TL;DR
In October, the Climate Round “graduated” from the Gitcoin Grants Program and has since been managed by CCN. CCN is a global group composed of the Gitcoin Climate advisory and coordination team. In October, before GG19, the CCN team took over full ownership of running the Climate Solutions round as a Community Round. This proposal outlines our plans for the future and requests funding from Gitcoin to support the long-term growth of CCN and the Climate Solutions Round.
Background
Since GR12, the Climate Solutions Round has enormously impacted the web3 Climate/ReFi space. We have crowdfunded nearly $1M and distributed almost $3.9M in funding to hundreds of projects in the midst of bear market conditions.
Driven by the belief that climate action is the ultimate public good because climate change increasingly affects all of humanity, as well as a mission to accelerate climate action, the Climate Coordination Network is excited for the opportunity to take the Climate Solutions Program to the next level of effective and focused global impact. Shown below is a map of the GG19 Climate Solutions round impact worldwide:
Here is a link to the GG19 Database which shows the category of climate solution (e.g., renewable energy, natural solutions, dmrv, etc) as well as where the grantee is based and the region they impact. Driven by the belief that climate action is the ultimate public good because climate change increasingly affects all of humanity, as well as a mission to accelerate climate action, the Climate Coordination Network is excited for the opportunity to take the Climate Solutions Program to the next level of effective and focused global impact.
A few of Many Success Stories
Shamba Network
Situated in Nairobi, Kenya, Shamba Network utilizes blockchain technology, remote sensing, and statistical sampling to tackle financial inclusion and climate change challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. With a primary focus on assisting smallholder farmers, Shamba advocates for sustainable agriculture and employs blockchain for access to emerging financial landscapes, such as climate insurance and carbon markets.
Through the implementation of ecological data oracles and smart contracts, Shamba streamlines processes related to climate insurance, leading to large cost reductions. The initiative collaborates with various Web 3 climate solutions to establish a more extensive ecosystem and is actively striving to empower smallholder farming communities to issue their own carbon credits. Shamba adopts a comprehensive strategy to mitigate financial risks associated with climate change, foster sustainable practices, and address environmental concerns. Notably, the project has aided over 10,000 farmers in Kenya, with the majority of their funding to date coming from Gitcoin Grants.
Senken
Senken’s aim was to build a regenerative finance marketplace that allowed companies to easily invest in carbon offsets and enter the voluntary carbon markets in the most frictionless way possible. It wasn’t an easy road but from a mere idea, that was in part fueled by Gitcoin grants, to, in 2023, helping 367 companies invest in climate projects, Senken is now a prominent expert in the field and trusted by world leading companies.
Senken has created an easy-to-use platform to access the largest selection of climate assets for transparent climate actions and finance. To ensure the quality and integrity of each project, Senken provides additional security and transparency at the data level for verifiable climate impact, purchase, trade and carbon credit retirement to meet the company’s emission offset needs.
ReFi DAO
Regenerative Finance is a field of finance that seeks to create economic systems, practices, and strategies that support regenerative and restorative outcomes in ecological and social systems. ReFi DAO’s mission is to be a pivotal catalyst in the widespread implementation and adoption of ReFi through a combination of movement-wide, knowledge sharing, opportunity development, fundraising support, onboarding and community empowerment. Aiming to show the power of mission-driven communities, distributed technology and regenerative economics to solve the most pressing challenges of our time.
ReFi DAO has now supported over 300 founders, held 27 events across the globe, reached 50k downloads on the ReFi Podcast, and grown their online community to thousands of members.
Gitcoin Essential Intents
We recognize that these Essential Intents guide Gitcoin. Our work is aligned and will help drive these Essential Intents.
Network Effects - Maximizing the network effects of our ecosystem to grow product adoption
The climate round has built a vibrant community of grantees and supporters. As some grantees have begun to graduate from the round, some have already expressed interest in running their own grant rounds for their specific communities. By funding CCN and the Climate program, we will continue to grow our community and grow usage and adoption of Gitcoin’s products.
