Summary

We are thrilled to present this budget proposal on behalf of Aave Companies and our ongoing commitment to support the Aave Community. This proposal will enable the Aave DAO and Aave Companies to collaborate and continue being a gateway for new contributors to the ecosystem and drive Aave’s culture and GHO adoption at key events like DevConnect, rAAVE, and ETHGlobal Istanbul.

History

Aave Protocol has consistently been at the forefront of DeFi innovation with pioneering features. With a strong emphasis on security, usability, and composability, Aave has amassed a vibrant and engaged community of developers, users, and stakeholders.

Aave Companies recognizes the fundamental importance of the Aave Grants DAO in nurturing the DeFi ecosystem and has consistently provided support to the AGD through direct collaboration. Historically, Aave Companies has worked alongside AGD to bring sponsorship and presence at hackathons and events, designed and created the highly coveted Aave merch, and brought rAAVE to life in various cities across the globe.

Overview

Aave Companies is requesting a budget allocation of $550,000 paid in GHO for the remainder of 2023 to support a range of activations and events to continue growing and nurturing the global Aave Community. These initiatives will serve multiple purposes:

1. Sponsoring Hackathons: Aave Companies intends to sponsor hackathons to encourage developers to build on Aave Protocol, as well as the new stablecoin, GHO. These hackathons not only provide a platform for the Aave community to connect with talented developers in both web3 and web2 but also lead to the creation of innovative DeFi projects that enhance the Aave ecosystem.
2. Side Events: Hosting side events alongside major conferences allows the Aave community to increase community awareness, foster connections, and share technical knowledge and industry insights. These events often include panels, workshops, and discussions led by industry experts. Side events are also where Aave is able to show our commitment to inclusivity and diversity in the web3 ecosystem by tapping into new communities and audiences. We’re proud to be supporters of groups such as SheFi and BoysClub.
3. Merch: Aave Companies recognizes the importance of high-quality merchandise in building brand recognition. We intend to continue to create highly coveted Aave and GHO branded merchandise to distribute at events, as part of community engagement efforts as well as to proliferate the ghost. We will continue to push for the use of sustainable materials, and creating merch people actually wear, use, and love.
4. Development of the GHO Pass: With one of the core missions of the Aave community being to grow GHO by stimulating demand, expanding its utility, and accelerating its transactional velocity, we’re excited to announce Aave Companies’ development of the GHO Pass. The GHO Pass V1 will facilitate GHO purchases at both Aave events and events we sponsor. We plan to launch GHO Pass at DevConnect, where users can get early access to a select group of rAAVE tickets and drink credits, exclusive merch, and other perks.
5. rAAVE: To celebrate and give back to the Aave community, we plan to host another edition of our vibrant and highly demanded event, rAAVE. Such events serve as an excellent opportunity for building “hype” around the Aave brand and creating a memorable experience for the Aave community. We will also explore live streaming rAAVE, and integrating GHO pass (as mentioned above). We will continue to manage ticketing logistics, press relations, as well as rAAVE social media.

Activations

Activations continue to be a key focus and driver of growth for the Aave ecosystem thanks to:

• Creating a welcoming, engaging and memorable experience at the Aave booth.
• Sponsoring side events, hackathons, prizes and providing exceptional support to developers.
• Spreading Aave’s culture by distributing highly coveted merchandise.
• Selectively hosting rAAVEs to bring the Aave community together, reward contributors and make Aave the top ecosystem in crypto.
• Developing GHO Pass payment portal.

Name	Date	Details
ETH Global Istanbul	Nov 17-19	During the week of Devconnect. ETHGlobal puts on arguably the most reputable hackathon events in the Ethereum ecosystem. Istanbul is a community with substantial and growing crypto adoption and is a prime market to engage hackers and the community with Aave and GHO.
rAAVE	Nov TBD	rAAVE brings the community together, helping to strengthen Aave’s culture and differentiate Aave’s ecosystem. We will host one rAAVE during the course of this proposal that is powered by GHO to help spread adoption and awareness.
Devconnect + Side Events	Nov 13-19	This will be the event of the year in the Ethereum community. Hosted by the Ethereum Foundation, this event will be one of the most attended web3 events of 2023. Activating here will allow us to reach a wide audience and connect with many from our community.
Side Events	Q4	Side events we’re currently considering include: SheFi Summit Istanbul, Certora at DevConnect, Scroll Day, notDevcon by ITU Blockchain, StableSummit Istanbul. Funds from any side events that are not confirmed will be rolled over to the next potential side event.

For this proposal, Aave Companies is focusing on sponsoring fewer events, while increasing the quality of Aave’s presence.

A majority of the new event spend will be used to have an impactful presence during Devconnect, ETHGlobal Istanbul, and rAAVE in order to drive hackers to build with GHO and to increase GHO utilization within the wider community. Since Devconnect week will be the marquee event of the year, any remaining budget after our main sponsorships will be allocated to side events related to DeFi or Smart Contract Security.

Next Steps

• If Snapshot is successful then move to AIP

Conclusion

Aave Companies is deeply committed to the Aave community. We believe that the proposed one-off budget allocation of $550,000 paid in GHO for activations and events will not only enrich the ecosystem but also foster innovation, inclusivity, and recognition. We look forward to the DAO’s support in enabling these initiatives to come to life and continue to drive the growth of the Aave ecosystem. We will rollover excess budget to Q1 2024 events.