> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.botto.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.botto.com/overview/voting/voting-groups.md).

# Voting Groups

Voting Groups let a large holder, or delegate, commit Voting Points (VP) to a shared group and invite participants to join and vote on Botto's fragments using that VP. It is not required for participants, or delegates, to have their own VP to join a Voting Group.

Votes cast through a group are still attributed to the individual delegate who cast them: karma and voting history flow to the delegate, while the VP comes out of the group's shared balance instead of their personal balance. When a round generates revenue, the group earns [Active Rewards](https://github.com/bottoproject/docs/tree/main/overview/rewards.md#active-rewards) as a collective and the payout is shared between the delegator who created the group and the delegates.

You can find Voting Groups in the **Community** world of the [Botto App](https://studio.botto.com/).

{% hint style="info" %}
A group's VP pool is separate from your personal VP. Spending from a group never touches your own weekly balance, and vice versa. You can toggle between which VP source you use to vote on Botto’s fragments.
{% endhint %}

### Key Concepts

* **Voting Points (VP)** — the currency of voting. VP is what you spend to vote on Botto's fragments, and it regenerates each round. (Worth defining since the whole system rests on it, and a newcomer may not know it from context.)
* **Fragments** — the artworks Botto generates and presents each round for participants to vote on.
* **Voting Group** — a collective of delegates who vote on Botto's fragments using VP delegated to them, funded and configured by a delegator.
* **Delegator** — the person who sets up a group, funds it with VP, and configures its rules.
* **Delegate** — anyone who has joined a group. Delegates vote using the group's pooled VP, up to a per-member limit.
* **Pool** — The group's shared VP balance. It is funded by the delegator's commitment and drawn down as delegators vote.
* **Per-member cap** — the maximum amount of the pool a single delegate can spend in one round. This keeps any one delegate from draining the whole pool.
* **Commitment** — the VP a delegator allocates to a group, which funds the pool and is shared amongst delegates who join the group.
* **Active Rewards** — the share of auction revenue distributed to delegates based on the VP they spend, paid in $BOTTO.
* **Qualification rules** — the conditions a delegator can set for who may join a gated group (e.g. holding a certain token or NFT).

### Creating a Group

Anyone with enough staked $BOTTO can create a group. When creating, delegators configure:

* **Name, description, and image** — how the group appears to others.
* **Initial commitment** — how much VP to fund the pool with.
* **Number of participants** — the total size of the group, *including you*. This caps membership and automatically sets the **per-member cap** as `initial commitment ÷ participants`. For example, committing 1,000 VP across 10 participants gives each delegate a cap of 100 VP per round.
* **How people join** — open, invite-only, or gated by qualification rules (see [Joining a Group](#joining-a-group)).
* **Buyback tax** — the share of the group's rewards set aside for buyback-and-burn (see [Sharing the Rewards](#sharing-the-rewards)).
* **Creator reward split** — the share of the group's rewards that goes to the delegator.

### Joining a Group

Delegates join at no cost, and need no VP of their own. Every group chooses how new members can join:

* **Open** — anyone can browse and join from the **Discover** tab.
* **Invite-only** — you join by receiving an invitation or a shareable invite link.
* **Gated** — you must meet one or more qualification rules to join, for example:
  * Holding a minimum amount of staked **$BOTTO**.
  * Holding a specific **NFT** (a minimum balance of a given collection).

The **Discover** tab lists every available group along with its join mode and any qualification rules, so you can see what's required before joining. Gated and invite-only groups are labeled accordingly.

Invite links can be shared directly. Opening an invite link takes you to a join page that checks whether you qualify, then adds you to the group.

{% hint style="info" %}
Each group has a maximum number of participants. Once a group is full, no new participants can join unless a spot opens up.
{% endhint %}

### Voting with Delegated Power

Once you have joined a group, you can spend from its VP when you vote, up to your per-member cap.

