> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.maearth.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.maearth.com/ma-earth/funding-explained/quadratic-funding.md).

# Quadratic Funding

Ma Earth distributes matching funding to projects using an innovative system called quadratic funding. Quadratic funding redistributes decision-making power from donors to communities, meaning community support directly determines how much funding each project receives from the matching pool.

#### How quadratic funding works

With quadratic funding, *the number of supporters matters more than the size of donations*. Community donations effectively vote for where matching funds flow. The more people who back a project, the larger its share of the pool.

The matching pool is funded by Ma Earth Foundation and contributing philanthropic partners.

**Calculating matching funds**

Mathematically, the total matching funds a project receives is calculated by summing the square roots of each direct donation to a project and then squaring the total. A [minimum and maximum](/resources-for-land-stewards/about-funding-rounds/minimum-and-maximum-funding.md) range is also applied.

*You can learn more about quadratic funding at* [*WTF is QF?*](https://www.wtfisqf.com/) *or check out* [*the original paper*](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1809.06421)*.*

*Or explore the* [*funding simulator*](https://maearth.com/fundraise#simulator) *on our website. Again, this provides broad estimates only.*

#### An example of quadratic funding\*

| Funding Source | Project A       | Project B        |
| -------------- | --------------- | ---------------- |
| Donors         | 5 donors × $200 | 100 donors × $10 |
| Crowdfunded    | $1,000          | $1,000           |
| Matching grant | \~$1,500        | \~$12,000        |
| Total funding  | \~$2,500        | \~$13,000        |

In this example, both projects raised $1,000. Project B's broader community support unlocked significantly more matching funds.

*\*Simplified illustrations. Actual matching amounts vary by round, pool size, number of participating projects, and the number of donors each project attracts. Estimates on the website are only estimates and should be treated as such.*

#### **Ma Earth's 2024 pilot rounds**

* Average matching grant was roughly 10× the amount raised through crowdfunding
* Projects with the most individual supporters saw matching leverage of 25–45×
* Projects with fewer but larger donors received 2–5× in matching funds

***Important: Because Round 3 has received significantly more donations than Rounds 1 and 2, we do not expect the matching leverage to be so large.***

#### What this means for you

**Land stewards:** Focus on reaching many people, rather than finding a few big donors. Every small donation increases your share of the matching pool. Broad community support matters more than donation size.

**Community donors:** Your $10 donation has outsized impact. A donation of any size meaningfully benefits the projects you support.

**Matching pool contributors:** Your capital is allocated by the community, directed to the projects with the broadest grassroots support.

***

#### **Why do some projects with more donations have lower estimated matching?**

In a traditional matching model, the project that raises the most money receives the largest match. However, quadratic funding is specifically designed to amplify the voice of the broader community and reduce the influence of single, large donations.

Because of how the math works, it is possible for a project with more donors and more total funding to receive a smaller matching amount than a project with fewer donors and less funding.

Here's why this happens:

Instead of matching dollars linearly, Quadratic Funding calculates a project's "Match Score" using three standard mathematical steps:

1. Take the square root of each individual donation.
2. Sum all of those square roots together.
3. Square the final sum.

Written as a standard mathematical function, it looks like this:

<mark style="color:$success;">Match Score = ( √Donation\_1 + √Donation\_2 + ... + √Donation\_n )²</mark>

The square root function naturally diminishes the weight of massive donations while highly valuing small ones. This ensures that a project supported genuinely and evenly by a cohesive community receives more public matching than a project funded primarily by a single large contributor.

Large contributions don't "hurt" a project's matching calculations, but they don't have an outsized impact, either.

\ <br>


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://help.maearth.com/ma-earth/funding-explained/quadratic-funding.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.