Fundraising Season 6 Proposal

Fundraising
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WOW…time really does fly as you get older :older_man:t3:, cause here we are again, ready to submit another WG season, Season :six:, or as I like to call it, the 3rd season of Fundraisers :money_with_wings:

Looking :eyes: back at the first two seasons for our circle, we have now officially closed out the full range of emotions from highs :arrow_up: to lows :arrow_down: and from laughter :joy: to painful goodbyes :cry:, but ALL of it has created a lot of incredible growth for both the circle :o: and the galaxy :milky_way:.

And like our proposals of the past, here is a quick high-level overview of what we accomplished: raised over $139K :clap:t3:, submitted 14 grants :tada: (**while only having grant writers for roughly half the season, but still winning roughly 25% of our grant applications,*) and perfected our new KOL deck and pitch :loud_sound:!

But let’s not dwell too long, as the next season is shaping up to be a monumental 2025 :ox: run blast, as we welcome Cotabe and Anna to the Giveth grant writing team :people_hugging:!

So now that the New Year’s Eve :clinking_glasses: firework dust has settled, let’s look ahead :saluting_face: at what’s in store for the first 4 months of the new year below :fireworks::sparkler:!

Season 5 Review

In this section, I’m going to break down the deliverables from the past 3 months, and provide an update on their status and any relevant information. We’ll also cover our spending in Season 5 and compare it to our estimated budget we covered in the previous Season proposal.

Deliverable Status Note
• Apply to around 15 new L2 grants this season Missed :x: ~Won ~
Fuel ($25,000)
~ Applied ~ ENS grant
World Mini App
Ethernity Chain Grant
Tron
~ Rejected ~
none
• Apply to other types of fundraising / grant opportunities (not L2s), so around 8 this season HIT! :white_check_mark: ~ Won ~
VeChain ($50,000)
OP Retro PGF4 (14,697OP or ±$40,000)
Gitcoin Grants 22 (±$24,055)
~ Applied ~
OKcoin
Kraken
Fractal Bitcoin
~ Rejected ~
Octant Community Grant
Joke Race
Casper
• Hit $275,000 of “Grants Won Revenue” for the season Missed :x: Raised ±$139,000 in winnings
• Incorporate ALL of the QF fundraising activities into our group, which will include finalizing the KOL flyer & pitch, and then using it to secure enough sponsors for each round’s matching pool to be at least $125,000 HIT! :white_check_mark: & Missed :x: We did finish and pitch our new KOL program both IRL and online, but we only hosted 1 QF round… but it was a q/acc round that had a $250,000 MP so…
• Have a physical presence at DevCon, Nov 12th to 15th (budget will cover transport, accommodation & meals expenses) HIT! :white_check_mark: & Missed :x: Giveth decided not to have a fundraising WG member attend, but we prepped and armed all Galaxy contributors who went to be our fundraising replacements!
• Up the amount of dedicated monthly hours by 40% - Jake to 160’ish hrs / month and Marcelo & Paulo to a combined 50’ish hrs / month Missed :x: • Jake - Oct 138 hrs / Nov 113.25 hrs / *Dec hrs pending
• Marcelo - Oct 19.25 hrs / Nov 12.50 hrs
• Paulo - Oct 20.25 hrs / Nov 19.50 hrs
• Cotabe - Dec 11.25 hrs
• Anna - Dec 0 hrs
• Incorporate designers into our grant applications to make our grants POP!, a budget of 10/hrs of design work. HIT! :white_check_mark: Kristina supported the WG with 13.25 total hrs
• Continue to provide forum follow-ups posts for all our previous grant wins HIT! :white_check_mark: No forum posts needed this season as our grant wins didn’t require them
• Keep Griff’s current fundraising hours (around 30/hr per season) HIT! :white_check_mark: Oct - 8.25 hrs
Nov - 14.25 hrs
Dec - 7.5 hrs
Bonus item: we exchanged out our 2 Grant Writers :tada::tada::tada: We welcomed back Cotabe and added Anna to the fundraising team!!!

Season 5 Spending :money_with_wings:

Below I’m going to simply compare the forecasted spending with the actual funding based on available data in Clockify.

