Round 28 - GMC Call for Grant Applications - Deadline is September 7

Grants / Bounties
,
3

What is the work being proposed?

Ether Guild, a US Based Nonprofit, is proposing an IRL / Virtual course for persons to take to understand the Ethereum Economy and how their savings and financial activity is better for them onchain. Our primary goal is to explain blockchain technology and why an individual might want to save their Fiat on Ethereum & why an individual might want to save using a store of value asset with native yield - like Ether.

We also look to use funding from this grant to build out our online presence and tools to improve advocacy for the Ethereum Economy particularly toward the underbanked (which we are defining as limited financial service, especially when compared to Ethereum).

Is there any related work this builds off of?

The proposed work by Ether Guild builds off of the Protocol Guild’s efforts to sustain Ethereum’s technical contributors. The Protocol Guild focuses on advancing the network’s technical capabilities, while Ether Guild will focus on promoting and supporting ETH initiatives, such as education, advocacy, and community-building.

The two organizations have a symbiotic relationship, with the Protocol Guild’s technical advancements providing a foundation for Ether Guild’s efforts to promote ETH.

Ether Guild’s work on expanding ethismoney.xyz and promoting ETH will build on the Protocol Guild’s technical advancements, driving adoption and usage of the network.

Will the results of this project be entirely open source? If not, which parts will not be, why, and under what license will they be published?

All work will be open sourced.

Benefit

  1. If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people looking to stake ETH for rETH?

The successful completion of the grant would help increase the recognition and adoption of staked Ether, especially rETH, as a store of value asset. This could lead to more people looking to stake ETH for rETH, as they become more aware of the benefits and value proposition of staking Ether. Additionally, the increased adoption and recognition of staked Ether could lead to improved liquidity and usability for rETH, making it easier for people to stake ETH for rETH.

  1. If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help rETH holders?

The successful completion of the grant would help increase the value and recognition of rETH as a store of value asset. This could lead to increased demand and adoption of rETH. Additionally, the increased recognition and adoption of staked Ether could lead to improved liquidity and usability for rETH, making it easier for rETH holders to buy, sell, and use their tokens.

  1. If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people looking to run a Rocket Pool node for the first time?

The successful completion of the grant would help increase the recognition and adoption of staked Ether, including rETH, as a store of value asset. In fact, we believe the decentralized nature of the Rockpool Node Operator adds to the value of the Ethereum Economy & would be directly mentioned in the course to further bolster the value proposition of Ether, both vanilla and staked.

  1. If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people already running a Rocket Pool node?

The successful completion of the grant would help increase the value and recognition of rETH as a store of value asset, which could lead to increased demand and adoption of rETH. This could drive up the value of rETH and provide a better return on investment for node operators. Additionally, the increased recognition and adoption of staked Ether could lead to improved liquidity and usability for rETH, making it easier for node operators to buy, sell, and use their tokens.

  1. If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help the Rocket Pool community?

The successful completion of the grant would help increase the recognition and adoption of staked Ether, including rETH, as a store of value asset. This could lead to a stronger and more vibrant Rocket Pool community, as more people become aware of the benefits and value proposition of staked Ether and participate in the staking process. The increased adoption and recognition of staked Ether could also lead to improved collaboration and innovation within the Rocket Pool community, as more people work together to advance the ecosystem.

  1. If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help RPL holders?

The successful completion of the grant would help increase the value and recognition of rETH as a store of value asset, which could lead to increased demand and adoption of rETH. This could drive up the value of RPL, as RPL is used to secure the Rocket Pool network and participate in the staking process. Additionally, the increased recognition and adoption of staked Ether could lead to improved liquidity and usability for RPL, making it easier for RPL holders to buy, sell, and use their tokens.

Which other non-RPL protocols, DAOs, projects, or individuals, would stand to benefit from this grant?

The potential impact of the Ether Guild project, through promoting and supporting ETH initiatives, advancing the position of Ether and staked Ether as a store of value asset, and educating the world about the value proposition of ETH, has the potential to drive growth and adoption across the entire Ethereum ecosystem.

This could lead to a range of positive outcomes, including:

  • Increased adoption and usage of Ethereum-based applications and services
  • Growing demand for ETH and staked Ether tokens, including rETH
  • Improved liquidity and usability for ETH and staked Ether tokens
  • Increased recognition and credibility for the Ethereum ecosystem as a whole
  • More opportunities for innovation and collaboration within the Ethereum community

The entirety of Ethereum’s emerging economy could likely grow as a result of the Ether Guild project, which could have a positive impact on a wide range of stakeholders, including ETH holders, stakers, node operators, developers, and users.

Work

Who is doing the work?

