[GCP-XXX] Gardens 🌱 GG24 Roadmap Funding

📝 Citizen Grants
1

Proposal Description

Short Summary

Gardens is a community governance platform optimized for bottom-up decision-making. It uses an enforceable Covenant tied to modular conviction voting pools to securely and intelligently signal sentiment and allocate resources to communities and ecosystems as effectively as possible.

This proposal seeks $32,000 to enhance Gardens’ UI/UX and implement key improvements needed to transition Gardens from a niche product to one capable of mass adoption.

Impacted Stakeholders & Expected Outcome

  • GG24 Community Participants - Enhanced conviction voting experience with streamlined workflows and a friendlier UX
  • Gardens Communities - Improved platform usability and mobile accessibility
  • Allo Protocol Ecosystem - Increased TVF by scaling adoption of funding pools on Gardens
  • Gitcoin Stewards - Professional-grade decision-making infrastructure for ecosystem growth and community coordination

Expected Outcomes: 2x increase in Gardens usage, significant reduction in onboarding friction, and 5x increase in TVF through Allo by EOY 2025.

Who We Are

We are a team of active builders and maintainers of the Gardens platform. Gardens is a key ecosystem partner of Gitcoin, having run 2 successful community rounds to date.

In GG22, our Gardens Community Round allocated $30k to communities and raised $14k in external funding - a 1.7x multiplier on Gitcoin’s $20k investment (retrospective).

GG23 significantly improved on these results, with $58k allocated and $40k external funding raised - a 3.05x multiplier on Gitcoin’s $21k investment (retrospective).

We hope to continue this trajectory in our GG24 Exit-to-Community round, and are expecting increased Gardens usage in other DDA + community rounds as part of Gitcoin 3.0’s multi-mechanism future.

Motivation

Despite finding product-market fit with niche community builders in pop-up cities, regen communities, and ecosystem growth orgs, Gardens has flown under the radar due to user unfriendliness, complexity, and competitive landscape challenges. This funding directly addresses these shortcomings and brings Gardens from an experimental mechanism for advanced users to a platform ready for mass adoption.

This is our first funding proposal to the Gitcoin community. To date, Gardens has raised $120k for development of our v2 platform from other sources (see our fundraising spreadsheet), and has had great engagement in the past year from Gitcoin’s stewards and its broader ecosystem.

Specifications

Core Development Areas

The key elements of this funding proposal are informed by user feedback from our GG23 Community Round and a series of Core Contributor workshops to prioritize our work over the new few months.

You can see the outcomes of our workshops in this Effort to Impact Matrix of all user requests and pain points of the app:

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We leveraged these sessions to determine the scope of this proposal to cover 3 broad areas of Gardens platform growth:

1. Key UI/UX Improvements

  • Addressing the app’s most frequently reported UI/UX pain points
  • Mobile-first responsive design for better accessibility
  • Streamlined onboarding with guided video tutorials and improved documentation

2. Smart Contract Upgrades

  • Diamond Pattern architecture implementation for modular scalability
  • Alongside UI/UX improvements, updating smart contracts when needed
  • Better interoperability across Gitcoin ecosystem tools

3. Platform Growth & Marketing

  • Deeper Investment into platform growth and marketing campaigns
  • Workshops covering high demand community builder needs
  • Onboarding materials, user documentation, and improved user support

Our Team

The following contributors of the Gardens platform will lead the execution of this proposal. We are a team of 6 with extensive experience in the development, growth, marketing and project management, specializing in web3 ecosystem growth and community governance:

You can view our full Core team info + bios here in Notion:

Gardens Core + Seed Contributors

Technical Specifications

Diving deeper into the technical builds, this funding will cover:

Implementation Roadmap

Our full timeline for execution of this proposal is available both in Notion and Github

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Core Proposal Benefits

Gardens is built on Allo Protocol, meaning funds allocated directly contribute to Gitcoin’s Total Value Flowed (TVF) metrics. Funds from this proposal would directly tie to Gitcoin’s ecosystem growth by increasing the adoption of Gardens, leading to more Allo TVF and direct funding for the dozens of projects on Gardens aligned with Gitcoin’s objective to Fund What Matters.

