeks in a row)
Streak Tracker: Reputation boost for consistent behavior over time (e.g., weekly/monthly donation consistency)
Referral Engine: On-chain Soroban logic to track referred users, update Kinders NFTs, and issue rewards automatically for verified onboarding and donation activity

This phase builds the incentive structures that transform passive donations into long-term, identity-linked participation

Community Fund Governance (Simulation)

The Testnet phase will also include a simulated governance flow to redistribute unused or retained funds from unfulfilled campaigns. KindFi will introduce:

A voting UI accessible to Kinders with valid NFTs
Vote weighting by NFT tier (e.g., Bronze = 1 vote, Diamond = 10 votes)
Smart contract logic to simulate redistribution scenarios and visualize impact
Community fund balance tracker (read from escrow contract logs)

This lays the groundwork for decentralized platform governance and collective decision-making around resource allocation.

Other Key Deliverables

Escrow automation enhancements: Funds released automatically upon off-chain verification status and milestone signals
SubQuery indexing for donation history, referral trees, and NFT evolution
Event-driven notification system: Email/webhook-based milestone alerts, project updates, and vote calls

How to measure completion:

Dynamic NFT issuance and evolution functional on testnet
Smart contract-based referral tracking operational
AI moderation agents reviewing real project drafts
Simulated fund redistribution flow fully functional
Quest completion recorded and reflected in NFT metadata
All campaign types, user types, and contribution actions recorded on SubQuery and queryable from dashboard

This phase ends with a fully operational product on Stellar testnet, with all user types (donors, creators, admins) having access to a decentralized, data-driven, gamified environment for validating social causes.

Tranche 3 (Deliverable Roadmap) - Mainnet

Estimated completion: February 2026
Budget: $35,000 in XLM

Brief description:
The Mainnet milestone marks the public launch of KindFi’s platform on the Stellar blockchain. By this phase, all Soroban smart contracts, identity systems, gamification logic, and governance tooling will be battle-tested and production-ready. The entire platform will transition from Stellar testnet to mainnet, with full end-to-end flows for donors, project creators, and governance participants activated in a live environment.

This phase also represents the integration of transparency, security, and long-term engagement incentives into a cohesive experience designed for scale, enabling both grassroots organizations and global contributors to interact with complete confidence.

Production Deployment of All Smart Contracts

All core contracts will be deployed to Stellar mainnet, including:

Escrow smart contract with milestone release logic
AuthController + AccountFactory for biometric passkey-based decentralized login
Kinders NFT logic with level-based voting power and reward tiering
Community fund and governance contract, supporting annual redistribution with on-chain voting
Quest and referral smart contracts to maintain reputation state and trigger NFT mutations

All contracts will include upgrade safeguards, permission controls, and verification support

Mainnet Project Onboarding

At least 7 real-world causes will be onboarded and funded in this phase. These will be verified nonprofits or grassroots initiatives that pass full KYC and milestone pre-validation. This will demonstrate:

Working fiat onramp (via OnRamper or Circle)
Real user donations flowing into mainnet escrow
Verified milestone completion triggering fund release
Publicly visible impact reporting, uploaded to IPFS or off-chain sources, and linked to on-chain proof

Each project will also support project updates, multilingual descriptions, and post-completion feedback collection.

AI Moderation & Recommendation System

AI agents will be expanded to include:

Project matching engine that recommends causes to users based on their past behavior, donation history, and region/category preferences
AI-assistants in the campaign creation flow to help Kindlers optimize content for funding success
Real-time fraud detection alerts and project scoring using multimodal AI inputs

This AI layer will make platform operations more scalable, user-friendly, and transparent for both creators and contributors.

Full Gamification & Impact Engine

The NFT-based reputation system will be fully activated, with Kinders NFTs now:

Visually evolving based on user behavior
Granting access to exclusive campaigns or private funding rounds
Unlocking advanced governance rights
Displayed as public identity and social proof across the platform

Users will earn achievements for consistency, diversity, and social sharing, and can track their progress through a personal impact dashboard. Leaderboards and featured Kinders/Kindlers will be promoted based on on-chain metrics

Community Governance Activation

The first community voting cycle for fund redistribution will take place
All verified Kinders with voting rights via their NFTs will be able to participate
Voting logic will be executed on-chain using the mainnet Community Fund contract
Redistribution logic will include options to support promising upcoming campaigns or reward top contributors with NFT-based incentives

This cycle will set a precedent for transparent, decentralized governance powered by real user reputation and project impact.

Platform-wide Readiness

All onboarding, KYC, and recovery flows will support mobile and desktop
Localization (ES, EN,) completed for user-facing content and onboarding
Legal disclaimers, T&C, and data protection policies audited for LATAM
Real-time indexer tracking donations, project milestones, referral trees, and NFT state.

How to measure completion:

All users interact with production-grade biometric Passkey login linked to blockchain
Kinders NFTs are minted and evolve based on live user actions
Campaigns are created, funded, and milestone-verified using real funds
Escrow logic performs correctly, with no premature release or contract errors
Community Fund executes first governance cycle, with verifiable voting and fund reallocation
On-chain and off-chain data are continuously indexed and exposed via dashboards
Feedback collected from early real-world users and featured projects

This milestone represents a full product release that integrates decentralized identity, reputation, and funding—all operating transparently on Stellar mainnet. With strong gamification and governance mechanics in place, KindFi will now serve as live proof of concept for how Web3 can power trust, transparency, and global impact

Team

The KindFi team was born in Central America from a shared passion for using stellar blockchain to address inefficiencies in traditional crowdfunding in LATAM.

Carolina Fernández Saborío:
A graduate of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) with an honors degree in Development Management and Public Administration, Carolina is an expert in Social Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Public Administration. She brings extensive experience as a mentor and manager of various social entrepreneurship initiatives across LATAM, where she has also led strategic partnerships to maximize the impact of social projects.
Roberto Romero Lucas (Andler):
A Software Engineering graduate from Nicaragua, living in Costa Rica, Central America, and co-founder of bitcash.org and open source project masterbots.ai, Roberto is a senior full-stack and blockchain developer with a passion for technology. He has vast experience leading teams, building products, and improving blockchain adoption processes. Considered one of Costa Rica’s most prominent developers in the open-source, blockchain, and AI space, Andler began his blockchain journey in the EOS ecosystem and is now fully focused on Stellar.
Brandon Fernández Fernández:

Originally graduating in telecommunications and graphic design, Brandon later specialized in software development at CENFOTEC University. Constantly immersed in technology, he has explored multiple areas where innovation is essential. He holds certifications in team management and has over eight years of experience leading and actively contributing to development teams. Additionally, he has worked on numerous freelance projects and is now fully committed to the open-source path. His focus today is on integrating Web3 and AI-driven technologies to build scalable applications that support real-world causes. To deepen his impact at KindFi beyond the technical realm, Brandon has also begun studying psychology at Universidad Fidélitas, aiming to bring a more human-centered approach to the platform’s development and community engagement