gm frens, first of all, thanks to the Gitcoin Team for supporting us through this process and to the incredible team of Onboarding Partners that helped to execute the first GCP RFP for Onboarding & Education.
I would like to keep it simple as the team already wrote a great retrospective that is full of insights for us, Gitcoin, and the community as a whole.
This has been a great experience and opportunity for us all to get to know the community from the POV of just being of help and being there for the people who need a helping hand coming to the ecosystem with the most pressing questions or challenges about how all of this public goods funding flywheel and culture works.
When it comes to Let’s GROW DAO, this program has been a wealth of wisdom for us to sharpen our objectives as a community but also to identify pain points, gaps, and opportunities that will shape some of our short and long-term initiatives when it comes to our community-centric approach to creating Resources and Tools for community members, donors, and grantees.
TLDR: Time flies when you’re having fun and we still have so much on the agenda for the Gitcoin ecosystem that this retrospective isn’t the end of the program for us, it is a summary of our collective experiences throughout the program and will serve as a guiding document to reverse engineering pain points and to explore opportunities to create a resilient and scalable community resource over time.
I was honored to help coordinate operations for this program and was happy that around the clock support for grantees across every time zone was achieved thanks to the globally distributed team of partners; as a grantee myself having that low latency response is key when you’re in doubt trying to do something new on-chain, it is just great to find the help you need on time.
Below I leave you with the retrospective from each partner that helped execute the program; I gave them 3 questions + a free-flow section to speak their mind.
Enjoy the retro! 
Wasabi | X Profile | Operations at Let’s GROW DAO
Onboarding Partners Retrospective
Experience
During the two-week program, my experience was dynamic and incredibly valuable. I engaged actively with the community, starting with daily check-ins on the Gitcoin Discord; and I attended office hours with Will and LGD, diving into discussions on effective ways to promote and market grants, which opened up insights I applied directly to my approach. To help others maximize their grant reach, I wrote a blog about grant marketing best practices, which went out to over 1,000 subscribers. This piece was particularly rewarding to create, as it synthesized both my learnings and broader marketing strategies in a way that could assist others in the community. I also built a marketing deck using the LGD template, providing a clear, actionable guide for promoting grants.
Overall, the program was an inspiring and intensive experience that strengthened my understanding and provided a platform to support others in achieving their funding goals.
Value Add of Participation
Personally, the program has provided a powerful platform to connect with other mission-driven innovators, sharpen my marketing strategies, and understand the unique dynamics of web3 funding in a practical, hands-on way. Engaging in Gitcoin’s community spaces and receiving guidance from experts like Let’s Grow DAO has been instrumental in refining my approach to storytelling and community engagement—a skill set that is invaluable for successfully advocating for regenerative projects.
For the Gitcoin ecosystem, this program strengthens the overall ecosystem by nurturing a cohort of projects with aligned goals for positive impact. As each participant hones their skills in marketing and community outreach, the visibility of high-quality, impact-driven projects increases, drawing in more diverse supporters and helping Gitcoin become a more inclusive and collaborative funding environment.
Opportunities for Improvement
Through my experience in this round, I identified a few key areas where the program could improve to increase engagement and support for grantees.
Timing for Marketing Education: Marketing guidance is crucial, but I noticed that interest in marketing strategies tends to peak after the round has started, rather than beforehand. While early content on grant presentations is valuable for setting a solid foundation, some marketing sessions or resources could be introduced mid-round, once grantees are actively seeking ways to boost visibility. This timing shift could improve content engagement and practical application.
Enhanced Resource Sharing in Discord: A significant challenge in the Gitcoin Discord is the restriction on sharing non-Gitcoin links, which limits the ability to share community-created resources. Creating a dedicated resource thread or channel on Discord would be immensely helpful. It would provide grantees with easy access to valuable tools and guides in one central place, improving communication and knowledge-sharing within the community.
Structured and Notified Office Hours: The Office Hours sessions in Discord had limited engagement, possibly due to the informal setup in voice channels. I believe hosting these as scheduled events on a Discord Stage channel, with registration options, would attract more participants. Scheduled events provide notifications to registrants, keeping sessions top-of-mind and making it easier for the community to join. This would encourage real-time participation, fostering more interactive support sessions for grantees.
Free Flow
Having an onboarding partner is a fantastic way for Gitcoin to dedicate more time and resources to the grants themselves while ensuring grantees get hands-on support. However, I believe further integration could make this role even more impactful.
For example, as the onboarding partner, I created various marketing materials, but without official endorsement from Gitcoin, I’m unsure of the full reach and impact they achieved. An endorsement or official distribution from Gitcoin could help boost visibility and trust in the resources provided.
More structured integration would also help. Pre-scheduling Discord event stages and collaborating on setup would be beneficial, as well as having Gitcoin representatives or guest speakers join Twitter Office Hours hosted by LGD. This would not only make the program feel more official but also provide a unified front in support of grantees.
Lastly, I hope grantees get continued access to the resources we developed. It would be great to see them posted in a centralized location within the Gitcoin ecosystem, so future participants can also benefit.
Akasha Rose | X Profile | Area of Focus: Grant Marketing
Experience
I supported the Onboarding and Education Program by sharing and spreading the word around different groups where people were interested in applying to the Gitcoin Grants GG22 Rounds. I loved to be behind the scenes helping the Let’s GROW DAO community in this remarkable effort supporting grantees during the whole application process.
Value Add of Participation
The value added was the personalized assistance to each grantee by the Onboarding & Education program, and the opportunity to have where to ask and get a much guided experience through the application process.