With the $32k requested in this proposal, our deliverables would promote:

Gardens Community Engagement

  • Streamlined UX reducing the barriers to adopt and participate on Gardens
  • Educational workshops helping onboard communities in our key market verticals
  • Mobile optimization allowing for broader global participation

Improved Network Effects

  • Growing the adoption of a community governance platform with direct ties to Gitcoin
  • Providing a better decision mechanism for other round operators in GG24
  • Expanding on a proven track record of amplifying Gitcoin investment through external funding from Gardens other funding partners including 1Hive, CeloPG, and Public Nouns

Ensuring Financial Sustainability

  • Creating a more future-proof foundation for Gitcoin 3.0’s multi-mechanism landscape.

Budget Overview

Category Amount Description
Engineering $15,000 Diamond Pattern ($10k), UI updates ($5k)
Design & UX $5,000 Mobile-first design, user research, accessibility
Growth & Marketing $4,000 Campaigns to increase visibility and awareness of the platform
Project Management $3,000 Coordination, timeline management, stakeholder communication
Workshops $2,000 Two comprehensive community onboarding workshops with materials
User Support $2,000 Support for community members and builders, maintenance
Onboarding Materials $1,000 Educational content, infographics, documentation
Total $32,000

Success Metrics & KPIs

Today Gardens hosts 100+ communities with 800+ unique members, $50k TVL, and $100k allocated to funding proposals. This data is tracked primarily through this Dune Dashboard.

If this funding is approved, we aim to hit the following cumulative total goals by EOY 2025:

Quantitative:

  • 200 communities created
  • 500 proposals created
  • 2,000 unique community members
  • $500k TVF through Gardens Funding Pools

Qualitative:

  • User survey results indicating decreased onboarding friction and healthier communities
  • GG24 round operators reporting Gardens as meeting their needs and pain points effectively.
  • Recognition for Gardens in the broader web3 space as a top tier community governance platform.

Non-Financial Requirements

In addition to funding, the Gardens team would benefit from the following resources from the Gitcoin team to help us reach our growth targets:

  • A scheduled cadence of check-ins for GG24 and roadmap alignment
  • Dedicated communication channel for idea exchange and ongoing coordination
  • Co-promotion of Gardens announcements, workshops, and other key communications

Future Vision

The enhanced Gardens platform will serve as cornerstone infrastructure for Gitcoin 3.0 and beyond, providing proven conviction voting capabilities that have consistently delivered strong ROI multipliers. Our bottom-up, community-centric approach has made Gardens unique from other governance platforms and is how we plan to continue differentiating ourselves for success.

This investment transforms Gardens from a powerful niche tool into accessible infrastructure ready for mass adoption, directly supporting Gitcoin’s mission to fund what matters through innovative mechanisms that harness collective intelligence.

:seedling: :seedling: :seedling:

Community Links

Proposal Authors: @Oba-One @paul2

17 Likes
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Having recently joined the Gardens core team, I’m amazed at the dedication made by the team @paul2 @Gossman @Mati0x89 @felipenovaesrocha to build Gardens with minimal resources and getting it to a stage where it’s ready to make that leap to a mature application. As a Gardens user I’m also energized by the grassroots interest in the Garden platform even with it quirks and issues at times, many communities have a deep appreciation and interest in conviction voting and Gardens has a strong initial user base, eager to see the platform advance.

Gardens has been deeply aligned with Gitcoin via grant rounds and growth of Allo with Allo Capital. As Gitcoin moves into a new space where allocation tooling is needed Gardens serves as a rich hub of Gitcoin members and projects who have created communities with governance tokens and funding pools to allocate funds. Gardens fill part of the void left with Grants Labs shut down and can be apart of the Voltron of mechanism/tools alongside Grant Ships, KarmaGAP, Streaming (already implemented, you can soon stream funds to funding pools!!), ImpactQF, Cookie Jars and others that communities need for different allocation decisions and programs.