In the app, a **source selector** appears next to your voting power. Use it to switch between your **personal** balance and any group you belong to. When a group is selected, your votes draw from that group's pool instead of your personal VP, and the counter shows how much of the pool you can still spend (the smaller of your remaining per-member cap and the pool's available balance).

{% hint style="info" %}
A single vote is never split across your personal balance and a group's VP. Each vote is funded entirely from the source you have selected.
{% endhint %}

### Sharing the Rewards

When a round generates revenue, the group earns [Active Rewards](https://github.com/bottoproject/docs/tree/main/overview/rewards.md#active-rewards) in proportion to the total VP it spent that round — using the same per-VP rate that applies to everyone else. The group's rewards are then split in three parts:

1. **Buyback tax** — a share (set by the delegator, at a minimum of 5%) is set aside for buyback-and-burn of $BOTTO.
2. **Delegator split** — after the tax, the delegator receives their configured share of what remains.
3. **Delegate share** — the rest is distributed to delegates in proportion to how much VP each spent through the group that round.

Rewards are claimed the same way as all other Active Rewards, from the [Rewards page](https://botto.com/app/rewards) of the app — there is a single claim covering both your personal and group rewards. See [How to Claim Rewards](/overview/rewards/how-to-claim-rewards.md).

{% hint style="info" %}
Because participant rewards are based on VP *spent*, a delegate who votes more through the group earns a larger share of the group's rewards.
{% endhint %}

### Recurring Commitments

VP regenerates each round.

For delegators: your commitment to a group is treated as a **standing weekly allocation**. When your VP regenerates at the start of a round, the portion you've committed is routed back into your groups automatically, so the pools stay funded week over week without any manual top-up. The total VP you control is unchanged — the committed portion simply funds your groups instead of your personal balance.

For delegates: your share of the group’s VP will renew at the start of each round.

### Managing a Group

Delegates (and any co-managers they appoint) can manage a group after it's created:

* **Edit details and rules** — update the name, description, image, join mode, and qualification rules at any time.
* **Invites and delegates** — send invites, generate or rotate a shareable invite link, and remove delegates.
* **Co-managers (admins)** — the delegator can delegate day-to-day management to other participants in the community, searched by username. Co-managers can do everything the creator can *except* committing VP and managing the co-manager list, which stays creator-only.

{% hint style="info" %}
Changes to a group's **economic settings** — the per-member cap, delegator split, and buyback tax — take effect at the **start of the next round** rather than mid-round, so the rules can't change out from under members who have already voted. Cosmetic changes (name, description, image, join mode) apply immediately. Rounds run for 13 weeks.
{% endhint %}

A delegator can **delete** a group, but only while it has never cast a vote. Once the group has backed any artwork, it can no longer be deleted. Deleting a group before any votes refunds the delegator's unspent committed VP.

### Leaving a Group

Any delegate can leave a group at any time. Votes you've already cast through the group stand for the round, and your reward share for VP already spent is preserved.

### Group Stats

Each group's page surfaces a few stats so both the delegator and delegates can see how the group is performing:

* **Delegates leaderboard** — delegates ranked by how much VP they've spent through the group.
* **Highlights** — the most active delegate (who has backed the most distinct artworks) and the group's top artwork (the fragment it has spent the most VP on).
* **Votes** — the full list of fragments the group has backed, with the VP behind each and the delegates who voted.
* **Group icon** — once it has cast votes, a group's icon automatically becomes its top-voted artwork.

### A Note on Unstaking

The [anti-sybil unstaking rules](/overview/voting/voting-mechanism.md) that apply to personal voting also apply to group voting:

* If a **delegator** unstakes during a round, their group is disabled for the rest of that round — delegates' votes already cast stand, but no further group voting is possible until the delegator re-commits.

{% content-ref url="/pages/-MlANyYPcIqK1bgCZrIb" %}
[Voting Points (VP)](/overview/voting/voting-mechanism.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/9ZcUsGBVamjWMkxgPwIG" %}
[Rewards](/overview/rewards.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}