Gitcoin Grants 2025 Proposed Strategy
TL;DR
I am really excited to announce that GG will be running three major OSS rounds in 2025, piloting innovative funding mechanisms, and deepening engagement with our builder community. Through metrics-based funding, enhanced governance, and streamlined operations, Gitcoin will reinforce its leadership in public goods funding.
Weâre proposing a multi-mechanism future. This shift is guided by extensive research with builders, the community, and the ecosystem, ensuring a builder-centric approach to program evolution. When approved, we look forward to collaborating with the community to bring this vision to life, reinforcing our commitment to funding what matters in the Ethereum ecosystem.
Thank you to @deltajuliet, @umarkhaneth, @ccerv1, @owocki for your thought partnership and collaboration in baking out this strategy.
Program Overview - 2025
NOTE: The above funding amounts, dates and funding mechanisms are subject to change as the year progresses and the strategy evolves. GG23 will be the first benchmark we measure the rest of the year against. Funding amounts will continue to be ratified ahead of each GG round as the sustainability and longevity of the program remains of utmost importance to us.
Vision, Mission, and Strategic Pillars
Vision:
A world where builders thrive through pluralistic, decentralized funding that sustains public goods.
Mission:
To deliver innovative funding opportunities that empower diverse communities, support high-impact builders, and enable transformative innovation within the Ethereum ecosystem.
Strategic Pillars
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Empowering Ethereum Builders: Strengthen the ecosystem through mentorship, long-term incentive structures, and integration with the Builder and Events Strategy.
By providing mentorship and long-term incentive structures, we ensure that builders have the tools, funding, and support to innovate and succeed, solidifying Gitcoinâs role as the launchpad for public goods projects.
In the new year, will announce updated and more focused funding categories for our OSS Program. -
Innovating Funding Mechanisms: Scaling a multi-mechanism program innovating with metrics-based funding, rolling applications, and dynamic Quadratic Funding.
Decentralized funding must evolve to meet diverse community needs. Scaling a multi-mechanism program with metrics-based funding, rolling applications, and dynamic Quadratic Funding ensures fair, transparent, and impactful allocation of resources while staying ahead of ecosystem trends. -
Scaling decentralization:
Community rounds embody the decentralized future of Gitcoin Grants by funding what matters in their ecosystem through the use of our tech and Gitcoinâs support through matching, education and resources.
Key Goals for 2025
50% Builder retention
Funding: Distribute $4.29M+ annually across 3 rounds, maintaining OSS as the cornerstone of the Grants Program, alongside stronger builder incentive programs.
- Focus Areas:
- Metrics-based funding complimenting QF to prioritize high-value, measurable projects.
- Stricter eligibility criteria for better OSS alignment and fairer funding distribution.
- Highlighting the success of GGâs builders demonstrates impact, inspires others, and strengthens community engagement.
- Weekly demos (bringing back a version of the Public Library)
- Continue grantee showcases in between grants rounds
Improve Community Round Scalability & Decentralization
Progressively allocate funding increases per round to engage more emerging builders and fund more grassroots projects.
- Elect a new community council Q1 2025 as the old councilâs term ends.
- Improve longevity on council engagement
- Freshen perspective on eligibility and round quality, engage new community members to participate in Gitcoin advocacy.
- Grant Ships will become the new governance vehicle:
- Grant Ships is a competitive allocation model on Allo, where participants compete in fund distribution. It is useful for creating a competitive and evolutionary environment for capital allocation.
- By GG23, Community Round governance will be run through Grant Ships with newly elected Community Council driving decisions on the platform.
- Able to easily track metrics for rounds onchain.
Builder Engagement
The more a grants program invests resources and time into their builders, the higher the ROI is of that program. That is why we will implement a builder-first approach within Gitcoin Grants moving forward.
- Participation within Gitcoin Grants leads to other opportunities, such as accelerators, training programs, etc.
- Host 12+ events to maintain community momentum (ties into DAO & Builder strategy):
- Quarterly hackathons.
- Monthly AMAs featuring successful projects.
