Gitcoin RFP GG23 Retrospective
TLDR
Let's GROW DAO was selected to lead the GG23 Onboarding Program, scheduled for March, just before the GG23 Applications & Donations window. The team designed the initiative around a typical Dreamer's Journey, which became the guiding framework for the entire program. This approach focused primarily on supporting new builders entering the Gitcoin ecosystem, while also accommodating established projects through features like On-Demand Bookings for those unable to attend live Office Hours.
Using the Dreamer's Journey as a foundation, we structured everything—from topic selection to the event agenda and timeline—and even produced a dedicated animated video to bring the story to life.
We also built on feedback from the GG22 Retrospective, introducing improvements like multi-lingual support across Discord and Telegram, and expanding On-Demand Bookings to better meet the community's availability. These proved to be highly effective.
Network = Net Worth
Thanks to Mathilda, we hosted an Expert Session on COCM featuring Joel Miller.
We also organized a Karma GAP Workshop focused on impact tracking and milestone reporting—critical components for accountability within the ecosystem.
Wasabi | Area of Focus: Operations
AI Summarized Partner's Reflections
| Partner | Role | Experience | Value Add | Opportunity | Highlight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antonio Avocado | Grants Impact Reporting via Karma GAP | Fun and rewarding | Contributed to workshops and helped track milestones | Fewer onboarding sessions needed; scheduling could improve | Karma GAP Workshop video now available |
| Donny Lewis | Application Support, Marketing, Markdown, QF Explainers | Structured and community-centered | Enabled layered support options, enhanced community trust | Improve Discord discoverability & start earlier for more promotion | Praised the coordination and impact of video content |
| Guru Vishwas | Markdown & Application Process Guide | Smooth and informative | Helped target new builders with relevant resources | Use mass emails and periodic reminders to boost engagement | Praised strategic focus and execution |
| Karla Nwaeke | Grant Marketing, QF Explainers, Application How-To | Intense, immersive, creatively fulfilling | Educated grantees through well-received videos | Better communication of office hours and locations | Believes program impact was 4x greater than GG22 |
| Jimi Cohen | Reviewing Applications, Mastering Grants Stack | Enjoyed direct grantee support and live spaces | 1:1s created deeper impact for grantees | Clarify Let's GROW Live promotion rules and improve outreach tooling | Emphasized value of constant support from experienced grantees |
| Will T | Application Support, Participation Support | Proud of the team, shifted into support mode | Saw increased participation and more polished delivery | Continue refining and professionalizing future iterations | Noted Gitcoin acted on prior GG22 feedback |
| Syntropic | Visual Storytelling ("Dreamers Journey") | Loved using AI tools creatively | Helped users connect personally with Gitcoin's mission | Start with multiple pre-program campaign announcements | Suggested breaking the Dreamers Journey into chapters |
Program Summary
1 x Gitcoin-branded Landing Page: https://www.letsgrow.network/gitcoin
Explainer Videos
- Why Gitcoin?
- How to Apply to GG23
- Mastering Markdown
- Why Quadratic Funding as a Capital Allocation Mechanism
- WTF is Collusion Oriented Cluster Matching (COCM) with Joel Miller
- The Builder's Journey - Alex's Story - Visuals by Syntropic & Donny Lewis with the Voice-over
- Karma GAP Workshop with Antonio Avocado from Karma
- Grants Marketing
Around-the-clock Discord & Telegram Support
| Activity | Values |
|---|---|
| Office Hours Sessions per Week | 26 |
| Total Weekly Support Hours | 55+ |
| Number of Onboarding Partners | 5 |
| Languages Supported | English, Spanish, French |
On-Demand Sessions for Everyone
| Partner | Number of Bookings | Total Attendees |
|---|---|---|
| Jimi | 5 | 5 |
| Donny | 4 | 6 |
| Wasabi | 10 | 14 |
| Group | 1 | 3 |
Live Events
- Applications for #GG23 are Open! Now what?
- Grants Impact Reporting Workshop
- The Journey Continues: From OSS to Web3 Funded Hero
- WTF is Cluster-Matching QF?
- Building a Community, Not Just Code
Partner Reflections
Antonio Avocado - Grants Impact Reporting via Karma GAP
Experience
Fun and exciting
Value Add of Participation
Received good feedback and enjoyed connecting with participants
Opportunities for Improvement
Better scheduling and calendar management. We noticed only 2 onboarding events were necessary instead of the original 4
Free Flow
Would be great to have recorded versions of the session (We did!)
Donny Lewis - Application Support, Marketing, Markdown, QF Explainers
Experience
The experience was wonderful. Let's Grow DAO had a well mapped out scope of work to execute with tasks suited to each members strengths. This allowed for a very efficient way to do what I love to do and that is help others, find ways to help themselves. Speaking to potential grantees, past grantees that were having issues and the broader community about the Gitcoin Grants ecosystem is always a pleasure.
Value Add of Participation
The community lead aspect of this I think is a huge value add for the overall optics of the Gitcoin ecosystem. Gitcoin has always been about community and funding what matters. A community lead onboarding and education program truly supports that ethos. The ability to have multiple options to receive support for potential grantees from office hours to 1:1 video calls that could be scheduled at the grantees convenience to go along with workshops, and informational spaces, videos and an all in one landing page focused purely on known FAQ's is a big help. I personally had quite a number of grantees reach out to me after only a dm where I shared the available resources to say, thank you. When dealing with people it is always best to meet them where they are, some need a 1:1 meeting, some just need a quick question answered, others just need to know where to look. I think this program did a good job of providing this layered approach.
