# What is the Gitcoin Grants program?

The Gitcoin Grants Program is a quarterly initiative run by Gitcoin that empowers everyday believers in web3 to drive funding toward what they believe matters, with the impact of individual donations being magnified by the use of the [Quadratic Funding (QF)](https://wtfisqf.com/) distribution mechanism. QF was introduced in a [paper](https://arxiv.org/abs/1809.06421v1) published in 2018 by Vitalik Buterin, Zoe Hitzig, and Glen Weyl.

Gitcoin’s mission began in 2017 by creating better incentives to support and fund open-source software developers. The mission eventually solidified to building and sustaining digital public goods. GR1, in 2019, saw 200 contributors and **$38k** raised. Since then, we have run two-week rounds once per quarter, with the most recent being GR15, which saw a total of **$4.4M** distributed to grantees. Across the first 15 grant rounds, $**50.82M** has been distributed in total.

During a QF round, the community contributes to the project they feel should be funded and supported; a matching partner offers funds to match the community’s contributions, but not in a 1:1 match. Instead, the fund matching is more aligned with the sentiment of the community as opposed to the sheer dollar value amount raised by any grantee. The *number of contributions* matters more than the *amount funded.*

*‍*If you want to keep up to date on our current and upcoming rounds, make sure to check the [Grantee Portal](https://gitcoin.notion.site/Gitcoin-Grantee-Portal-6adfc92627474bd48a5dfcd1e8438d20) often or sign up for email updates by going to [Gitcoin.co](https://www.gitcoin.co/), scrolling to the bottom of the page and filling out the form, checking the box “Funding my Project” and submitting your info.

{% embed url="<https://medium.com/gitcoin/experiments-with-liberal-radicalism-ad68e02efd4>" %}

Have more questions? They might already be answered in our grants FAQs. If not, you can [email our support team](mailto:support@gitcoin.co).

### Related topics

{% content-ref url="/pages/rNaD0vsm0zurDFbu4Im0" %}
[Broken mention](broken://pages/rNaD0vsm0zurDFbu4Im0)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/wdXeHCJfyTGqODDZvPQC" %}
[Broken mention](broken://pages/wdXeHCJfyTGqODDZvPQC)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/brHzfSHpA6QK50nftG5t" %}
[Gitcoin Grants FAQ](/gitcoin-knowledge-base/gitcoin-grants/general-questions.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://support.gitcoin.co/gitcoin-knowledge-base/gitcoin-grants/what-is-a-grant.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.