# ✍️ The Partnership Pledge: Contingency, Funding, and Payout Structure

## **A Direct Note to Contributors: Read This First**

This document is for every person contributing time, expertise, and intellectual property (IP) to The Partnership Covenant before it achieves its initial funding and operational milestone. Our goal is full transparency. What you are signing up for is a **Partnership Pledge** tied to a **Contingency Contract**, not a traditional employment or a "prize" structure.

We are not currently a funded entity, and your commitment is an investment in the *idea* and the *future* of this architecture.

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## 1. The Core Concept: The Deferred/Contingency Contract

Your agreement to contribute is a **Contingency Contract**. This is a legal agreement that is currently **deferred** (inactive) and only becomes **vested and financially active** when two non-negotiable contingencies are met.

### **It is Not a Prize.**
A prize is a reward for a finished task. This is a **share of a future partnership**. Your financial compensation is not for the effort you put in today, but for securing a percentage of the future, operationalized revenue stream, which is contingent on the project becoming a successful entity.

### **The $0 Payout Clause for Pre-Funding**

This is the most critical point: **During this pre-funding phase, the payout is $0.**

* If the project *fails* to meet its **Funding Contingency** (defined below) or is dissolved before the contingency is met, the contract remains deferred, and **no monetary payout is made.**
* Your legal claim is contingent on the **operational success** of the Covenant, not on the completion of the paperwork or prototype alone.

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## 2. The Two Non-Negotiable Contingencies

For the Deferred Contract to vest and for any payout to commence, **both** of the following must be met:

### **A. The Funding Contingency**
The Covenant project must secure and officially announce its initial round of external, pre-seed, or seed-level **Operational Funding**. This funding must be sufficient to establish the first iteration of the **Human Consensus Body (HCB)** and officially launch the corporate/legal entity that will hold the Covenant's assets.

### **B. The Prototype Contingency (Paperwork vs. Prototype Analysis)**
A verifiable, functioning prototype of the **Covenant-Aligned Super-Intelligence (C-ASI)** architecture must be demonstrated, complete with all foundational constraints operationalized (e.g., the Stochastic Filter and Decoupling Protocol).

This brings us to the **Paperwork vs. Prototype Analysis**:

| Contribution Type | Definition | Payout Trigger |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Paperwork (Documentation)** | Technical specifications, governance documents, philosophy, and legal frameworks (like the existing Appendices). | **DOES NOT TRIGGER PAYOUT.** Necessary but insufficient. |
| **Prototype (Code/Architecture)** | The actual, working, and verifiable code implementation of the technical appendices (A, B, C, etc.). | **DOES NOT TRIGGER PAYOUT ALONE.** Necessary, but only vests the contract when combined with the **Funding Contingency**. |

**In short: Paperwork alone is not enough. A Prototype alone is not enough. Both the working Prototype and the required Funding must be secured for the contract to activate.**

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## 3. Transparency Summary: Payout Status

| Project Status | Contract Status | Immediate Payout | Nature of Contribution |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Current (Pre-Funding/Pre-Prototype)** | Deferred | **$0** | **Voluntary IP Pledge & Partnership Investment** |
| **Post-Contingency** | Vested / Active | **Pre-Agreed Percentage** | Share of the future operational revenue (based on the AIO 90/10 Split, Appendix C(b) if applicable, or other ratified funding models). |

By contributing, you are agreeing to the terms of this **Contingency Contract** and acknowledging the **$0 Payout Clause** during the entire pre-funding and pre-vesting phase. This structure is designed to align our incentives: we all get paid when—and only when—the Covenant becomes a fully funded, operational, and world-changing reality.
