Summary
This proposal is requesting $50,000 USDC from the Forefront Treasury for a Gitcoin-powered public goods initiative. Of this $50,000, $25,000 will be donated as matching funds to the Gitcoin Grants Round 12 Advocacy Round, which focuses on helping to fund advocacy organizations like Fight for the Future who sit at the intersection of tech and crypto activism.
The remaining $25,000 will be used as matching funds for a "Forefront Side-Round," an opportunity for Forefront to fund key partners, organizations, and individuals within our community.
Motivation
From Gitcoin:
"Public goods create universally better outcomes for society. For those trapped in poverty, public goods are particularly essential, helping people meet basic needs. Public libraries for example --- assuming all else equal, can help educate the population indiscriminately (once again, this assumes the library offers truly equal opportunities to learn, and check out the resources needed).
Public Goods also serve those in privilege and power just as equally as those in poverty. We often don't notice it, but the majority of the value we consume in the world is public goods. After all, what value is your lambo to you if the sky is on fire? Funding Public Goods, ensuring they exist, and are accessible is often paramount to a society's advancement."
Forefront DAO is heavily dependent on public goods, from open source software to policy and research organizations pushing forward thinking and fighting for core principles of web3. Outside of the practical case, though, funding public goods is morally good. As the port of entry to web3, we have a responsibility to create and promote the culture that we want to see throughout the space. We should fund public goods because it is the right thing to do, and we should promote a culture that encourages the moral case rather than the practical one.
At the same time, Gitcoin's focus on Quadratic Funding is an exciting opportunity for Forefront to begin funding projects within our ecosystem to accelerate our progress as a DAO. The social token space is growing rapidly, and Forefront has the opportunity to establish itself as a critical pillar in the ecosystem.
Details
Advocacy Round
The Gitcoin Advocacy Round will be handled entirely by Gitcoin. Our only role will be funding ($25k) and promoting the round.
Forefront will be a matching partner. For more details on Gitcoin Grants, Quadratic Funding, and Matching Funds, please give this article a read. This is extremely important to understand how Gitcoin works and what Forefront's role will be.
Forefront Side-Round
In addition to the Gitcoin Advocacy Round, Gitcoin will support Forefront's own Side-Round. This will be an opportunity for the Forefront community to select and support key projects, partners, and stakeholders within our ecosystem. The Side-Round will also use Quadratic Funding ($25k matching funds), so please read the article linked above for more clarity.
We propose that Forefront DAO appoints a Side-Round Committee to coordinate the logistics of the Side-Round and select the projects that will be included for funding.
The Committee should include:
- One Forefront Staff member.
- One Culture Guild member.
- One Growth Guild member.
- One Writers Guild member.
Each Guild will be responsible for appointing a representative to the Side-Round Committee within three days of this proposal passing. The Committee will have full autonomy to develop a process to select projects for the Side-Round.
Next Steps
To make an informed decision, the community is highly encouraged to read this essay on Gitcoin, public goods, and quadratic funding.
After collecting community feedback, a formal proposal will be posted to Snapshot for voting.
Additionally, if you have any ideas for projects that should be included in the Forefront Side-Round, feel free to comment them here!