With the support of the Gitcoin community we can truly propel Gardens forward, improving the user experience 10x by addressing low hanging fruit in the UI from better markdown editor, mobile optimization, filter/sorting proposals, etc. As the project manager for the project I plan to coordinate vibe coding sessions with the community where we build what you need, then what you want and can speedrun the growth of Gardens. Our space needs more collaboration and with this GCP core members within Greenpill with @cauetomaz and myself and bringing our skills to the Gardens community and vice versa @paul2 becoming a Greenpill Steward for the California chapter.

Thanks for all the support from the community, if you have any questions about Gardens, suggestions on what’s needed feel free to join the Gardens Discord or message me directly on Telegram at: afo_wefa.

Lets keep growing Gardens together :pray: :seedling: :deciduous_tree:

6 Likes
3

I support this proposal.

I think Gardens could be a key tool that DDAs could use for governing domain capital allocation. Something I am considering for the Ethereum Localism DDA.

Would be great to see the product continue to evolve and improve for this usecase and testing during GG24 :seedling:

8 Likes
4

Hello Paul i recently saw your project for Gardens while reading the premise of the project and the funding you needed for Gitcoin. I would love to join your team and work on automations for you especially in recruiting funding. My telegram is @footballallseason

4 Likes
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Just want to drop a quick note here as Gardens’ dev lead —

This proposal is the push we need to move from “promising niche tool” to something that’s genuinely accessible and scalable for a broader ecosystem. Gardens has always been built around the idea that communities should govern themselves on their own terms — and that conviction voting can be both powerful and intuitive. But to make that vision real, we’ve gotta smooth out the rough edges: fix the UI/UX pain points, make it mobile-first, modularize the contracts, and start delivering a smoother experience across the board.

We’re already seeing strong alignment with Gitcoin — from streaming integrations to Allo-powered pools — and this funding lets us go further, faster. I’m especially excited to start rolling out more flexible governance. :sunglasses:

Massive thanks to everyone who’s supported us so far. If you’ve got feature ideas, pain points, or want to see Gardens thrive, feel free to reach out to the team — we’re always open to feedback and collaboration.

Let’s make it grow :seedling:

— Gossman

7 Likes
7

As a core contributor to Gardens and founder of Greenpill Brazil, which uses Gardens as its main tool for community governance, I’d like to express my strong support for this proposal.

The problem Gardens aims to solve is both critical and timely: not only does it provide a participatory space for projects to connect and navigate complex decision-making through collective intelligence, but it also offers a flexible environment that accommodates organizations in transitional and emerging phases of decentralization.

The GG24 roadmap will help move Gardens from a niche governance tool to a powerful coordination layer for diverse ecosystems.

Having witnessed the success of GG22 and GG23, where Gardens produced 3x returns on community investments (1Hive forum post), I’m confident that this roadmap is a natural and necessary evolution.

Gardens has become a key infrastructure for decentralized, mission-aligned communities, and with this funding, it can unlock its next phase of growth and impact.

I’m excited to contribute further and happy to share insights from our use of Gardens within Greenpill Brazil and the broader ReFi network in Latin America.

Full support from my end. Let’s keep growing the public gardens. :herb:

7 Likes
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Thank you for sharing the Gardens roadmap, I like the community-centered coordination framework; I think it’s a well maintained given in public goods funding already for any mechanism to involve community input for support or any other kind of backing.

Do let me know if you need any support on the technical side like junior devs to handle some routine tasks, I’ll be happy to recommend some B<>rder/ess devs.

