Every block mined contains a reward for Zcash founders, developers, and early investors. The founder reward represents 20% of the total block reward and it's deducted from every block's value. The Canopy upgrade in 2020 changed the distribution of the Founders' reward. Originally it was giving 15% to founders and early investors and 5% to the Electric Coin Company. After the Canopy upgrade, the new Zcash reward distribution is the following:
- Miners - 80%
- Electric Coin Company - 7%
- Zcash foundation - 5%
- Grants for independent 3rd party development - 8%
The rest of the rewards (80% of the block reward + transaction fees) go to the miners. Learn more on the Zcash blog: https://z.cash/upgrade/canopy/.