[PROPOSAL] 2025 Gitcoin DAO Budget

TL;DR This seeks funding for DAO operations through 2025 (January - December), including the Gitcoin Grants Program operations. The DAO 2025 Strategy presents an integrated approach to governance, builder engagement, and ecosystem growth, focusing on progressive decentralization and global expansion. We are requesting $808,098 from the treasury ($673,415 + 20% reserves) to execute this vision.

Note: The Ecosystem Collective (formerly driving DAO operations and budget) dissolved mid-2024; this request represents our evolved strategic direction.

Our Vision: Power Collective Action.

Our Mission: Empower decentralized communities to sustain and innovate open-source ecosystems through progressive decentralization and governance excellence.

Current State & Progress The DAO has navigated significant organizational changes in 2024, focusing on stability and restructuring:

• Maintained essential operations through the Ecosystem Collective transition
• Kept core programs running on minimal resources
• Sustained Gitcoin Grants OSS satisfaction rate at +80%
• Began redefinition of Citizens Grants Program framework
• Initiated governance structure improvements
• Successfully operated within constrained budget for past 6 months
• These accomplishments, while modest, provide a foundation for our more ambitious 2025 plans.

Organizational Context With the dissolution of the Ecosystem Collective in mid-2024, the DAO has operated on minimal resources while restructuring for greater efficiency. The 2025 budget reflects our new focused approach, integrating:

• Governance excellence
• Builder engagement initiatives
• Regional development programs
• Grants Program operations

Budget Request The DAO remains focused on stewarding Gitcoin’s brand, community and governance in support of the overall growth and health of the Gitcoin ecosystem.

For 2025, Gitcoin DAO is requesting $808,098 from the treasury for the year of 2025. No change since the last request, as this is the first request since Ecosystem Collective was dissolved mid 2024. After accounting for remaining budget & reserves, the DAO is requesting $808,098 for the 12 month period ($673,415.00 + 20%).

We will post updates and progress on the forum every quarter to ensure that the DAO is staying on track with accountability and progress throughout the year.

A full breakdown of the budget can be found below.

Budget Breakdown and Team Structure

Role / Status / Focus Area Grants Program Lead / Full-time /Program Strategy Grants Program Coordinator / Full-time / Operations DAO Coordinator / Full-time / Governance Gov Council / Part-time / Oversight Security Consultant / Part-time / Technical Security Discord Mod / Part-time / Community

Additional support includes:

• Marketing & design consultation
• Team Tiger strategic support
• Regional coordination resources

Detailed Cost Categories Core Team ($301,575)

• Full-time leadership and coordination roles
• Part-time specialized expertise
• Program execution and oversight

Consultants ($160,800)

• Strategic advisory services
• Marketing and design expertise
• Technical infrastructure support where needed
• Regional coordination
• Grants/Governance Councils and support where needed

Software and Subscriptions ($45,540)

• Governance tools and infrastructure
• Community engagement platforms
• Security and compliance tools
• Program management resources

Travel ($30,000)

• Event attendance
• Sponsorships

Note: We will be moving to a GCP model for larger event budget requests - holding ourselves accountable to the community for one-off events and rationale.

Miscellaneous ($135,500)

• Strategic contributor incentives
• Governance participation rewards
• Community-driven initiatives

The amount of GTC requested and the value of the reserves will be adjusted based on the current market value at the time this proposal is moved to Tally using the lower of the current price or the 20 day moving average, whichever is lower.

The current treasury can be found linked in the governance post and is summarized below.

2024 Achievements In the Ecosystem Collective’s last budget request, these key goals were outlined and tracked:

Focus Area 1 - People: Deepen engagement and grow participation in Gitcoin’s community(ies)

Results & Notes:

• The Citizens Grants Program was redefined and revamped
• GCP proposals and RFP’s actioned late 2024
• $6.9M earmarked towards Citizens Grants Program
• Governance will continue to evolve and be revamped in 2025

Focus Area 2 - Innovation: Experiment with Gitcoin products and build prototypes to advance our mission

Results & Notes:

• The rapid prototyping was moved out of the DAO and into its own unit. *
• Gitcoin Grants continues as an innovation example 3 - MMF baby!

Focus Area 3 - Impact: Forward Gitcoin as a powerful impact-driven brand

Results & Notes:

• Gitcoin Grants OSS grantee satisfaction rate is +80%.
• Educational campaigns have been launched.
• The DAO will continue to drive these focus areas forward into 2025, with evolved goals and KR’s (see below).

Key Goals for 2025 Governance

• Updates to Governance Handbook: Define core principles and decision-making frameworks to guide progressive decentralization.
• Introduce a DAO Coordinator to oversee governance, context-sharing, and operational alignment.
• Attract and support builders through improved governance and community engagement.
• Decentralize governance processes, with 50%+ community-driven decisions by year-end.
• Onboard high-caliber stewards while fostering stronger DAO-to-DAO relationships.
• Execute a 2025 events strategy targeting APAC, SEA, and LATAM to expand builder engagement.
• Execute a new governance strategy that includes engaging 5 high-context ecosystem-savvy paid delegates.

Builder Engagement By engaging and supporting builders, we’re directly increasing adoption and activity on Allo and within our GG rounds to support Gitcoin’s North Star.

• Expand Builder Community: Onboard 500+ new builders globally, with a focus on LATAM, APAC, and SEA.
• Promote Accessible Funding: Encourage 100+ Gitcoin Community Proposals (GCPs) and Requests for Proposals (RFPs).
• Support Innovation: Enable MVP development through hackathons and bounties to showcase Allo’s potential.

Regional Events

• Host 3+ Regional Events: Engage builders in LATAM, APAC, and SEA through hackathons, workshops, and community meetups. ---- As we won’t run events within the DAO budget directly, we’ll be requesting funds for events after completing research on high value areas to target and event planning.
• Amplify Ecosystem Awareness: Ensure 70% of attendees understand Gitcoin’s broader ecosystem.
• Promote Local Innovation: Partner with local organizations to co-create impactful funding experiments.

DAO Pillars and Integration

Program Integration & Support The DAO budget directly supports the execution of the Gitcoin Grants 2025 Strategy 3, particularly:

• Operational support for three major OSS rounds
• Resources for the multi-mechanism pilot programs
• Infrastructure for metrics-based funding implementation
• Support for the new Grant Ships governance vehicle
• Community council transition in Q1 2025

Through the DAO Coordinator and Grants Program roles, this budget ensures proper execution of the program’s key objectives:

• 50% Builder retention target
• $4.29M+ distribution across rounds
• Community council evolution
• Weekly builder demos
• Enhanced governance mechanisms

Additional program details can be found in the full Grants Program strategy 3.

Quarterly Reporting Framework We will provide quarterly updates focused on:

• Progress against 2025 goals
• Budget utilization metrics
• Program milestone updates
• Community feedback synthesis
• Treasury management status

Wrapping up The DAO 2025 Strategy aims to align governance, builder engagement, the Gitcoin Grants program and events into a unified vision for impact and innovation. By prioritizing decentralization, transparency, and global outreach, we can empower builders to thrive while sustaining the DAO’s mission.

For more information on specific initiatives, visit the links in the governance post.

Voting Details

This proposal will use the following options:

1 - Yes, fund the DAO for $808,098

2 - No, do not fund the DAO

3 - Abstain

Should this vote be passed by GTC token delegates, funds will be deposited into MMM’s/EC’s multisig 2, which has been repurposed as the DAO’s multisig.