The work for the Ether Guild project will be done by a team of individuals and organizations with a strong background in the Ethereum ecosystem. The team includes:

  1. Non-profit Board:
    • President: David Hoffman
    • Secretary: Ryan Sean Adams
    • Treasurer: Anthony Sassano
    • Backup Chairman: everdred
  2. Treasury Multisig:
    • David Hoffman (Bankless)
    • Anthony Sassano (The Daily Gwei)
    • Tobias Schreier (growthepie)
    • everdred (metal.build)
    • Grant Hummer (Etherealize)
  3. Working Group:
    • A cross-functional, cross-organizational effort from the above individuals, as well as:
      • Kaitlyn Smith (Bankess)
      • Kristi Klaudy (Bankless)
      • Matthias Seidl (growthepie)
      • Manish Gupta (growthepie)
      • Lorenz (growthepie)
      • James Dowen (Bankless)
      • Rachel (Bankless)
      • Gordon (Bankless)
      • a growing list of volunteer contributors and hackathon participants from across the ecosystem.

The team has a strong background in the Ethereum ecosystem, with many members being well-known and respected in the community. They have a proven track record of working together on various projects and initiatives, and are committed to advancing the mission of Ether Guild.

What is the background of the person(s) doing the work? What experience do they have with such projects in the past?

The Members of Ether Guild consist of a variety of developers and social media personalities that are very strong in the Ethereum Ethos and bring forth a plethora of experience to the table. Furthermore, the community consist of anons who do tasks on the Ether Guild Task board.

What is the breakdown of the proposed work, in terms of milestones and/or deadlines?

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Budget Allocation

Education Team Course Attendees: Achieve attendees of onchain economics (target: 100 attendees)

  • Saver Conversion Rate: 25% of Attendees move their savings to Arbitrum from a bank
  • Engagement Quality: 70% of attendees finish the course(s) and earn a soul bound token on Arbitrum

Social Media

  • Audience Expansion: Grow collective social following by 500 qualified Ethereum ecosystem participants monthly
  • Narrative Penetration: Achieve 50,000+ monthly impressions of core “Ethereum Economy” messaging
  • Community Activation: Generate 75+ meaningful community discussions monthly around capturing people from the banking system

Videos & Social

  • Content Impact: Produce 8 high-quality educational videos monthly with minimum 40% completion rate
  • Viral Coefficient: Achieve 1.2+ share rate on narrative-focused video content
  • Audience Education: Drive 30% increase in ethismoney.xyz dashboard usage following video campaigns

Operations and Legal Costs

  • Operational Efficiency: Maintain 99.5% uptime for ethismoney.xyz and etherguild.xyz platforms
  • Compliance Assurance: Achieve 100% regulatory compliance in all US-based operations
  • Resource Optimization: Reduce cost per community member by 15% through operational improvements

How will the work be maintained after delivery?

  1. Direct donations: Ether Guild plans to continue to receive direct donations from individuals and organizations, including creative experiments like the ETH is Money NFTs and community-driven crowdfunding.
  2. Public goods funding: Ether Guild plans to apply for public goods funding through platforms like Gitcoin, Octant, and Optimism, and grants for L2s and orgs that want to signal their alignment with the broader ecosystem support.
  3. Strategic engagement with large ETH holders: Ether Guild plans to engage with large ETH holders and mission-aligned entities who want to strengthen the long-term value of their investment by supporting ETH-focused public goods.

Additionally, Ether Guild plans to maintain an open and quarterly budget, ensuring responsible financial management and transparency. This will help to ensure that the project is sustainable and can continue to serve the broader community effectively after the grant ends.

It’s also worth noting that Ether Guild is applying for 501(c)(3) status, which will allow it to operate as a non-profit organization and receive tax-deductible donations. This will help to ensure the long-term sustainability of the project and allow it to continue to serve the Ethereum ecosystem.

Costs

What is the acceptance criteria?

What is the proposed payment schedule for the grant? How much USD $ and over what period of time is the applicant requesting?

15,000 USD over 12 months.

How will the GMC verify that the work delivered matches the proposed cadence?

We will most definitely maintain an open operating budget & our deliverables will be directly reported to Rocketpool.

What alternatives or options have been considered in order to save costs for the proposed project?

The team, at current, is all volunteer and no salaries are required. This is a strategic choice to advance Ether Guild’s mission and keep the organization swift & lean.

Have you already been compensated by the RP protocol in any way for this work?

No.

Conflict of Interest

Does the person or persons proposing the grant have any conflicts of interest to disclose? (Please disclose here if you are a member of the GMC or if any member of the GMC would benefit directly financially from the grant).

I don’t believe any members of our team are with the GMC, but I do know much of our team likes Rocketpool and has affiliated with them in some way in the past.

Will the recipient of the grant, or any protocol or project in which the recipient has a vested interest (other than Rocket Pool), benefit financially if the grant is successful?

No.

1 Like