Type Estimated S5 Cost Actual S5 Cost Actual S5 Money Brought In
Contributor Costs $21,000 $22,653.18
Events $1,800 $0
Grants Won ±$139,000
Total $22,800 $22,653.18

Season 6 Deliverables & Budgeting

There are 3 possible scopes that Fundraising can take in the coming Season *(reminder that this season is 4 months long now), each with different deliverables and budget. The Season Snapshot vote will dictate the scope of this working group, depending on it’s signaled priority amongst other working groups, as decided by the Giveth DAO.

GROW :arrow_upper_right:

Deliverables

What we will do :white_check_mark:

  • Apply to at least 8 new L2s grants this season
  • Apply to other types of fundraising / grant opportunities (Retro rounds, GG, web2, L1s, shopping GURVES & AI powered charity DAOs around, etc.), so at least 11 this season
  • Apply to at least $600,000 worth of grants for the season
  • Win or be awarded at least $400,000 worth of grants for the season
  • Increased QF fundraising activities
    • Use the KOL pitch to secure enough sponsors for 3 rounds with $100,000 matching pools
    • Ensure the analysis & operations compensation we receive is at least $15,000 for each round, totaling at least $45,000 (3 QF rounds) for the season
  • Have a physical presence at ETHDenver ( Feb 25th to Mar 2nd) and Token2049 (Apr 30th to May 1st) - (budget will cover transport, accommodation, meals, etc.)
    • ETHDenver - Jake, Cotabe, Yegor & Griff - 90 to 130 total working hours
    • Token2049 - Jake, Yegor & Griff - 40 to 55 total working hours
  • Continue to provide forum follow ups posts for all our previous grant wins
  • Increase the total amount of dedicated monthly hours of each WG member - Jake, Cotabe, Anna and even increasing the amount of developer and designer hours
:heavy_dollar_sign: Breakdown Estimated S6 Cost
Contributor costs $40,000
Events $9,000
Total $49,000

SUSTAIN :arrow_right:

What we will do :white_check_mark:

  • Apply to at least 5 new L2 grants this season
  • Apply to other types of fundraising / grant opportunities (Retro rounds, GG, web2, L1s, shopping GURVES & AI powered charity DAOs around, etc.), so at least 8 this season
  • Apply to at least $480,000 worth of grants for the season
  • Win or be awarded at least $320,000 worth of grants for the season
  • QF fundraising activities
    • Use the KOL pitch to secure enough sponsors for 3 rounds with at least $50,000 matching pools
    • Ensure the analysis & operations compensation we receive is at least $13,000 for each round, totaling at least $39,000 (3 QF rounds) for the season
  • Have a physical presence at ETHDenver ( Feb 25th to Mar 2nd) and Token2049 (Apr 30th to May 1st) - (budget will cover transport, accommodation, meals, etc.)
    • ETHDenver - Jake, Cotabe & Griff - 70 to 90 total working hours
    • Token2049 - Jake & Griff - 24 to 32 total working hours
  • Continue to provide forum follow ups posts for all our previous grant wins
  • Maintain the total amount of dedicated monthly hours of each WG member - Jake, Cotabe, Anna, as well as, the amount of developer and designer hours

What we won’t do :x:

  • Focus as much on amount of grants and worth of grants
  • Increase any of our teams (Jake, Cotabe & Anna) hours
  • Bring additional contributors to IRL events
:heavy_dollar_sign: Breakdown Estimated S6 Cost
Contributor costs $30,000
Events $6,000
Total $36,000

SHRINK :arrow_lower_right:

What we will do :white_check_mark:

  • Apply to at least 3 new L2 grants this season
  • Limit our time applying to other types of fundraising / grant opportunities (Retro rounds, GG, web2, L1s, shopping GURVES & AI powered charity DAOs around, etc.), so at least 6 this season
  • Apply to at least $360,000 worth of grants for the season
  • Win or be awarded at least $240,000 worth of grants for the season
  • Limited QF sponsorship work
    • will ONLY bring in QF rounds via integration grants, but no assistance with other type of rounds
    • Ensure the analysis & operations compensation we receive is at least $13,000 for each round, totally at least $39,000 (3 QF rounds) for the season
  • Continue to provide forum follow ups posts for all our previous grant wins
  • Decrease the total amount of dedicated monthly hours of each WG member - Griff, Jake, Cotabe, Anna, as well as, the amount of developer and designer hours

What we won’t do :x:

  • Focus as much on amount of grants and worth of grants
  • Increase any of our teams (Jake, Griff, Cotabe & Anna) hours, will actually lower them
  • Incorporate any designer work into our grant apps
  • Attend any IRL events
  • QF sponsorship work for non-integration grant rounds
:heavy_dollar_sign: Breakdown Estimated S6 Cost
Contributor costs $18,000
Events N/A
Total $18,000

Next Steps

This proposal will remain for advice process until all other eligible Working Groups have posted their Working Group Proposals and minimum advice process (5 days) has been met for them.

