# Backing a Campaign This guide walks through the process of contributing to a research campaign on PepFund. *** ## Prerequisites Before backing a campaign, you need: * A Solana wallet (Phantom, Backpack, or Solflare) * USDC on Solana in your wallet * A small amount of SOL for transaction fees (less than $0.01) If you need help setting up a wallet or acquiring USDC, see [For Backers](/getting-started/for-backers.md). *** ## Finding a Campaign ### Browse All Campaigns Navigate to the **Campaigns** page on PepFund. By default, campaigns are sorted by funding velocity (amount raised in the last 24 hours). You can filter by: * **Status:** Active, Funded, Closing Soon * **Category:** Biology, Climate, Neuroscience, Longevity, Materials, Pharmacology, Astronomy, Environment * **Funding progress:** Any percentage range ### Campaign Cards Each card shows: * Research title and category * Current funding progress as a percentage bar and raised/goal figures * Number of backers * Days remaining before the deadline ### Campaign Page Click any card to open the full campaign page. Before contributing, review: * **Research summary and abstract.** Understand what the researcher is trying to achieve and why. * **Team.** Check researcher credentials via the ORCID badge. Verified researchers have a green checkmark. * **Milestone roadmap.** Understand what deliverables you are funding and when to expect them. * **Token details.** Review the research token parameters: backer allocation, IP terms, post-campaign transferability. * **Onchain activity.** The transparency feed shows every contribution by wallet address, amount, and timestamp, pulled directly from Solana. *** ## Making a Contribution ### Step 1: Connect Your Wallet Click **Connect Wallet** in the top navigation bar. Select your wallet provider. Approve the connection request in your wallet extension. Your wallet address appears in the navigation bar once connected. ### Step 2: Click "Back This Research" On the campaign page, click the **Back This Research** button. A contribution panel opens. ### Step 3: Enter Your Contribution Amount Enter the USDC amount you want to contribute. The minimum is $1.00. There is no maximum. The panel displays in real time: * The USDC amount you will contribute * The number of research tokens you will receive * Your percentage of the total backer token allocation (calculated based on the current total raised plus your contribution) * The escrow address where your USDC will be held ### Step 4: Review the Transaction Review all details carefully. Key items to confirm: * Contribution amount matches what you entered * The escrow address is a valid PDA (not a regular wallet address) * The research token mint address matches the campaign {% hint style="info" %} You can verify the campaign's escrow PDA independently using the Solana CLI or Solana Explorer before signing. The escrow address is deterministically derived from the campaign address and the string "escrow". {% endhint %} ### Step 5: Sign and Confirm Click **Confirm Contribution**. Your wallet prompts you to sign the transaction. Review the transaction details one final time in your wallet's confirmation screen and approve. The transaction is submitted to Solana. Confirmation typically takes 1 to 2 seconds. Once confirmed: * Your USDC is transferred to the campaign escrow * Research tokens are minted directly to your wallet in the same transaction * Your contribution appears in the campaign's onchain transparency feed * Your portfolio is updated *** ## After You Contribute ### Tracking Progress Your portfolio page shows all campaigns you have backed, with live funding progress and milestone status for each. The campaign page continues to update in real time as more backers contribute and the researcher posts updates. ### Milestone Notifications You can enable notifications (email or wallet-connected push) for campaign events: * Campaign reaches its funding goal * Researcher submits a milestone * A milestone review window opens (you can participate in governance) * A milestone is released or disputed * The campaign completes ### Participating in Governance As a research token holder, you can flag submitted milestones during the review window if you believe the evidence does not satisfy the milestone description. See [Milestone-Gated Funding](/core-concepts/milestone-funding.md) for details on the flagging process. *** ## If the Campaign Fails If the campaign deadline passes without reaching the funding goal, the campaign enters the `Failed` state. Your USDC remains in the escrow and is available for full refund at any time. To claim your refund: 1. Navigate to your portfolio 2. Find the failed campaign 3. Click **Claim Refund** 4. Sign the transaction in your wallet Your USDC is returned to your wallet in a single transaction. Refunds do not expire. *** ## Frequently Asked Questions **Can I contribute more than once to the same campaign?** Yes. Each contribution creates an additional `ContributionState` record. Your token allocation accumulates across all contributions. **Can I cancel my contribution?** No. Contributions to active campaigns are final. If the campaign fails to reach its goal, your refund is available automatically. If the campaign is cancelled by the researcher, your refund is also available. **Is there a fee for contributing?** PepFund does not charge backers a fee. You pay only the Solana network transaction fee (less than $0.01). The 3% platform fee is charged to the researcher on successfully funded campaigns. **What happens if the escrow is drained by a bug?** See [Security](/reference/security.md) for information on the audit status, bug bounty, and risk disclosures. --- # Agent Instructions: 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: ``` GET https://docs.pepfund.xyz/guides/backing-a-campaign.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. 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.