Gitcoin is fundamentally an initiative dedicated to empowering communities to fund what matters to them. Operating since 2017, Gitcoin achieves this mission by innovating funding tools and solutions.

Key concepts and impacts of Gitcoin include:

Mission and Scope

• Gitcoin has had a significant impact, having distributed over $67 million, launched more than 270 rounds, and funded over 5,000 projects. These efforts have been supported by 3.8 million donated.

• The Gitcoin Grants initiative has established itself as a significant pillar of the Ethereum ecosystem.

Community and Reputation Building

• A crucial element of Gitcoin Grants, distinguishing it from other funding mechanisms, is the strong sense of community.

• The platform helps projects build their reputation and get rewarded for that by fostering building in public and building with the community.

• For many participants, the benefit of Gitcoin Grants lies not only in the financial rewards but also in reaching more values-aligned community members. For instance, one grantee noted that around 40% of their votes came from people they did not even know prior to the round.

Evolution and Strategy (Gitcoin 3.0)

• Gitcoin is currently undergoing a strategic shift described as “Gitcoin 3.0,” which places priority on networked coordination, plural funding, and community-informed domains.

• Recent rounds, such as GG24, are part of this shift, being the first rounds to utilize diversified funding strategies and move beyond Quadratic Funding (QF).

Resources and Tools

• Gitcoin provides resources to help ecosystems grow and design their own funding initiatives, including the Grants Canvas, which offers a step-by-step framework for designing grants programs, and the Grants Maturity Framework.