Dear Proposer,

Thank you for your proposal. Our second vote on this proposal is NAY.

The Small Tipper track requires 30% participation and simple majority of non-abstain votes according to our voting policy v0.2, and any referendum in which the majority of members vote abstain receives an abstain vote. This proposal has received zero aye and five nay votes from ten available members. Below is a summary of our members' comments:

Voters expressed concerns regarding the unclear value delivered by the six-month renewal proposal. They stated that the report lacked sufficient demonstration of outcomes and measurable impacts from the initial investment. Members noted that while invoices and receipts were provided, there was little evidence of meaningful use of the space, such as held events or engaged businesses. They observed that ongoing leadership changes and a temporary pause on initiatives further reduced confidence in the proposal’s effectiveness. Overall, the feedback highlighted the need for clearer goals, better resource allocation, and a comprehensive impact assessment before justifying continued sponsorship funding.

The full discussion can be found in our internal voting.

Please feel free to contact us through the links below for further discussion.

Kind regards,
Permanence DAO
Decentralized Voices Cohort IV Delegate

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To address the concerns raised by PermanenceDAO - and potentially shared by other voters - I’d like to offer the following clarification. I acknowledge that the original report did not provide this level of detail, and I appreciate the opportunity to elaborate.

Purpose and Outcomes

The original proposal stated the goal of “beginning the process of establishing a physical presence to leverage connections with businesses, educational institutions, government officials, blockchain policy advocates, and the community at large to drive awareness, foster growth, and explore new integrations. Additionally, it will serve as one location to host Polkadot-branded monthly MeetUps, Hackathons, and other educational initiatives.”

Since joining, I have worked out of the Levan Center on average 2–3 days per week. The space continues to be a dynamic and high-demand facility serving Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. Notably, no new private offices have become available since we joined, and their conference rooms are routinely booked for events, underscoring the center’s reach and relevance.

Community Engagement & Cost-Efficient Stewardship

While I have hosted one formal Polkadot MeetUp at Levan - on December 12, 2024 - the rental fee of $1,143 per event is cost-prohibitive unless I can reliably guarantee 100+ attendees. As a responsible steward of treasury funds, I opted to pause formal events at that venue until I could better justify the investment.

Instead, as outlined in my 6-month renewal proposal, I plan to shift toward more cost-effective engagement strategies modeled after successful implementations in Toronto and other Roots cities. These include co-working sessions, WUD meetups, and leveraging the Levan Center’s complimentary member conference rooms - all while maintaining a consistent presence in the space.

Ongoing Presence and Relationship Building

Maintaining a regular on-site presence has led to numerous organic conversations with members and visitors, many of whom I now regularly engage with about Polkadot. The current Levan member roster includes founders, technologists, and civic leaders across sectors - relationships that continue to deepen.

You may also watch this Levan Center Overview video to get a better sense of the space and its energy.

Additionally, I actively participate in monthly “954 Coffee Connect” events, which are exclusive to members and designed to strengthen peer-to-peer engagement within the innovation ecosystem.

Strategic Introductions and Institutional Access

I’ve also taken part in key events hosted by Levan, including the Government Procurement Workshop on May 28, where I was introduced to representatives from:

• Broward County’s Office of Economic & Small Business Development
• Broward County Purchasing Division
• Broward County Public Schools Economic Development & Diversity Compliance (EDDC)
• City of Hollywood Office of Procurement
• Nova Southeastern University (NSU) Office of Procurement Services

These connections are vital as we continue to explore Web3 integration in public sector and institutional settings.

Long-Term Opportunity

Looking ahead, the Levan Center’s 4th Annual South Florida Innovation Day - its largest gathering of the year - takes place September 17. Though we were not members during the 2024 edition, my participation enabled meaningful Polkadot introductions to business leaders, government agencies, investors, and academic institutions - relationships that remain active today.

We are also in continued discussions with Levan leadership around integrating Polkadot across their:

• Cybersecurity Lab and space initiatives (incl. NASA partnerships)
• Entrepreneurial and tech certification programs and hackathons
• Academic affiliations with NSU
• Collaborations with BitBasel and other ecosystem partners

While some progress is paused due to Levan’s interim leadership status (pending appointment of a permanent Executive Director), this is a universal delay impacting all partners - not one specific to Polkadot. The important thing is that we are in the room, part of the conversation, and positioned to move quickly when the leadership transition concludes.

Addressing the Elephant in the Room

The question of direct “business closed” as a result of this membership is a fair one. To date, no new business has been directly closed yet, nor was that a KPI outlined in the original proposal. The reality is that Polkadot’s sales and integration cycles are longer-term - but that doesn’t mean we haven’t delivered.

In fact, we have fully delivered on the stated objectives: we’ve established and sustained a physical presence, leveraged institutional and governmental relationships, built trust in the community, and laid the groundwork for deeper integrations - all for a modest $2,400 investment for the first six months.

Final Thought

This initiative is just one component of our broader South Florida strategy, which includes our partnerships with Inter Miami CF, the University of Miami, BitBasel, and countless speaking engagements and events representing Polkadot each month. The Levan Center remains a crucial part of this regional strategy.

For more perspective, I encourage you to read this June 2025 X thread from Chris Wade outlining what the Polkadot Miami model is getting right.

I respectfully request your support to continue this work for another 6 months and welcome any further questions or discussion.

Thank you for your consideration.