A single Snapshot vote :zap: will be created to decide the final priorities and budgets for all Working Groups for Season 5. Keep an eye out for it!

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Great proposal @JakeS tables look nice and slick, so fun to read

You listed VeChain as not an L2 integration, that’s because it is an L1 integration?

From the previous Season I think it was a FUNdamental mistake not to have you at DevCon, there was lots of opportunities to have your sweet charm bring some :eyes: and :money_with_wings: to Giveth. I didn’t think it was nearly as an effective strategy to get the rest of the team to half-heartedly try to pitch Giveth and rustle up opportunities. Glad to see some events on the docket for Fundraising and I think you should be there!

QF Funding is also an amazing goal to have. Check out this Gitcoin post related to their Grants strategy for the coming year → Gitcoin Grants 2025 Proposed Strategy - 🌱 Gitcoin Grants - Gitcoin Governance

They have some interesting KPIs around Fundraising, obviously magnitudes higher in $$$ than Giveth. @karmaticacid @yegor also think it is valuable for you both to give it a read.

This doesn’t seem like a deliverable to me, what is the outcome of this? What is tangibly being delivered here? :point_down:

  • Increase the total amount of dedicated monthly hours of each WG member - Jake, Cotabe, Anna and even increasing the amount of developer and designer hours

Adding more L2s and L1s is a clear strategy for bringing in $$$ but I feel it isn’t a sustainable strategy for our Dapp. As mentioned in other places I would love to acquire grants that help advance Giveth and Product specific roadmaps!

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Thanks Mitch, means a lot coming from the WG proposal premier!

yes ser, from what we have found its an L1

Sometimes you take a risk, gamble or simply just trying to lower the budget, and it doesn’t pay off, and in case, we learned that the big extro should have been there. Lesson learned!

will do🙏🏼

technically delivering more hours in a WG is a deliverable🤣 but I put it more for understanding of why the WG cost would increase. So maybe it should be included but not in the “deliverables” section. Good thought

Agree :100: and not only are we going to look for Giveth Building grants, but we will need to find ways to market / sell some of our products, like Gurves, to reach the lofty goal of winning $320K worth of funds in a season.

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I’m interested in the Sustain proposal for Fundraising. We gotta secure capital so we can continue to stay afloat. Jake and Cotabe are well oiled machine at conferences, making meaningful BD connections, finding clients, hunting down grants, and connecting us further in the ecosystem. Given our team size, I’m not sure if we can reach the grant goals for Grow, but I’m here for it if we can. Let’s reach for the stars!!

I think Yegor’s travel expenses might be best under the QF Season proposal, in QFs grow or sustain section, since he’s hired specifically for QF. Yegor has BD and securing sponsorship experience, so excited to see what he can do at IRL events! While Jake and Cotabe do fundraising for the several Giveth products and GM as well. Open to other ideas and opinions.

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Yeah I don’t disagree with that, a 50/50 split could def make more sense moving forward and look at if that should be in both sustain or both grow. I’d like to explore this a little more for next season. Thanks for bringing it up Hanners!

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Dropping my cents here:

I would like to propose the following idea to the QF Fundraising Team, as there is a clear correlation between the GIVeconomy Working Group (WG) and the Fundraising WG: maintaining the flow of resources to support our operations is critical.

Driving a PUMP in the market capitalization (MC) of $GIV is critical. Rather than relying on additional token issuance, we aim to grow through strategies that prioritize price appreciation. To do so, we i propuse focus on two key approaches: increasing demand for $GIV and leveraging strategic collaterals. The first could be handled it by GURVES, but for the second one we need to define a strategy and here is my proposal for that:

By aligning with projects that share our values, expanding liquidity across robust markets, and creating long-term, governance-driven partnerships, we can build a resilient and scalable GIVeconomy. Following more details to reach out this:

