Get funding & grow your ecosystem
Gitcoin Grants is a seasonal initiative empowering early-stage builders through a combination of crowdfunding and grants
Ideal for
Early stage projects
Ideal for
Ecosystem builders
The largest and longest running web3 grants program
What makes us different?
Crowdfunding meets grants
Harness the power of community with Quadratic Funding
Gitcoin grants quadratic funding is not just for funds allocation, it’s also a great signaling tool! For the last few rounds, going to Gitcoin has led me to discover a lot of really cool Ethereum projects I previously did not know about.
Activate your supporters
Foster connections and grow your project’s reputation
The biggest thing Gitcoin did for me was give me validation.
How it works
Funds are pooled
Gitcoin raises a pool of funds
First, we raise an initial pool of matching funds with the support of the Gitcoin community. These matching funders include: individuals, organizations, repeat donors and champions of public goods. Their combined resources fund the matching pool for the round.
Application Period
Grantees submit applications for round participation
Grantees can apply to a specific round or in some cases, multiple rounds, where they meet the eligibility criteria before going through an onboarding process.
Review Period
Gitcoin reviews applications against set of criteria
Once the application period has closed, our team carefully reviews each one. If a grantee’s application is accepted into a round, they will be notified and their profile will be displayed in Builder.
Crowdfunding Period
Supporters vote and donate
Then, we deploy the round so the community can decide how the matching funds are distributed to grantees through Quadratic Funding, which multiplies the funding impact to projects that receive broader support.
Funds are Distributed
Gitcoin distributes matching funds once the grants round is complete
At the end of the round, projects will receive both their donations from supporters and the allocated matching funds from Gitcoin. This tends to take a few weeks so we can check all donations for Sybil interference.
Gitcoin keeps none of the funds raised — it all goes directly to the relative projects.
Identity and Protection
Our solutions make it possible to run grants programs, get funding, and donate - all securely and reliably
Gitcoin Passport
Gitcoin Passport
Create a digital identity, prove your humanity, and cross-pollinate the online universe — all without storing personally identifiable information.
Passport for Communities
Gitcoin Passport for Communities
Protect community members and shared resources with our free, open source Sybil defense tool.
Whether it’s improving Ethereum, educating developers, guaranteeing onchain privacy or fighting for crypto in DC, builders use Gitcoin to connect with their community and make a lasting impact.
Past Grantees
Gitcoin Grants is establishing itself as a significant pillar of the Ethereum ecosystem that more and more projects are relying on for some or all of their support.
One of the unlocks Gitcoin Grants provided for us was around building in public and building with the community that was ultimately be able to support us. We got deep within the [Gitcoin] community, we found friends and that slowly helped us build our reputation and get rewarded for that.
Quadratic funding has been such a lifeline for my project. It's been amazing. Web3 Beach was all bootstrapped. For the first year, I was just using my own funds to support the project. Then I got introduced to Gitcoin Grants and in our first round we landed around $9,000 which was huge for a project based in Latin America.
In a lot of cases, new ideas don't need a milling dollars to get off the ground. Sometimes all you need is 5, 10, 15k to actually get something going. I see quadratic funding as a path to liberty for a lot of people who have a project that they really want to get off the ground.
[Gitcoin Grants is] phenomenal not only because of the resources that are of course distributed to us, but also just the pure bottom line recognition that the things that we're doing are visible to people and they actually care about them.
The biggest difference between Gitcoin Grants and other QF rounds is the strong sense of community. In other rounds, I have to bring my own community to vote for me. At Gitcoin around 40% of the votes were from people I didn't even know. So for me, Gitcoin Grants wasn't so much about the money as much as it was reaching more values-aligned community members.
None of this would be possible without our matching partners
FAQ's
When does it run?
The Gitcoin Grants program has run quarterly since 2019. Check out grants.gitcoin.co for the latest information on active or upcoming rounds.
How do I become a matching pool funder?
If you’re interested in helping to fund our matching pool, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us to learn more.
How do I apply?
You can use Grants Stack’s Builder to create a single profile that you can use to apply to all the rounds for which you meet the eligibility criteria. If you’re new to our Grants program, keep an eye on our Twitter and website for updates and announcements on the next grants round. If you’re an existing grantee, our team will reach out to you via the email that you previously used to participate.
How do I donate?
Explorer allows supporters (donors) to browse through and donate to projects that have been approved in any single round. Beginning with GG18, we’ve shipped multi-round checkout, which will enable donors to check out projects participating in different rounds across different chains, all in the same cart.
To visit Explorer, you will need to go to the specific link for each round. Round operators will share those through the specific round’s Explorer via a direct link on Twitter, website, etc. We will also have a page where all the links live that will be shared before the round goes live.
Find more details on how to donate.
Why should I donate?
By making an individual donation, you’re supporting public goods around the world and helping secure funding for innovative projects. Contributions of 1 DAI can sometimes mean up to 400 DAI in matching. Your contributions will be met by matching funding, widening the reach of your donation.
Example: If 10 people contribute 1DAI each (= 1 USD) the Quadratic Funding matching will be higher than if only 1 person is contributing 10DAI or 2 persons 5DAI each.
TL;DR - Your contribution is your vote, and it's way more valuable than you think. Your money is having a real impact on Gitcoin Grants.
What is Quadratic Funding?
In a QF round, the community contributes to the projects they feel should be funded and supported.
A matching partner offers funds to match the community’s contributions. Rather than a 1:1 match, the fund matching aligns with the sentiment of the community as opposed to the sheer monetary value amount raised by any grantee.
Translation: The number of contributions matters more than the amount funded.
This system encourages donors to donate even small amounts because their money could be matched tenfold, meaning many small donations from community members can be amplified into meaningful resources.
Learn more
What are public goods?
In economics, a "public good" refers to anything that is both non-excludable and non-rivalrous, that is, people can't be barred access, and one person's use doesn't degrade another's.
Clean air is an example of a naturally occurring public good, while the electric grid is a public good created by people.
What are the public goods of today's industrial-knowledge society?
Open source code, which supports millions of companies and independent developers, is often thought of this way. Gitcoin’s journey began with a focus on Digital Public Goods (like open source software) but has since expanded into real-life Public Goods.
A great public good should:
Be values-based
In service of a set of values your community cares aboutHave longevity
Be achievable and maintainableCreate positive externalities
Benefits a public beyond an immediate set of users