Gitcoin GG20: Community Rounds at Scale

Background

Gitcoin Grants 20 in April 2024 showcased the evolution of Gitcoin from a single platform to an ecosystem of community-run funding rounds. Multiple independent communities ran their own QF rounds using Grants Stack infrastructure.

The Model

GG20 featured:

• Core Gitcoin-organized rounds (Web3 OSS, Climate, etc.)
• Community partner rounds with independent matching pools
• Shared sybil resistance via Gitcoin Passport
• Decentralized round management

Key Rounds

Several notable rounds ran:

• Web3 Open Source Software: Core infrastructure funding
• Climate Solutions: Environmental impact projects
• Ethereum Infrastructure: Protocol-level tooling
• Community rounds: Partner-organized thematic rounds

Outcomes

The round demonstrated that QF can scale through decentralization:

• Multiple communities successfully ran independent rounds
• Diverse funding sources provided matching pools
• Reduced centralization on Gitcoin core team
• Quality varied by round operator experience

Sybil Resistance

Gitcoin Passport provided unified sybil resistance:

• Users collect verifiable credentials
• Passport scores determine matching weight
• Shared across all rounds for efficiency
• Continuously improving detection