It's Raining Grants in Web3! 🪩 | Overview & Opportunities
TLDR
What are some of the great funding opportunities for ReFi projects out there? This was the topic we covered during the "It's Raining Grants!" bonus session of the Local Node Incubator, open to the whole community. During this session, we shared all about the upcoming Gitcoin Grants 20 round, Giveth's Galactic Giving QF round, Optimism's RetroPGF, Celo's Public Goods initiative and more. Participants joined a Figma board to collectively brainstorm other interesting grant opportunities, but also to raise any questions and concerns regarding web3 grants. In this article, we'd like to share with you some of the awesome opportunities from across the space, along with some insights and suggestions for further development of the Web3 Grants Ecosystem. Let's go! 👇
Gitcoin Grants 20 🤝
As we gear up for the 20th iteration of the Gitcoin Grants program, the excitement within the community is growing. With over $1.4 million in matching funds ready to be deployed, GG20 is setting the stage for one of the biggest funding events in the world of open-source and community projects leveraging quadratic funding.
It's a unique approach to fundraising that amplifies the influence of the many over the few, prioritizing community preferences rather than the size of contributions alone. It ensures that projects which attract a greater number of contributors, rather than a few large ones, receive more funds, promoting democratic engagement and support.
Open Source Software
Gitcoin's Open Source Software (OSS) program rounds are dedicating $1 million in match funding to support both nascent and mature builders within the Ethereum ecosystem, focusing on crucial areas such as Web3 Infrastructure, Developer Tooling, dApps and Apps, and supporting promising projects from hackathon alumni.
Community Rounds
Additionally to the program rounds, Gitcoin facilitates Community Rounds—managed externally yet meeting Gitcoin's criteria—with each round receiving an extra $25,000 in support. Notable rounds include the CCN Climate Solutions Round, which aims to foster sustainable blockchain-enabled climate solutions; the Hypercerts Ecosystem Round for projects building on the hypercert protocol; the Token Engineering Commons Round, which supports innovative token engineering projects; and the OpenCivics Consortium Round, funding civic impact initiatives. These efforts collectively advance strategic grant distribution and robust community support across diverse areas of impact.
CCN Climate Solutions Round
One of the standout community rounds for ReFi projects in GG20 is the Climate Solutions round, run by the Climate Coordination Network. This particular round is dedicated to projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and establishing key infrastructure for Web3 climate initiatives. Projects seeking to participate must be at least three months old and outline their impact on climate mitigation explicitly.
📣 We are now accepting applications for the #GG20 CCN Climate Solutions Round! The round starts April 23rd at noon UTC & ends May 7th at 23:59 UTC. You can find details, eligibility criteria & resources at: https://t.co/JrL2wCj9Bb #JoinUs
— Climate Coordination Network (@climate_program) April 3, 2024
Don't miss the deadline - Apply now!
The donation period for all these rounds kicks off on April 23 at 12:00 UTC and wraps up on May 7 at 23:59 UTC. Applications are still open until April 27th.
Bonus Opportunity - Thrive x GG20!
Thrive Protocol is planning to provide incentives for Gitcoin Grants grantees, round operators, and community members to supercharge GG20. The incentives will include both ARB tokens and Thrive Points, which will be redeemable at the launch of Thrive DAO this summer. These additional bonuses will be available via Thrive Protocol working on behalf of Arbitrum DAO who is a sponsor of the OSS Rounds, the community rounds and other rounds.
Giveth & the Galactic Giving QF Round 🚀
The Giveth Galactic Giving QF will be active from May 2nd to May 16th on Arbitrum. This round offers a matching pool of over $30,000 to support impactful Web3 projects. To be eligible, projects must complete a verification process and set up an Arbitrum recipient address by April 25th and be nominated by a holder of a Giver NFT from Giveth’s collection. For those with Giver NFTs, remember to submit your nominations by April 25th. You can nominate any Giveth project, including your own!
🛸💥 Introducing the Galactic Giving QF Round, empowering impact projects across the Web3 Galaxy. 💥🛸
— Giveth (@Giveth) April 5, 2024
With a matching pool of $30,000+ on @Arbitrum, the round will run from May 2nd to 16th.