Community First - Cultivating a community that thrives on providing positive change and meaningful engagement
While Gitcoin ran the Climate program, this essential intent has always been one of our north stars. We have cultivated a rich community of builders and educators all with a mission of making the world a better place through the fight against climate change. These grantees are all making positive changes in the world and engaging with the broader Gitcoin community. CCN is aligned with this, and building and cultivating our community will always be one of the drivers of how we operate.
Financial Longevity - Ensuring the economic health and vitality of Gitcoin
While we recognize that this proposal requests funds, we hope to be one of the many community rounds paying fees to Gitcoin to run our rounds on the GS platform. In addition, as noted above, we also anticipate grantee communities within the round to begin running their own rounds, which will also produce fees back to Gitcoin.
CCN Mission and Values
Mission
To accelerate climate solutions on a global scale, catalyzing diverse forms of climate action in order to create a sustainable and equitable future for all.
Vision
Through strategic grant distribution coupled with support, we empower projects that are dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and serving as essential core infrastructure for web3 climate solutions. From championing renewable energy initiatives to supporting advancements in oracles & DMRV, supply chain analysis, carbon accounting, and amplifying the efforts of climate activists and collectives, our commitment is unwavering.
Beliefs
- We believe that web3 and blockchain tools can foster the collaboration and innovation needed to address climate change and accelerate climate solutions worldwide.
- We believe in the value of Public Goods and that climate action is the ultimate Public Good because it addresses an existential threat that affects everyone everywhere.
- We believe in taking real-world action to create a resilient and sustainable planet.
- We believe in the power of the community to be an impact multiplier providing funds and networking to scale climate action.
Values
- Collaboration
- Decentralization
- Transparency
- Integrity
- Innovation
Call to Action
Join us in funding a connected network that propels the world towards a greener, cleaner and more sustainable future. #TogetherWeCan
CCN Team
The Climate Coordination Network (CCN) is a dedicated team of six people from around the world (two from Canada, one from Europe, one from India and two from the US) who have served for the past two years on the Gitcoin Climate Advisory team.
The CCN Team:
Jon Ruth
Ben West
Coleen Chase
Marco Gerletti
Pranav Khanna
Tarah Stafford
In addition to these team members, we plan to hire external legal support to help us determine the best legal entity for CCN and help us set it up. We may also contract with developers for special projects.
2024 Goals
Requested Funding
We request the following funding from Gitcoin to continue our work as a decentralized community round operator.
Matching Funds
We request $540k in matching funds to seed our grant matching pool.
- $275k - The remaining Shell funds earmarked for climate rounds.
- Shell & Gitcoin signed an agreement for $500k in matching funds for the Climate Round in 2023.
- In GG18 $100k of funds were distributed and in GG19 $125k of funds were distributed.
- CCN has entered into an agreement with Gitcoin to operate two rounds (GG20/GG21) on Gitcoins behalf to distribute these funds.
- $265k - The remaining funds donated by Momus Collective earmarked for the climate rounds.
- The Momus Collective a long-time supporter of the Climate Round, contributed $540k DAI to the Gitcoin matching Safe to fund the Climate Rounds in 2023. https://etherscan.io/tx/0x4493a15bbc342b3967249eefec4f01b03433487189bbbbb352d77c87e188493d
- $150k was distributed during GG18 and $125k was distributed during GG19.
- CCN is requesting the remaining funds be sent to our Safe.
Matching funds can be sent to CCN 3/7 Multisig Wallet Address: 0x697B6bb004C1883b945174E2E209c07BF94650eB
Conclusion:
We believe that with the strong support of Gitcoin we can build the most significant climate-focused grant program in web3. The requested resources will provide the organization with a solid foundation to build our future. We are committed to funding climate solutions and maximizing the impact every dollar of funding has. The team is passionate about this work, and we are well-positioned to execute our mission.
