Should we start the process of experimenting with GIVbacks V2?

GIVbacks V2 aims to solve the problem to GIVbacks scalability through a transition from donation-proportional direct rewards to donation-proportional raffle entries with a chance to win 1 of 5 large GIV prizes.

This process will be rolled out over a period of several months. If this proposal passes, the next 3-4 GIVbacks rounds will distribute half the GIV pool according to V1 and half according to V2. Following this, we will report findings in the forum and have one more vote to determine if we should transition fully to V2 or not.

How GIVbacks V2 will work

1. Raffle entries

• Each donation made in a GIVbacks round will be considered as an “entry” (with a relative weight) into a GIVbacks raffle
• The relative weight of an entry depends on the size of the donation, and the GIVpower rank (i.e. GIVbacks percentage) of the project donated to (e.g., donations to top-boosted projects have a greater likelihood of winning that a same-size donation to a lower boosted project).
• We will simply multiply the GIVbacks % by the donation USD value to determine the weight of a particular donation made during the GIVbacks round (this is the field valueUsdAfterGivbackFactor in our backend)

2. Selecting the GIVbacks recipients

• After the round ends we will use the data we receive from the round with Google API 4 to choose 5 random donations whose donors will split the pool of GIVbacks for that round (in the initial phase, this will be 1/2 the total GIVbacks from the round).
• Before announcing the winner, our recirculation team will review the 5 donations that were selected to ensure that funds were not recirculated. If recirculation is identified, we will randomly determine the next winner.

3. GIVbacks Tiers

• The randomly selected GIVbacks recipients will get GIV back according to the following “tiers”:
  • 1st place: 50% of the GIV pool
  • 2nd place: 25% of the GIV pool
  • 3rd place: 15% of the GIV pool
  • 4th places & 5th places: 5% of the GIV pool each
• Each donor can only win one prize per round.
• The GIV pool size will be proportional to the total amount donated in that period (as it always has been)

4. Announcement & Distribution

• Winners will be announced biweekly through Twitter Spaces, where we will announce which donations (to which projects) were the “winning donations”.
• Each Twitter space will have a different theme, that aims to build and strengthen our community of donors. E.g. "People Who Donate: The Lifestyle of Donors Around the World".
• Each show will run for one hour and will include an intro, episode theme, special guest, donor highlight the “winning draw” and a final closing out/final words and thoughts from Griff. The main host will be Giveth and the two Co-Hosts will be Aubtoshi & Griff.
• GIV for V2 will be distributed via multisig txs (allocating a GIVstream to the 5 recipients).

Things that won’t change in V2 compared to V1

• The maximum GIVbacks pool per round will be 1 million GIV and the amount distributed will be less if there are not many donations to verified projects.
• GIVbacks rounds will still happen continuously - as soon as one round ends, the next begins
• GIVbacks rounds will last 2 weeks and will be numbered the same.
• GIVbacks will still need to be “claimed”, and they will be subject to the GIVstream.
• GIVpower users still affect which projects offer the most incentives to donors, because the top-booted projects give the donor a greater likelihood of winning.
• GIVpower parameters stay the same.

Conclusion

This proposal for GIVbacks V2 is a really promising solution to existing scalability problems, by:

• Limiting GIVbacks recipients limits recirculation review required per round
• Limiting distribution transactions alleviates our dependence on Aragon & EVMcrispr
• Ensuring each donor can only win one prize limits the monopoly a large donor can have over the GIVbacks pool (in many rounds one donor took over ½ the GIVbacks)
• Biweekly donor-focused Twitter spaces & the introduction of the element of “chance” aims to organically build, strength & engage our community of donors

GIVbacks has always been about “rewarding and empowering those who give.” With GIVbacks V2, we’re enhancing this mission by introducing a system that doesn’t just reward donors—it gives every donation the potential for a big win, both for the donor and the causes they support. It adds an element of excitement and anticipation, and encourages a wider community to engage and support public goods.