Opportunities for Improvement
All the activities for grantees to get engaged with the program were excellent, as it gave them a chance to address comments or questions around their application. However, it would be better to have a resource channel on the Discord server with all the links to the materials, such as tutorials, AMAs, recordings of office hours sessions, etc. So grantees that could make it to the right time, can access those resources and continue their application journey with those. By being a resource channel in Discord, it also gives the applicant the security of pointing them in the right direction. It allows to the RFP partners to share just info that is curated and allowed in the discord server.
Also giving an extra boost as RT from Gitcoin’s X account to the RFP Partner posts related to the program would increase the visibility of the activities and engagement from Gitcoin’s community into them, as the program benefits not only citizens but the entire Gitcoin’s community.
Free Flow
Loves this round! Maybe make it a little more clear the user experience on the Builder platform at the OSS rounds, as there was a first form that led to a second one, and made it a little confusing for an applicant to fulfill all the processes.
Cecilia Contreras | X Profile | Area of Focus: Reviewing Applications, How to Apply to GG
Experience
Quite smooth, not a lot of grantees were seeking help during my timezone.
Value Add of Participation
I learned a few things about Gitcoin more deeply and was able to direct people to the right places. Timely responses to queries are a major value add to the Gitcoin ecosystem.
Opportunities for Improvement
I noticed the application period ended only a few days into the RFP. Maybe for the next one, it would be a good idea to align closely with application open and close dates
Guru Vishwas | X Profile | Area of Focus: How to Markdown, Reviewing Applications, How to Apply to GG
Experience
Loved the collaboration and coordination.
Value Add of Participation
I had 2 founders reach out on how to get started on Gitcoin Grants based on the tweet I made.
One was able to complete their Builder’s profile although they didn’t get around to applying for the various rounds in GG22
I think the value of this for the Gitcoin ecosystem is that it brings new builders to Gitcoin.
It helps non-crypto native builders who want to integrate web3 to their apps, think through their process.
They get to explore the profiles of other projects that have been accepted to the rounds and then understand better what is expected of them.
Opportunities for Improvement
Marketing and reach.
I personally should have tweeted more.
Another challenge some founders had was Navigating Discord.
If we could have a separate discord for this it could make the process easier.
Free Flow
We should do this again 
Karla Nwaeke | X Profile | Area of Focus: Reporting Bugs, How QF works, How to Apply to GG
Experience
During my time period there was minimal engagement or questions on Discord.
Value Add of Participation
I think it is a great value add and I learned so much - Wasabi and Karla were so active and provided information that was very helpful. The website created is absolutely a public good.
Opportunities for Improvement
I think starting earlier is important for greater impact.
Free Flow
Grateful for the opportunity and hope to contribute more in the future.
Monica Talan | X Profile | Area of Focus: Reviewing Applications, How to Apply to GG, How QF works
Experience
Pretty good, loved being able to share all my learnings from the past rounds i have had a chance to participate in.
Discord calls during my hours were dead so that wasn’t very productive.
Value Add of Participation
For me, it was a great feeling to be able to share all that i have gathered about navigating the gitcoin ecosystem back to projects/people that were just entering the ecosystem.
For the Gitcoin ecosystem, i think it helps to have a team of experienced grantees share their POV on everything from applications, grant writing, marketing, community building, etc.
Opportunities for Improvement
The program should start at least 2 weeks before the round starts
Maybe a dedicated TG channel maintained by the group where everyone with queries and concerns can be directed to.
Free Flow
Really do appreciate a chance to give back to the community that has given us so much
Love to participate in this exercise in some form growing forward
Utkarsh Patel | X Profile | Area of Focus: Grant Marketing, Reviewing Applications, How to Apply to GG
Experience
This was an enjoyable experience for me personally. It empowered me to do what I love. Teaching other peers about what may seem to be complex systems, breaking them down into digestible components, and showing a path that everyone can engage in, is something I am passionate about. Tapping into my personal creativity was very rewarding for me as a content creator.
Value Add of Participation
I created some simple tutorials and hosted a live masterclass during this period which allowed me to put my specific teaching style to good use.
Opportunities for Improvement
With more proactive planning this could be stood up in advance of the grant season. This timing would allow the team to engage and create their own branded content in advance so grantees can have the available resources.
Free Flow
Appreciative and grateful for the opportunity to participate. This is a strong signal that Gitcoin listens to the community, which from my POV is what sets Gitcoin apart from other Web3 communities, but I feel communities are gravitating to this valuable approach. The spirit of innovation is driving both internal and external experimentation which then leads to building world-class products.
Will T | X Profile | Area of Focus: How to Apply to GG, How to Markdown, How QF works
Experience
I am happy to see that the Canva templates were used successfully, keeping the branded communication consistent.
Value Add of Participation
My value add to the program is by providing the visuals for branded communication.
Opportunities for Improvement
There is an opportunity in planned requests for efficiency in timing production of the visuals.
Also, there is always an opportunity to get more audience.
Free Flow
I think that an onboarding program as an event itself before the round starts is a great way to bring attention. Increasing the chances to get involved in the round by attending the curated program.
The faster you get to understand the ecosystem, the easier it will be to find ways for you to provide value.
Syntropic | X Profile | Area of Focus: Visuals
Closing Thoughts
Based on the experiential feedback above from the team, it allowed them to take on an alternate role as Gitcoin Citizens, they had not imagined before to be possible. General sentiment is overall positive with space to iterate, mature, and maintain continuity of this program. It was our pleasure to steward new grantees, round operators, and former grantees on using the tools they have access to, to have a more positive experience, while learning how to polish their public profile.
Again we are grateful and appreciative to Gitcoin for inspiring such a program, the selection of our team, and overall value add it has created. We look forward to more signaling that builds on the collective success of this community.
Will T | Head of Onboarding & Education at Let’s GROW DAO