How TF do I Launch a Grants Program? Introducing the Grants Program Canvas

Ok so, you made the raise ✅ 

TGE was a success ✅

Then your founder enters the chat: 

“We gotta attract more builders,  can you send me a proposal to launch a grants program?” 

Where to start? 

You begin your research, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon…oh my… 

Finally, you land on the holy grail of grants design tools: 

The Grants Program Canvas [cue heavenly angels] 

Developed by Gitcoin, this step-by-step approach to grants program design was created to help growth leaders create, manage, and optimize a high-impact program–without missing any details. Whether you're just starting or looking to enhance an existing program, the Grants Program Canvas is the answer to the question: “How TF do I launch and grow a grants program?”.

A simplified approach to grants design

The Grants Program Canvas is a powerful tool designed to streamline web3 grants program creation. Having worked with some of the biggest organizations and web3 grants programs in the business including Arbitrum, Optimism, Uniswap, and Polygon, Gitcoin’s Grants Program Canvas is built off of years of experience in web3 grantmaking. 

Taking both a visual and modular approach, the Grants Program Canvas takes the complex job of planning a grants program and simplifies it into 4 key phases. The Canvas breaks these phases down into specific building blocks, allowing you to shorten your planning process so that you can focus more of your time and energy on attracting high-quality builders.

Dive deep into Grants Program Design 

Take a deep dive into the Grants Program Canvas with our 100+ page handbook–Grants Program Design. 

As a complete guide for running a grants program, the book presents a historically complex process in an engaging and simple format. It simplifies grants program design, making it accessible for both new and veteran growth leaders.

Filled with examples, case studies and worksheets to help growth leaders, program managers and everyone in between, Grants Program Design will level up your grantmaking expertise– whether you’re an expert or novice or somewhere in between.

Don’t take our word for it, download it for free.

Build a new program or revamp an existing one

Building a new program? No problem. 

Need to rework an existing one? Even better. 

The canvas breaks the design process down into four key phases: Define, Design, Execute, and Learn; each stage contains the specific steps needed to create an effective, mission-aligned program: 

Define:

• Objective Setting: Clearly define what you want to achieve with your grants program. This involves identifying the core problems you aim to solve and setting an objective that guides your efforts.
• Measurement: Learn how to create strong metrics for measuring the short- and long-term success of your grants program

Design:

• Funding Mechanisms: Learn how to choose the best funding mechanism (e.g., Quadratic Funding, Direct Grants, Retroactive Public Goods Funding) that best fit your program’s goals.
• Eligibility Criteria: Set streamlined criteria for who can apply for your grants. This ensures that your program attracts the best candidates while minimizing work of filtering through low-quality applications.

Execute:

• Roles and Responsibilities: Fill in all the key roles of your ideal grants team and establish a clear decision-making process, ensuring that everyone can move together far and fast.
• Engagement: Develop strategies for attracting top-tier applicants, onboarding grantees, and providing ongoing support

Learn:

• Retrospectives: A continuous improvement process will help you streamline the review of your program to identify what worked well and what can be improved.
• Reporting: Implement tools and processes for tracking the impact of your grants. Know who needs to be informed of what so that informed decisions can be made to move forward.

No-brainer tools for web3 grants

We designed both the canvas and its accompanying playbook to make web3 grantmaking wisdom available to anyone who wants to incentivize their community’s growth through grants. 

These tools promise to:

• Simplify the planning process: The step-by-step process guided by the canvas makes for a complete plan–without the cognitive load.
• Support program growth: The structured approach allows you to more easily learn what’s working and what isn’t for your program, allowing it to grow and adapt as your needs evolve.
• Create greater impact: Our methodology helps you double-click on setting clear objectives and robust impact measures to have your program deliver impact where it matters most.

Whether you’re new to grants management or wanting to level up an existing program, our comprehensive toolkit will set you on the right path to take your program to the next level.