HOW HARBOUR
WORKS.
Everything you need to know about the platform that's transforming college communities into powerful, student-governed DAOs.
From joining your first ship to governing a fleet, voting on proposals to earning rewards—this is your complete guide to Harbour.
WHAT IS HARBOUR?
Harbour is a decentralized platform that turns college communities into DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations). Students propose ideas, vote on initiatives, earn tokens for participation, and collectively govern their campus life—all transparently on the blockchain.
Transparent
Every vote, every proposal, every fund movement is recorded on-chain. No backroom deals.
Student-Governed
Students hold the power. Propose, vote, and execute decisions that shape your campus.
Rewarding
Earn Harbour Tokens for attending events, completing bounties, and active participation.
FLEETS & SHIPS
How communities are organized
FLEET
City / Region Level
A Fleet represents a geographic city or region. Think of it as the umbrella that covers all colleges in one area. Each fleet can hold 100–1,000 members and is led by a Fleet Commander.
SHIP
College / Organization Level
A Ship is your college or organization within a fleet. This is your home base—where you attend events, complete bounties, vote on proposals, and collaborate with your crew.
Example
THE CREW HIERARCHY
Maritime roles with real responsibilities
Every member holds a maritime title that determines what they can do on the platform. Roles are earned through elections, appointments, and contributions.
ADMIRAL
GlobalPlatform-wide admin. Manages all fleets, ships, and system settings. The highest authority.
COMMANDER
FleetLeads a fleet (city/region). Coordinates ships, allocates budgets, and makes city-wide decisions.
CAPTAIN
ShipLeads a ship (college). Creates elections, manages crew and treasury. Full admin access within their ship.
CHIEF MATE
ShipSecond-in-command. Assists the captain, coordinates activities, and accesses analytics. Can view insights and audit data.
CONTRIBUTOR
ShipActive builder. Can create polls and collaborations. Can review bounty submissions and participate in governance.
MEMBER
ShipStarting role. Can RSVP to events, claim bounties, vote in elections, submit proposals, and delegate tokens.
WHO CAN JOIN?
Four account types for different participants
Harbour isn't just for students. Foundations, sponsors, and auditors each play a critical role in making the ecosystem work.
COMMUNITY
Students & Members
The heart of Harbour. Students join a fleet and ship, participate in governance, attend events, claim bounties, apply for grants, earn tokens, and build their reputation on the leaderboard.
FOUNDATION
Grant-Making Organizations
Educational organizations and grant-makers that fund student initiatives. They create grant pools, review proposals, approve milestones, and disburse funds to approved projects.
SPONSOR
Companies & Organizations
Companies and organizations that support communities with funding and resources. They create bounties, create and fund events, and contribute to the treasury to fuel student projects. Sponsors do not participate in governance.
AUDITOR
Oversight & Compliance
Independent observers who ensure transparency and accountability. Auditors have read-only access to treasury data, analytics, and audit logs—but cannot vote or participate in governance.
GETTING STARTED
Your journey from wallet to crew member
CONNECT YOUR WALLET
Connect any Web3 wallet (MetaMask, WalletConnect, Coinbase Wallet) to get started. No password needed—your wallet is your identity.
CHOOSE YOUR ACCOUNT TYPE
Are you a student (Community), a grant-maker (Foundation), a company (Sponsor), or an observer (Auditor)? Pick the one that fits.
SELECT YOUR FLEET
Pick the fleet (city/region) where your college or organization operates. See live member counts and capacity for each fleet.
JOIN YOUR SHIP
Choose the ship (college/org) within your fleet. This is recorded on-chain—your membership is permanently verifiable on the blockchain.
PICK YOUR TITLE
Choose a maritime title: Chief Mate, Chief Engineer, Helmsman, Quartermaster, Deck Cadet, or Engine Cadet. Your title represents your focus area.
COMPLETE YOUR PROFILE
Add your name, email, bio, graduation year, major, and select your interests (workshops, hackathons, networking, bootcamps, grants, or building).
PLATFORM FEATURES
Everything your community needs
DAO GOVERNANCE
Proposals, Voting & Delegation
The governance system is the core of Harbour. Community members and foundations with enough Harbour Tokens can create proposals. They then vote—For, Against, or Abstain. If a proposal meets the quorum (minimum votes) and passes by majority, it can be executed on-chain. Sponsors and auditors do not participate in governance.
Create Proposals
Submit ideas for community votes. Requires minimum token balance.
Vote On-Chain
Cast For, Against, or Abstain votes. Voting power equals your token balance.
Delegate Tokens
Transfer voting power to a trusted member. Set percentage and expiration.
Execute Decisions
Passed proposals are executed via smart contracts. Fully automated and trustless.
EVENTS
Workshops, Hackathons, Meetups & More
Sponsors create and fund community events—workshops, hackathons, guest lectures, and social gatherings. Community members browse, RSVP, check in at the venue, and earn token rewards for attendance.
BOUNTIES
Tasks, Rewards & Proof of Work
Sponsors post tasks with token rewards on the bounty board. Community members browse, claim a bounty, do the work, submit proof, and get paid—all secured by smart contract escrow.
GRANTS
Milestone-Based Funding
Foundations create grant pools with defined budgets. Students submit proposals with milestones. As each milestone is completed and verified, funds are released automatically through the smart contract. No middlemen.
