Hi everyone,
I’m back with your grants committee update for November 2024!
I’ve incorporated some feedback from the last post, and I encourage you to keep the feedback coming—this process gets better when you share what works for you and what doesn’t.
The grants committee rolled into November with a full plate, and that momentum carried through the month. We don’t slow down because we know that the more teams we review, the more high-quality projects can start building on Moonbeam with grant support—ultimately benefiting both the chain and the projects themselves. Let’s look at some numbers:
In November:
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7 x 1-hour committee review calls with applicants. As a reminder, before these calls happen, countless hours go into project screening by the Moonbeam Foundation’s Business Development team, along with many more hours of committee due diligence. We research, prepare questions, and ensure we assess the project thoroughly.
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5 x 1.5-hour internal committee calls to discuss projects reviewed during the week. These calls are fun, but also serious affairs where the committee openly shares opinions, debates, and ultimately end with an agreement to vote or seek more info. To be a fly on the wall of these calls.
Projects Reviewed in November
Here’s a snapshot of the projects we reviewed and their outcomes:
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Project 1 – RWA Approved – A start-up building an architectural design marketplace on Moonbeam.
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Project 2 – Gaming Approved with a revised budget – A gaming team focused on rewarding community engagement.
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Project 3 – Gaming Declined – A free-to-play game that didn’t meet committee expectations.
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Project 4 – Cross-Chain Approved – An ambitious project connecting Moonbeam to ICP and other ecosystems, with the team showing exceptional promise and vision.
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Project 5 – Gaming Approved, pending agreement on milestones – A polished team creating a new pipeline of games to integrate into the Moonbeam ecosystem.
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Project 6 – Gaming Approved – A professional prediction and gaming platform designed for regulated and fun gameplay experiences.
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Project 7 – DeFi Declined – A cross-chain asset transfer protocol with strong features but needing further refinement.
Follow-Up on Community Questions
@lina.k.m asked last month if any teams have returned to the committee after not receiving a grant on their first proposal. I brought this question back to the committee, and the answer is yes—quite a few have. In fact, one team in this month’s list applied last season and was turned down. Instead of giving up, they dug deep, refined their proposal and business model, and came back with a much stronger value proposition. We’re still finalizing milestones for the most recent team, but it’s great to see teams improve and align more with the committee’s vision. Maybe less than 10 in total, but more than 5.
There are well-known teams in the community who’ve taken this path, and they’ve gone on to become some of the biggest advocates and supporters of Moonbeam. It’s refreshing to see projects grow and form stronger bonds within the ecosystem, even if at first it seems it isn’t going to work out.
Trends in Gaming Grants
@turrizt requested more visibility into trends, and projects we can name. If we look back across recent seasons, a clear pattern emerges:
Projects like The Great Escape, Pinkdrop, Evrloot, Voidge, Age of Chronos, and more have been grant recipients. Many of these teams participated in events like the Lunar Gaming Festival, which has served as a pipeline into the N3mus tournaments. If they aren’t there yet, I’m confident they’ll get there soon.
It all starts with a grant—a signal that the Moonbeam Grants Committee believes in these teams’ potential to grow and integrate into the ecosystem. That’s a powerful message to share outside of our community – it’s a wider web3 success story.
What’s Next?
I’ll be editing this post to add a podcast—it’s sometimes easier for some community members to listen rather than read. Thanks to @siccomoonbeam for the great tip on NotebookLM.
Next month, in addition to the regular update, I’ll be organizing a mid-season call with some other committee members and community lead @baki_nft hosting to provide more insights.
As always, please drop a comment—this will only get better with your feedback.
Until next time,
Jim 
EDIT: Here’s the podcast I promised. It’s AI generated, and not perfect. The source of truth is above, the podcast is a great addition after reading the post which was only edited by AI for grammar, spelling, and tense.
https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/d8f66a30-5b9c-4868-b034-5dd8f0fb1034/audio