8 Likes
9

Definitely support this proposal. Gardens feels like a key tool for community governance and capital allocation. Customizable conviction voting within both funding and signaling pools is incredibly powerful and once the edges are smoothed out the onboarding process will improve drastically. Even more excited to see Gardens improve after attending the recent Allo Garden Covenant Workshop and playing around with this template.

7 Likes
10

I support this proposal.

Gardens has seen adoption already within Allo and Gitcoin. It fits in with the broader direction of Gitcoin 3.0, and it’s dual purpose (decision-making/capital allocation) indicates that it would very likely see significant adoption within the ecosystem. The ask is modest given the scope of work outlined.

6 Likes
11

Already worked with @Oba-One and @coi and they are very professional on what they build, and not only that, but their heart are very aligned with what matters.

And this proposal seems really awesome, super have my support!

Let’s grow!

3 Likes
12

I’ve been working with and know most of the team involved in this proposal, and I’ve seen their dedication and their passion for creating tools to help the community.

In particular, Gardens has contributed to shaping governance in the Web3 space and creating funding mechanisms to help communities thrive.

This proposal has my support!

3 Likes
13

As a smart contracts dev for the gardens v2 team, I’m excited about this proposal because Gardens solves a critical problem in web3 funding - how to allocate resources based on genuine community sentiment rather than just token weight or hype cycles.

The conviction voting system creates more democratic funding decisions by measuring sustained community support over time, leading to better resource allocation for projects that truly matter. The proven track record of 1.7x and 3.05x multipliers on Gitcoin’s previous investments shows Gardens doesn’t just distribute funds - it grows ecosystems by attracting external capital.

This UI/UX upgrade is crucial for moving Gardens from a niche tool for advanced users to a platform ready for mass adoption. The expected 2x usage increase and 5x TVF growth through Allo integration would directly benefit Gitcoin’s ecosystem while advancing the democratic funding infrastructure that web3 desperately needs.

Gitcoin should support this because Gardens IS a public good that makes funding public goods more effective and sustainable - perfectly aligned with Gitcoin’s mission.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

3 Likes
14

Thank you @paul2 for the proposal and the continued interest in contributing to Gitcoin Grants. The Gardens team has done and continues to do great work. My initial reaction to this proposal, though, (and we’ve been in DMs already) is that there isn’t enough ROI for Gitcoin at this stage to purely invest in a platform upgrade for Gardens. I see that there is interest to run with CV in the community domains for GG24, which is great, but beyond that I would need a more concrete path to ROI for us.

I understand that there may be slight confusion around Gitcoin’s current goals and future roadmap now that Grants Stack has sunset (and we’ll be releasing an overview on this over the next few days to mitigate any more confusion), and how the community is fitting into that, but investing in a platform upgrade outside of a prior partnership without an ROI is out of scope.

I will be voting no on this proposal. I would also suggest taking a look at the Fair Fees structure that we plan on rolling out for round ops compensation.

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i would be supportive of this proposal if we could work out terms such that gitcoin could partciipate in the upside of gardens.

if that is a possibility, id love an update proposing terms.

if it is not, i think fair fees is a better fit

7 Likes
16

Yes, we can do this.

Gardens has some reserve ⚘GARDEN token from our Juicebox campaign.

I believe the Gardens community would support an allocation from that reserve, plus an ongoing allocation to Gitcoin on Flows for future reserve tokens.

@owocki @MathildaDV and anyone else - here’s a poll with an option included for a token allocation that our Garden Core team discussed. Please signal your preference:

  • I’d support this GCP proposal if it included 5k ⚘GARDEN for Gitcoin and a 2.5% ongoing ⚘GARDEN allocation
  • I’d support this GCP proposal if it included other terms (add in comments)
  • I will not support this proposal regardless of any Gitcoin upside included
  • I’d prefer to support this proposal with just the existing terms
0 voters

Fair fees is not a viable alternative for the work included in this scope unfortunately. Those fees are needed to cover the expenses related to running a round, and wouldn’t cover the dev work needed to improve the Gardens platform for round operators.

5 Likes