Read through the details & participate! ⤹ pic.twitter.com/e5pQXLI6zM
Optimism & Retro Funding Round 4 🌞
Retrospective funding is revolutionizing the way impactful work is recognized and rewarded. With an allocation of 850 million OP tokens, Optimism and the Superchain ecosystem has been leading the way!
Based on the insight that recognising past contributions and impact is generally more straightforward than predicting future utility and success, retrospective funding models aim to allocate resources retroactively.
Learn More
This innovative funding model is gearing up for a transformative year with a newly structured approach that categorizes contributions into distinct rounds, making it simpler for developers, businesses, and educators to understand and engage with the system. Starting from May 2024, these rounds will focus on critical areas such as on-chain building, the OP Stack, governance, and developer tooling, each tailored to enhance specific facets of the Optimism infrastructure.
So, what exactly does this change entail? Retro Funding will now operate through specifically targeted, and categorized rounds.
— Optimism (@Optimism) March 26, 2024
Know what impact is rewarded, and when👇 pic.twitter.com/GudIY7uFfb
On-chain Builders ⛓️
For any ReFi projects, the 'On-chain Builders' category looks particularly interesting.
The On-chain Builders category will reward those who contribute to the success of Optimism. This round seeks to expand the reach and impact of the network by rewarding those building across the Superchain, increasing demand for blockspace, and driving value to the Collective. This includes builders who bring new users to the Superchain, drive network effects and protocol usage.
Celo Public Goods
With the passing of CGP #157, the Celo Public Goods initiative was formed to focus on nurturing impactful projects and initiatives that bolster ecosystem growth and community well-being. In alignment with Celo’s mission of creating a regenerative digital economy with conditions for prosperity for all, this program aims to channel support to Celo Public Good projects across three core verticals:
- ReFi: Projects with an active deployment on Celo that support or directly enable real-world impact and ecological benefits.
- dApps and Infra: Celo dApps and infrastructure that directly impact Celo users and stakeholders.
- Celo Community and Adoption: Non-software projects and initiatives that help propel Celo forward, such as educational resources, content creation, community growth, user onboarding, and support for Celo governance.
In the context of Celo, the term Public Goods is used to describe any project or initiative that contributes to the well-being of the community and ecosystem as a whole.
Learn More
GG20 Climate Solutions Round
Celo Public Goods and the Climate Collective are excited to announce a collective commitment of 50,000 cUSD matching to Celo projects participating in the Climate Solutions Round hosted by the Climate Coordination Network (CCN) during Gitcoin Grants 20. Any Climate and ReFi project developing on Celo will be eligible for the Celo matching in addition to their share of the existing $250,000 in the round.
CeloRPGF0
CeloRPGF0 is the first Retroactive Public Goods Funding program on Celo in collaboration with EasyRPGF. Inspired by the innovation in the public goods funding space, this is an initial program will distribute up to 250,000 CELO to reward Celo ecosystem builders for their past contributions to the well-being of the Celo ecosystem. Make sure to apply by April 30th!
Other CeloPG Initiatives
There are also a range of other CeloPG supported initiatives providing further opportunities for impactful builders, including the Prezenti Grants Program and Celo Camp. View all active CeloPG programs on the website celopg.eco and subscribe to the CeloPG Mirror for future updates!
Octant Epoch 3!
The Octant Epoch 3 Allocation Window is currently open until the 30th April, presenting a pivotal opportunity for all $GLM holders to engage and shape the future of this community and its supported projects. Participants can allocate their accrued rewards to a variety of innovative projects, ranging from technology and sustainability to governance research and community development.
Octant is an innovative platform developed by the Golem Foundation that leverages Golem's native ERC-20 token, GLM, to fund public goods through a participatory and experimental approach. It utilizes a unique model that combines recurring funding rounds with rewards for active user participation. By locking GLM into the Octant system, participants can influence how funds are allocated across various public goods projects.
Learn More
Among the exciting opportunities this allocation window offers is the chance to support ReFi DAO! We would be super grateful for any existing $GLM holders to consider allocating some of their support to ReFi DAO.
If you're not yet a $GLM holder, this is the perfect time to consider joining the Octant community by purchasing $GLM. By becoming a part of Octant, you can earn ETH rewards as well as help increase representation for Regenerative and ReFi initiatives within the system, playing a crucial role in shaping which projects get funded!
