Name (or Topic/Theme) of Proposed Round:
Web3 Grants Ecosystem Advancement Round
Social Handle of Your Organization:
Metagov: @metagov_project
Cartographer Syndicate: We intentionally do not have a social media presence
Grant Innovation Lab: We intentionally do not have a social media presence
Eligibility Criteria:
Projects must primarily focus on advancing the Web3 grants ecosystem. Eligible projects include:
- Contributions to the Web3 grants on-chain registry
- Research and thought leadership in the Web3 grants space
- Development of tools for grant discovery and application processes
- Aggregation of news and events related to Web3 grants
- Experiments with novel funding mechanisms
All projects must comply with Gitcoin’s core rules, including no fraudulent activity, quid pro quo, hate speech, or other activities out of alignment with Gitcoin’s essential intents.
Round History:
Metagov has run multiple rounds with Gitcoin Grants, but this is the first time the Cartographer Syndicate and Grant Innovation Lab are running a round with Gitcoin Grants.
Team Running This Round:
Round Operator: Sov, Extensive history around Web3 Grants. Currently runs BD/Partnerships for Gitcoin and helps to design, implement, and manage programs. @sovereignsignal on X
Round Operator: Eugene Leventhak, experience running and researching grant programs. Eugene is the Executive Director of Metagov and is leading the Grant Innovation Lab. He was a co-author of the State of Web3 Grants 2023 report, 3 Retrospective Program Case Studies, and is working on the State of Web3 Grants 2024 report. @bbeats1 on Twitter
Team Member: Rithikha Rajamohan, Civic technologist at V6A Labs. Currently researching and building adaptive civic infrastructure and distributed systems. @rithikxa_ on X
Alignment with Gitcoin’s Mission and Essential Intents:
The Cartographer Syndicate & Grant Innovation Lab’s round aligns with Gitcoin’s mission by fostering the growth and development of the Web3 grants ecosystem.
Our focus on collaboration, transparency, and community-driven initiatives directly supports Gitcoin’s goal of building and funding digital public goods. By consolidating grant information, facilitating discovery, and incentivizing contributions, we are helping to create a more efficient and effective funding landscape for Web3 projects.
Anticipated Size of the Matching Pool:
The matching pool is anticipated to be 100K ARB, fundraised through Thank ARB Milestone 1b. Details are linked below:
Funding address: Arbitrum Safe: 0x0AF272c62E1e8ee47e9F83b90Eed772A22ED8aFc
Our funds have already been approved and will soon be allocated to the provided address. You can see our approval in the forum post linked above from Thank ARB.
Advisors for This Round:
The Cartographer Syndicate is a group of 50+ grant managers, researchers and service providers all focused on Web3 Grants. The Grant Innovation Lab consists of a dozen research collaborators focused on better understanding and improving grant programs. These groups have been active across many facets of the Web3 Grants Ecosystem and have had visibility to the design of the round and its eligibility criteria.
Funding Mechanism:
We are using Quadratic Funding (QF) because it aligns with our values of community engagement and democratic decision-making. QF allows for a more equitable distribution of funds, giving voice to a wider range of contributors and ideas within the Web3 grants ecosystem.
Community Size and Engagement:
Our community comprises approximately 50 members, including service providers, grant managers, public goods funding builders, and thought leaders in the Web3 grants space.
Type of Projects to Fund: We aim to fund projects that contribute to the advancement of the Web3 grants ecosystem, including:
- Development and maintenance of the Web3 Grants on-chain registry
- Research and thought leadership initiatives
- Tools for grant discovery and application processes
- News aggregation and event coverage for Web3 grants
- Experimental funding mechanisms
Estimated Number of Eligible Grantees: We believe that 25-30 grantees will be eligible to apply for this round, but we will open the round to however many apply and meet the eligibility criteria.
Impact Assessment Plan: We intend to assess grantee impact through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods:
- Contributions to the on-chain registry
- Research output measured by publications and community engagement
- Tool adoption and usage metrics
- Community feedback and testimonials
- Long-term tracking of funded projects’ growth and impact on the Web3 grants ecosystem
Additional Considerations:
Community members should consider projects’ long-term potential to shape the future of Web3 grants. We encourage innovative ideas that scale and create lasting impact in the ecosystem.
Potential Conflicts of Interest:
Sov is the Program Manager for the Syndicate and he is also a core contributor at Gitcoin. Eugene and others in the Grant Innovation Lab have collaborated with Gitcoin on research projects. Both Sov and Eugene are likely to apply for projects in the round as well.