Opportunities for Improvement
As discussed, the discord proved challenging for some grantees to navigate and without an official badge or notification of who were are, new people could be reluctant to take advice from "some random pfp".
Time would be beneficial for future programs. Having the selection of the RFP earlier allows for a focused use of all resources. It is not fair to expect that people will work on something that has not yet been secured. A bit more time would allow for more curated materials and promotion. It is said people need to see something seven times before acting on it. Time to make sure the program managers can get things seen by as many people as possible, and hitting that seven times threshold would be great.
Free Flow
Just from a personal perspective. I would like to say thank you for the opportunity to help in this capacity. I was extremely impressed by the video's produced, especially those by Karla and Syntropic's dreamers journey animation. Thank you to Wasabi, for the careful organization that helped empower me to do what I love most and lend a helping hand where I be able. Lastly, thanks again to the Gitcoin team for allowing us to have this opportunity to be part of the mission of Funding What Matters.
Guru Vishwas - Markdown & Application Process Guide
Experience
Quite smooth
Value Add of Participation
For me, the value add was to keep up with the new mechanisms introduced in this round and engage with open source communities to onboard them.
For the Gitcoin ecosystem, we offered a tailored learning experience for builders, particularly those new to Gitcoin, being strategic and focused on the right target audience.
Opportunities for Improvement
Maybe a more streamlined way to approach builders for example - mass emailing possible candidates from a database after reaching out individually. Periodic reminders via emails to apply in the round.
Otherwise a very well thought out and executed program.
Karla Nwaeke - Grant Marketing, QF Explainers, Application How-To
Experience
It was intense and immersive, you could see grantees who got help and feedback because of the programme.
I did videos, and jt was really great seeing how the videos I created helped grantees understand how to navigate Gitcoin and get help from the LetsGrow Dao onboarding and education programme website.
Value Add of Participation
Value add for me:
In creating the videos, I got more creative with breaking down complex concepts and making them relatable, so even though I was making videos for the programme, I was also learning new depths of my skills with it.
Value add for Gitcoin:
Lots of people understood QF.
I just wish I had the time to do a video on COCM
Opportunities for Improvement
Opportunities for improvement would be in the area of communication to the Gitcoin community and grantees of where the office hours hold on Discord.
Lots of grantees didn't know that there were office hours or where it held.
I also could have done a better job in sensitising the community by repeatedly saying that xyz discords were available to have one on one sessions during the office hours at various times on discord.
So I'll factor this in.
Free Flow
Overall, this on boarding and education programme beat the last one by 400%, every thing was at least 4 times better and I think we got at least 4 times the results than the last one we did.
Looking forward to doing better at the next!
Jimi Cohen - Reviewing Applications, Mastering Grants Stack
Experience
It was great having 1:1s with the curious grantees & dropping alpha on spaces to help grantees market themselves. Had a challenge in Discord getting the Citizen role. Maybe I had to get that when I joined ages ago. Would love to be in there helping more.
Value Add of Participation
Having 24/7 grantee support is massive value, especially from experienced grantees. The many 1:1s really enables us to go deep with the grantees to help them with the daunting process of applying & spreading the word.
Opportunities for Improvement
Due to a foreseen potential conflict of interest, Let's GROW DAO did not publicly promote Let's GROW Live during this RFP. Being able to promote publicly enables grantees to discover the opportunity of hosting, even if their projects aren't publicly available for us to DM yet. So some clarity of whether we're allowed to promote LGL during the RFP as one of the ways for ALL grantees to get exposure & promote themselves would further open up the door of opportunity for grantees to get more exposure during GG rounds.
Free Flow
Had some struggles web scraping GitHib & doing outreach to many builders. Nailing this would open up a lot of doors. Also onboarding open source builders from other ecosystems would be great.
Will T - Application Support, Participation Support
Experience
I took a step back from a leadership role to allow others to step in. My role was primarily supportive and participatory. All of my hours supporting office hours and creating content were logged with the approved methodology. I am so proud of this group, the actions that were taken, and the evolution of this iteration of the program.
Value Add of Participation
This was definitely an iteration towards a professional and refined program. I saw first hand more entries participating in this program. My experience from the events I was able to attend and participate in was more refined and resonated well with the community at large.
Opportunities for Improvement
I would say keep iterating, keep refining and polishing the outputs.
Free Flow
I admire and am appreciative that the Gitcoin Grants team took our previous feedback to heart. This approach was more organized, structured, proactive, and less "flying by the seat of our pants" to see what we can co-create. Thank you Gitcoin for listening not just hearing our previous sentiment from the GG22 retrospective around this program.
Syntropic - Visuals
Experience
Loved to explore AI tools to craft "The dreamers journey"
Value Add of Participation
The value of a piece like "The dreamers journey" is very relevant for users to identify themselves in any phase of the journey and also for new users to understand the potential of getting involved in the Gitcoin ecosystem
Opportunities for Improvement
I think a good opportunity of improvement is to announce the onboarding program in several "campaigns" before the program starts. (Eg. Gather your impact, draft your grant etc)
Free Flow
Dreamers journey video separated in chapters
Closing Thoughts
A heartfelt thank you to Gitcoin and the GG Team for entrusting Let's GROW DAO with the opportunity to represent their brand and values through the Onboarding Program—for the second round in a row. It was a valuable learning experience and a meaningful way to deepen our connection with the broader community.
Public Goods are Great
