Discover Gitcoin’s Professional Services, designed to help leading web3 ecosystems build, scale, and optimize grants programs. From strategic planning to custom solutions, unlock growth and innovation with expert support.
Since its inception in 2019, Gitcoin has been a pioneer in decentralized funding, helping web3 ecosystems disburse over $66.5 million across 260 funding rounds – starting with the Gitcoin Grants Program, and scaling to partner programs. This journey has equipped us with a deep understanding of the challenges ecosystems face in designing and executing grants programs. Today, we are excited to announce the launch of Gitcoin’s Professional Services, a new offering designed to help organizations transform their grants into a powerful engine for growth, community engagement, and impact.
In the words of Sov, Head of Grants at Gitcoin, “Simply distributing funds does not drive impact. A well-designed grants strategy with ongoing review is necessary for a grants program to drive meaningful growth. Leaders must thoughtfully build the systems to attract, support, and retain the right builders to create long-term success.”
As the web3 space matures, grants programs are evolving from simple funding tools into strategic levers for ecosystem growth. Yet, launching and managing these programs comes with challenges, from identifying the right strategy, to managing the day-to-day operations of a grants program. Gitcoin’s Professional Services address these pain points, freeing up resourcing so organizations can focus on what matters most: growing their ecosystems and fostering innovation.
"One of the greatest challenges I see for programs is how to optimize limited resources throughout their evolution – from attracting foundational builders during early stages, to identifying and investing in the most impactful projects as they scale," says Sov.
Our services are the culmination of years of experience. Since 2019, we’ve built expertise through the much adored Gitcoin Grants Program, disbursing millions while fine-tuning best practices. In 2023, we expanded these learnings to serve other ecosystems, providing our services for free to fine-tune our offerings and validate their effectiveness. These collaborations—with the likes of Sei, Optimism, Polygon, Uniswap, etc.—demonstrated the transformative impact of strategic funding mechanisms.
Gitcoin’s track record speaks for itself, with partners across web3 ecosystems trusting us to help grow their grants programs. Below are just a couple of examples:
The v2 update for Sei in July 2024 makes it the first parallelized EVM, with rapid processing speed, and the perfect moment to onboard new projects into the ecosystem. In order to attract new builders to the ecosystem, Sei launched a $10M Creator Fund, and has trusted Gitcoin to help distribute it through a series of strategic grants campaigns. The first campaign consisted of four rounds and distributed $1.3M focusing on the Sei gaming ecosystem and developer relations, and resulted in steadily increasing community participation, round by round.
"The results so far have been inspiring. Partnering with Gitcoin has proven to be a game-changer for empowering our community, and we’re excited to continue this journey to allocate the rest of the $10M Creator Fund and further our ecosystem growth,” says Phillip Kassab, Community Lead Sei FDN.
As a leader in decentralized decision-making and transparency, Optimism has pioneered innovative grants and incentive models. Gitcoin has played a critical role in advancing Optimism’s mission, beginning with the development of a metrics-based voting system used in RetroPGF Rounds 3, 4, and 5. Notably, for the Sunny’s Awards, Gitcoin built a leaderboard and metrics dashboard to track and evaluate project performance, enabling transparent and data-driven funding decisions. Most recently, we introduced the Grants Claiming Tool, which streamlines the claiming process for any grant recipient on the Superchain, enhancing efficiency and accountability in fund distribution. Gitcoin’s support and services extend to all members of the Superchain – amplifying the value of our work for Optimism.
These contributions demonstrate Gitcoin’s ability to deliver tailored solutions that drive meaningful impact for complex, high-stakes ecosystems. Explore more examples of Gitcoin’s partnerships.
Grants programs are not one-size-fits-all, and Gitcoin’s tiered Professional Services model is designed to meet the unique needs of different organizations:
Whether you’re managing your first grants round or scaling a sophisticated program, Gitcoin’s services ensure you have the strategy, tools, and support needed to succeed.
For larger ecosystems or those with unique needs, Gitcoin provides white-glove support and consulting services to customize grants to meet bespoke goals & use cases. This could range from designing the annual grants strategy and roadmap, to developing a custom mechanism to meet a specific use case. The design process is led by senior Gitcoin leadership, including Sov and Gitcoin co-founder Kevin Owocki.
Owocki pioneered Quadratic Funding at Gitcoin in 2019, and since then has helped bring many-a-mechanism to life, including Retro Funding, Conviction Voting, and MACI. He is also the hor of Onchain Capital Handbook and a proponent for innovations in capital allocation. Owocki explains, “Custom-built funding mechanisms unlock immense potential for ecosystem growth by addressing the unique needs and goals of their community. It's not just about distributing autfunds—it's about creating a strategic engine for innovation and long-term success.”
In addition to our strategic services, Gitcoin also offers dedicated Live Support services for lean grants teams, or those simply looking to benefit from our in-house expertise.
Running a grants round requires proactive communication and coordination across every step from announcement and management to results finalization. Gitcoin’s support services ensure the successful execution of your grants program without the operational burden.
We set up a dedicated support channel on your platform of choice—whether Telegram, Farcaster, Discord, or another tool—and assign you a Gitcoin support partner who actively participates in the forum. From answering eligibility-related questions to providing “how-to” guidance and prioritized technical support, our team handles the complexities, allowing you to focus on your ecosystem’s growth.
Launching a successful grants program is a significant commitment. Gitcoin’s services go beyond operational support to deliver:
Our services reflect a deep commitment to empowering ecosystems to thrive, whether by creating transparent funding mechanisms or delivering end-to-end campaign support.
Gitcoin’s Professional Services are your partner in creating impactful, efficient, and scalable grants programs. By leveraging our expertise and tailored offerings, you can transform grants into a strategic advantage for your ecosystem.