---
description: Crypto community management and reward structures in the Polkadot ecosystem.
---

# Community Building

Community building is the sum of all off-chain operations and on-chain transactions that contribute to the creation and the maintenance of social media spaces dedicated to a project.

In the Polkadot ecosystem, self-directed crypto communities take inspiration from the DAO model to [onboard new contributors](community-building/crypto-communities) and [retain active participants](community-building/crypto-payments).

<figure><img src="https://2458985513-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FL6ALv1GyPrgErCsK1L2I%2Fuploads%2F0S0BdLORZUiCcqtU22WM%2FO_CBAplhaProgram.PNG?alt=media&#x26;token=e426f683-64e3-4dc9-a1da-2475304e9095" alt="An overview of the role of the Polkadot Alpha program."><figcaption><p>The <a href="https://polkadot.network/development/alpha/">Polkadot Alpha program</a> provides formal mentoring to ecosystem builders.</p></figcaption></figure>

