Funding and creator referrals

When funding launches, the public goal will include a platform fee equal to 20% of the approved production budget. For a USD 100,000 budget, this means USD 100,000 for production and a USD 20,000 platform fee. Below that public goal, funds go toward the approved production budget first and the platform receives only the excess; creator funds cannot be released before the production minimum is met.

The displayed public goal includes the standard platform fee: production budget × 1.2, a 20% increase rounded up to cents. Funding succeeds when eligible funds reach the approved production budget, even if the displayed public goal has not been reached. Fans will see both the public goal and the production minimum; creator and referral amounts are rounded down to cents with the remainder assigned to the platform fee.

Confirmed introductions may help referred creators appear in relevant personalized suggestions. This is a limited ranking signal, with frequency limits and no guaranteed exposure, followers, or revenue; fan lists and individual activity are never shared with creators.

If a valid direct referral is registered and all program conditions are met, the intended reward is 5% of eligible payments for the referred creator's qualifying projects, not 5% of creator proceeds. Rewards come from VelvetVote's platform fee, do not reduce the approved creator allocation, and add no separate fan referral fee. If a reduced platform fee cannot cover that 5%, the treatment is undecided and referral allocation cannot be finalized or marked payable before terms are agreed; no reduced rate or platform subsidy is assumed.

Signup, survey responses, stated support amounts, and free or promotional tokens generate no referral reward. Only actual payments with finalized settlement after contracted production and delivery, or an approved production milestone, can qualify.

Referral rewards that have become payable will be settled once per month. Production progress, payment settlement, refunds, and dispute reviews may affect when an amount becomes payable. Monthly batching does not change the fee percentages.

Refunds, chargebacks, and payment cancellations will adjust the related referral reward. Partial refunds will be recalculated from the transaction's cumulative eligible amount, using its saved policy snapshot. Offsets or repayment of previously paid rewards will follow the settlement terms published before launch.

Rewards apply only to newly introduced creators you refer directly; if A refers B and B refers C, A receives no reward from C. Self-referrals, duplicate accounts, false transactions, spam, and misleading recruitment do not qualify. Existing or rejoined accounts are not automatically new referrals, and shared IP addresses alone do not establish misuse.

Referrers must clearly disclose alongside their recommendation that they may receive a referral reward. Do not guarantee income or advertise unavailable features as available.

Funding and referral reward payouts have not started. Reward duration, caps, and detailed payment conditions will be published before launch, and participants must review and agree to those final terms. This preview does not create a funding contract, accrued reward, or present payment obligation.

When funding launches, funding will close automatically once the public goal, including platform fees, is reached. At the deadline, if the production budget is covered, production funds will be paid to the creator even if the full platform fee has not been covered. If the production budget is not covered by the deadline, funding will be cancelled automatically.

For a USD 10,000 production budget, the displayed goal is USD 12,000. At USD 11,040 in eligible funding, the production minimum is met: USD 10,000 is allocated to the creator and USD 1,040 is the platform fee before any referral reward, processing fees, or other costs.

Reaching the production minimum satisfies the future creator release threshold; settled eligible funds and required checks are still needed before a transfer. Success is recalculated after refunds and exclusions, so dropping below the minimum removes that threshold status. Funding and transfers remain unavailable in the current research release.

The production creator must approve the production content, budget, public funding goal, and conditions before a project can be published for funding, including ideas proposed by fans. Final launch terms and production approval will be required before funding starts.

Above the public goal, the same production-cost proportions apply: 100 parts to the creator and 20 parts to the platform, with the creator allocation rounded down to cents. Below the goal, funds go toward the approved production budget first; any referral reward is deducted from the available platform fee, and the remainder is before processing fees and other costs, not net profit. Any fan tax will be displayed separately from the goal, with no assumed tax rate in this preview.

Every item below is undecided. An unset value does not mean unlimited or lifetime rewards, and the program cannot become payable before the conditions and payout availability are finalized.

• Reward duration: not yet decided.
• Start and end date rules: not yet decided.
• Cumulative reward cap per referred creator: not yet decided.
• Minimum payout and below-minimum balance treatment: not yet decided.
• Monthly payout day and settlement timezone: not yet decided.
• Settlement waiting period: not yet decided.
• Referral registration and correction window after signup: not yet decided.
• Payout countries, methods, and verification requirements: not yet decided.
• Offset and repayment procedure for previously paid rewards: not yet decided.
• Program changes, termination, and remaining balance treatment: not yet decided.
• Referral reward treatment when the reduced platform fee cannot cover 5%: not yet decided.

A direct referral may be recorded using a referral code or a reference to private email introduction evidence, with confirmation by the introduced creator and administrator review. Only one referrer may be registered per creator; corrections and decisions retain their history.

Introduction evidence stays in an access-restricted source; audit records contain references only. Referrers will not receive fan personal data or individual purchase histories. Transactions, adjustments, and payouts will retain their original currency, rates, policy version, and reasons when those services launch.