- Establish mentorship programs to connect experienced grantees with emerging builders and leaders within the grants space.
- Community-led educational programs.
- Stronger long-term builder incentive structures, such as exclusive programs for mature builders, reward-based participation, etc.
Funding Mechanism Innovation
- Position Gitcoin Grants at the forefront of a funding innovation
- Align mechanisms with project maturity
- Bring promising mechanisms to the market to demonstrate their use cases and success
- Incentivize Community Rounds to test out mechanisms within their rounds, and if successful, use them in the OSS Program.
- Position Gitcoin as an ecosystem growth machine.
Exploring Funding Mechanisms
Our research within the builder community has highlighted the need for improved mechanisms to ensure fairer funding distribution and enhanced builder growth within the program. To address this, we are introducing a distinction between early-stage and mature builders, aiming to balance funding distribution and alleviate the competitive pressures of our current QF-centric model.
Quadratic Funding (QF) will remain a cornerstone for supporting early-stage projects, helping them grow their reputation, build their community, and secure seed funding. For mature builders, a metrics-driven retroactive funding model will focus on rewarding impact and measurable outcomes.
As projects âgraduateâ to mature builder status, they will unlock additional exclusive incentive structures (as part of our larger builder incentive program), further empowering their growth and contributions to the ecosystem. This evolution ensures that our program continues to meet the diverse needs of builders at all stages.
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Metrics-Based Retro Funding: Enable funding tied to performance metrics, increasing accountability and impact. Helps ecosystems demonstrate ROI on funding. Leverages insights or analytics generated by these mechanisms positioning Gitcoin as a leader in Grants/Growth.
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Dynamic Quadratic Funding: Adjust eligibility and cap rounds to ensure fairer and more impactful distribution of matching funds to early-stage builders. Balances fairness and impact by ensuring early-stage builders get critical support while driving broad community engagement and signaling ecosystem priorities.
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Futarchy:
Experimental category (Futarchy) for Niche or Moderately Maintained Projects
OSS Program Funding Mechanisms Outline:
By addressing the challenges of competition between new and mature projects, we aim to create more equitable funding distribution by tailoring mechanisms to align with a projectâs impact and maturity.
This evolution reflects our commitment to enhancing fairness, prioritizing metrics-based funding, and deepening community engagement. Beyond funding, weâre dedicated to empowering builders through mentorship, exclusive incentive programs, and pathways to additional funding opportunities.
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Early-stage projects to receive funding through Quadratic Funding
New and growing projects may need grassroots support to grow their contributor base, making Quadratic Funding an ideal approach. QF drives community engagement, community building and aids in strong signals to what the community cares about.
Gitcoin Grants has always been fundamental to early-stage projects to receive seed funding, opening up their opportunities in the wider ecosystem. Gitcoin Grants will remain a program that not only supports these builders, but nurtures them and helps them to mature and increase their impact on the ecosystem. -
Mature projects âgraduateâ to impact-based retro funding
Mature, High-Impact Projects can benefit from Retroactive Funding, recognizing past successes and incentivizing continued excellence.
Note: In the new year, we will announce updated and more focused categories for our OSS Program. This reflects our commitment to being more intentional and strategic about the projects we fund moving forward.
Core KPIs for 2025
| Category | KPI | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Funding | Total Distributed | $4.29M |
| Matching Pool Growth | +20% YoY | |
| Donor Retention Rate | 25% | |
| Builder Community | New Builders Engaged | +25% |
| Builder Retention Rate | 50% | |
| Mentorship/Education Program Participation | 30% of GG builders | |
| Event Attendance (average per event) | 100+ | |
| Community-Driven rounds | 2 New communities applying for funding each round | |
| Innovation | Successful Mechanism Pilots | 2+ |
| Mechanism Approval Rate | 80% |
Gitcoin Grants is committed to remain community-led, therefore your input and feedback on this strategy is valuable in shaping the future of Gitcoin Grants in 2025. We would love the community to weigh in on this strategy. Please note the funding budget for 2025 will be amended by EOW based on feedback.