Other Opportunities 👀
During ReFi DAO's It's Raining Grants in Web3 workshop, participants live shared a variety of additional opportunities within the Web3 ecosystem. Here is a list of highlights that surfaced, each offering unique benefits empower impact projects. 👇
MaEarth Round - $100,000 in matching funds to regenerative land projects!
Fractal Visions Mission #1 - For impact makers in web3 building projects that contribute to public goods!
Celosphere Creators Fund - $150,000 Celo Creators Fund for NFT artists
$EARTH Round - Seed the Solarpunk paradigm!
Major PSA Earthlings !!$EARTH will be running a QF round during GG 20 🌞💚🌍👨🌾🐝🌛🌴🐒🍅🦁🧚♀️
— $EARTH 🔆🌱⚡🌍 (@solarpunkdao) April 10, 2024
Matching pool - 1000 $EARTH ( ~ $10,000)
Round dates - 22/4 - 8/5
Applications open - 11/4 18:30 UTC
Link to apply - https://t.co/pavfZJPga8
Chain -@arbitrum
Matching cap - 10% pic.twitter.com/fHvKc9xM7K
The Crypto-web3-grants list 👇
Reply with a comment on this blog to let us know if we missed any!
The Web3 Grants Ecosystem - Tools and Reflections 🪞
In the evolving landscape of Web3, innovative tools are emerging to refine how grants are managed and assessed. Let's explore two technologies that are revolutionizing the tracking and rewarding of impactful work, ensuring that funding is transparent, accountable, and effectively directed towards truly transformative projects.
Hypercerts
Hypercerts introduce a new token standard aimed at enhancing the tracking and rewarding of impactful public goods projects. Each hypercert is an ERC-1155 semi-fungible token that stores detailed metadata on IPFS about the scope of work, its impact, contributors, and ownership rights. This supports an open evaluation to assess effectiveness, enabling a shift towards rewarding truly impactful work through retrospective funding.
Karma GAP
The emphasis on measuring impact has led projects to use tools like Hypercerts and Karma GAP. These tools aid projects in setting milestones and tracking progress, which is crucial for transparency and accountability in funding. Projects registered on Karma GAP, for instance, can provide verifiable evidence of their contributions towards environmental sustainability, enhancing their credibility and appeal to donors.
Enhancing the Web3 Grant Application Process: Community Feedback ✏️
During the session, feedback from the community also highlighted some key insights, pain points, and suggestions for improvement in the Web3 grants ecosystem. Here’s a concise overview of the collective insights:
- Streamlining Applications: Challenges with the current grant application process and user experience. Simplifying these procedures and improving UIs in Web3 will make it easier for creators to apply and manage their projects.
- Customizing Grant Criteria: There is a need for grants to differentiate based on project size, stage, and specific needs. This approach could help level the playing field, moving away from simply favouring the most well-networked groups.
- Rethinking Impact Measurement: The community seeks more objective methods to measure and reward impact, moving beyond the "popularity contest" that current systems may promote. Tools like Karma GAP were suggested to reduce administrative burdens and more accurately reflect a project's true impact.
- Supporting Community-Based Projects: Enhancing the visibility and understanding of community-based, ground-level projects within the Web3 ecosystem is crucial. Providing administrative support and creating platforms that bridge the gap between digital and on-the-ground initiatives could help these projects thrive.
This feedback underscores the need for continuous improvement in the grant-making process to support a more diverse range of projects effectively and equitably. By addressing these areas, we can foster a more inclusive and impactful digital grant-making environment.
A Look Ahead: Harnessing Opportunities for Impact in ReFi Projects ✨
As we wrap up this comprehensive look into the landscape of grant opportunities for ReFi projects, it's clear that the potential for impactful innovation is vast and varied. From Gitcoin's GG20 leveraging quadratic funding to boost open-source projects, to Giveth's Galactic Giving and Optimism's Retro PGF, each program offers unique resources to drive significant change within the Web3 ecosystem. Our "It's Raining Grants!" session not only highlighted these opportunities but also engaged participants in a productive dialogue to uncover even more avenues for funding and to address existing challenges in the grant application process.
As we continue to explore and participate in these funding rounds, let’s carry forward the spirit of innovation and community collaboration to create a more inclusive and sustainable fundraising ecosystem. Keep an eye on these exciting opportunities and be prepared to contribute to the evolving landscape of ReFi projects.