Motivation

  • Price Lateralization: In the open market, the price of $GIV has been “lateralizing” and is heavily influenced by the performance of just 2 or 3 paired tokens.
  • Dormant Pairing Tokens: These paired tokens have remained “dormant” and experienced downside movement since the last bull market, limiting $GIV’s growth potential.
  • Expand to Liquid Markets: To enhance $GIV’s market dynamics, we need to expand its presence into liquid and robust markets through DEX aggregators rather than relying solely on individual DEXs.
  • Engagement via Public Goods: $GIV has the potential to become a mechanism for engaging projects in the Web3 space, aligning with a core value that resonates deeply across the industry: Public Goods. As Web3 is driven by open-source principles and public collaboration, $GIV can play a pivotal role in fostering this ethos.
  • Preparing for GURVES: With GURVES on the roadmap, it is crucial to establish a strong $GIV liquidity structure to meet the anticipated demand effectively.

Benefits

  • Organic Presence Amplification: Partnering with other projects to create QFs + LPs will amplify $GIV’s presence organically. Marketing through partners’ social media channels tends to generate more engagement and exposure compared to relying on KOLs. Additionally, creating LPs with partners provides long-term value and sustainability, unlike short-term marketing services that are easily forgotten.

  • Market Diversification: Diversifying $GIV’s exposure by collaborating with legitimate and strong projects will enhance its credibility and broaden its market reach.

  • Price Performance Security: Pairing with long-term and stable projects helps secure $GIV’s price performance and reduces its vulnerability to market fluctuations.

  • Increased Trading Volume: Expanding $GIV’s liquidity pools across multiple chains or strong pairs will create more trading routes, which helps to improve daily trading volume and activity on each chain.

  • Improved User Experience: Enhancing liquidity and expanding trading options makes it easier for users to acquire and transact with $GIV, significantly improving the UX.

Ways to do it

  • Expand Quadratic Funding (QFs): Propose creating additional QF programs, integrating token swaps or shared liquidity pools (LPs) with key partners. This would deepen collaborative relationships while diversifying $GIV’s liquidity sources.

  • Leverage $GIV as a Mechanism for On-Chain Relations: Position $GIV as a tool to establish on-chain partnerships through LPs with well-known and emerging projects. This approach strengthens alliances and drives mutual growth by leveraging shared ecosystems.

  • Engage DeFi Protocols: Partner with DeFi protocols to create combined QF + LP initiatives. Highlight the narrative of supporting public goods through GURVES, presenting it as the next generation of QFs that tokenize public goods. This innovative framing will attract projects aligned with the ethos of open collaboration and regeneration.

  • Integrate with Reputable DAOs: Establish liquidity partnerships with reputable DAOs in Web3. This strengthens $GIV’s narrative as a token aligned with open-source values and public goods while gaining exposure to diverse communities.

  • Collaborate with DEX Aggregators: Work with DEX aggregators (e.g., 1inch, Matcha) to increase $GIV’s visibility across multiple chains. This strategy will improve trading efficiency and attract users by offering competitive pricing and enhanced liquidity access.

  • Deploy on Emerging Chains with High TVL: Strategically deploy $GIV liquidity on emerging Layer 2s and other high-TVL chains such as Base, Arbitrum, Polygon and Avalanche. These chains have active ecosystems and can amplify $GIV’s reach.

  • Incentivize Community-Led LP Creation: Launch a program encouraging the community to provide liquidity by offering rewards such as governance tokens, staking incentives, or NFT-based perks for LP contributors.

  • Highlight Long-Term Value: Frame partnerships and LP initiatives as long-term collaborations, offering stability and aligning with partners who share a vision of regenerative finance and decentralized governance.

Proposed Criteria for Partnerships

  • Tokenized Governance: Prioritize projects with governance tokens, enabling meaningful on-chain partnerships and shared decision-making.

  • Market Cap Range: Focus on projects with a market capitalization (MC) below $100M, or up to $300M in exceptional cases. Collaborating with smaller, high-potential projects allows us to grow alongside them.

  • Liquidity and Ecosystem Fit: Assess the partner’s existing liquidity and ensure compatibility with $GIV’s roadmap, particularly in terms of DEX and aggregator presence.

  • Layer 2 Focus: Prioritize Layer 2 projects, leveraging the scalability, activity, and innovation present in these ecosystems.

  • Alignment with Public Goods: Choose partners that actively support public goods or demonstrate alignment with open-source and collaborative values.

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Great ideas and thoughts for the GIV token, but what exactly are you proposing the fundraising circle do to assist, as all of this can be done by the GIVeconomy team where the token lives and breathes?