1
Foundation Creates Pool
Sets budget, guidelines, eligibility
2
Students Submit Proposals
With milestones and deliverables
3
Milestone Disbursement
Funds released on approval
ELECTIONS & POLLS
Democratic Leadership Selection
Hold elections for leadership roles (Captain, Commander, Treasurer) with nomination and voting periods. Support for simple majority, quadratic voting, and ranked choice. Quick polls let the community weigh in on any topic.
Elections
Nomination period → Voting period → Winner declared on-chain
Polls
Quick community votes on any topic. Multiple choice and multi-select supported.
LEADERBOARD & REPUTATION
Earn, Compete & Get Recognized
Everything you do earns reputation points. Attend events, complete bounties, vote in elections, create proposals—it all adds up. Compete on global, fleet, and ship leaderboards. Earn badges for milestones, streaks, and achievements.
Attendance
Events attended
Tasks
Bounties completed
Voting
Elections voted
Proposals
Proposals submitted
Contributions
Content created
TREASURY & TOKENS
Community Fund Management
The Harbour Token (ERC-20) powers the entire ecosystem. Tokens are minted as rewards for contributions and used for governance voting power. The community treasury tracks all inflows and outflows by category—sponsorships, events, prizes, and operations.
Earn Tokens
Event check-ins, bounty completions, and contribution scores automatically mint tokens to your wallet.
Use Tokens
Governance voting power, proposal creation threshold, and bounty rewards.
A DAY ON HARBOUR
How each participant type uses the platform
AS A STUDENT
Morning
Check dashboard for new bounties. Claim a design task worth 50 HBR tokens. Submit a grant proposal.
Afternoon
Vote on a DAO proposal. Nominate a classmate for captain elections. Delegate voting power to a trusted friend.
Evening
RSVP and attend a sponsor-hosted workshop. Check in to earn tokens. Climb the leaderboard and earn a streak badge.
AS A FOUNDATION
Set Up Grants
Create a $10,000 grant pool for DeFi education projects with clear guidelines and eligibility.
Review Proposals
Evaluate student proposals against criteria. Approve promising projects with milestone plans.
Disburse Funds
Review milestone proof submissions. Approve deliverables to release funds automatically.
AS A SPONSOR
Post Bounties
Create coding or design challenges with token rewards. Review submissions and release payments.
Create Events
Organize hackathons, workshops, and competitions for the community. Manage RSVPs and check-ins.
Track Impact
View your bounties, contributions, and events sponsored on a dedicated sponsor dashboard.
AS AN AUDITOR
Monitor Treasury
Review all inflows and outflows. Verify funds are being used according to approved budgets.
Audit Activity
Access system-wide activity logs. Track governance decisions and their execution status.
Generate Reports
Create compliance reports and analytics snapshots for stakeholders and regulatory needs.
POWERED BY BLOCKCHAIN
Built on Base (Ethereum L2)
Every critical action is recorded on Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 network. This means fast transactions, low fees, and the full security of Ethereum. Here's what lives on-chain:
Harbour Token
ERC-20 governance and reward token
Harbour DAO
Proposal creation, voting, and execution
Harbour Community
Fleet/ship creation and membership
Harbour Grants
Grant pools and milestone disbursement
Harbour Election
Nominations, voting, and results
Bounty Escrow
Token escrow and reward payouts
Harbour Treasury
Community fund management
Harbour Roles
On-chain role verification
Harbour Poll
Community polling and tallying
FIND YOUR WAVE
Six interest areas to match your passion
LIGHTHOUSE
Educational workshops and learning sessions. Level up your skills with peers.
HARBOUR
Hackathons and competitions. Build fast, ship faster, win prizes.
SEAPORT
Networking events and meetups. Connect with builders, founders, and mentors.
SURF
Bootcamps and intensive training. Deep-dive into new technologies.
HATCH
Grants and funding opportunities. Turn your ideas into funded projects.
SHIPYARD
Collaborative building projects. Ship real products with your crew.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Do I need crypto to use Harbour?
You need a Web3 wallet (like MetaMask) to connect, but you don't need to buy any crypto. Harbour Tokens are earned through participation—attending events, completing bounties, and contributing to the community.
What blockchain is Harbour built on?
Harbour is built on Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 network. This means fast transactions (under 2 seconds), very low gas fees, and the full security guarantees of Ethereum.
Can my college join Harbour?
Yes! Any college can create a Ship within an existing Fleet (city/region). If your city doesn't have a Fleet yet, an admin can create one. The platform is designed to scale to any number of colleges.
How are leaders chosen?
Through on-chain elections. Community members nominate candidates, then vote during a defined voting period. Harbour supports simple majority, quadratic voting, and ranked choice methods.
What can I do with Harbour Tokens?
Harbour Tokens (HBR) are governance tokens. They give you voting power on proposals—the more tokens you hold, the more influence you have. They're also used to create proposals (minimum threshold required) and as bounty rewards.
Is my data safe?
Critical data (votes, membership, funds) lives on the blockchain—immutable and transparent. Profile data is stored off-chain in a secure database. Your wallet address is your identity; no passwords are stored.
How do grants work?
Foundations create grant pools with a budget. Students submit proposals with milestones and deliverables. As each milestone is completed and verified by the foundation, funds are released automatically via smart contract.
Can companies sponsor our community?
Yes! Sponsors get a dedicated account type to create bounties, create events, and contribute to the treasury. They have their own dashboard showing bounties created, contributions, and events sponsored.
READY TO SET SAIL?
Connect your wallet, join your ship, and start building the future of your campus community.