I would like to nominate myself for the domain of “Education, Community Growth and Events”.
Name: Raj Karia
Your forum username: @raj
Twitter: twitter.com/rajkaria_
What is your experience in the interested domain? Please share links and supporting information.
I’ve been building truts.xyz which is a platform where you can discover web3 projects and we have a suite of tools that help with community engagement and loyalty. This helps me understand the problems community and ecosystem face on a day-to-day basis.
Before that, I was contributing and got involved with many communities/projects like BanklessDAO, Forefront, Aave, Compound, Aurora, and more in a personal capacity and was an active and passive contributor there. I have contributed to and explored almost 250+ web3 projects. I’ve learned a lot, so now I can quickly see what works and what doesn’t when it comes to growing a community.
I also created “academy.truts.xyz”, where people can find resources about different chains, defi projects, infra, technologies, and many more. I once taught Solidity to 100 developers in a close cohort and even spoke about blockchain at some universities in India. I’ve been a part of starting up 15+ blockchain clubs too. The above experiences would help me navigate through the proposals in the education sector and figure out what’s best for the ecosystem.
Do you have experience running in any other grant programs?
Yeah, I’ve been around the block with grants. I helped out with Polygon Grants in India. I also took a look at how other folks like Harmony, Near, Aurora, Aave, Solana, Polygon, Filecoin, Polkadot, Cardano were doing their grants to understand the ecosystem better and later offered help to few of these ecosystems.
My project, truts.xyz, even got some grants from places like Polygon, NEAR, and Filecoin, AAVE, Mantle (announcement for these are not done on social media). I have also helped multiple other friends in the ecosystem to draft their grant proposals for different chains and grant programs.
The edge I have is that I’ve seen grants from both sides – applying for them and approving them. It helps me really understand what makes a grant good or bad for the community/ecosystem. I think that experience could be really handy.
What would you like to see built on Arbitrum in your domain
I envision a thriving and interconnected ecosystem on Arbitrum that not only cultivates technological innovation but fosters a vibrant community and enhances education. Here’s how I picture it:
Education:
- Developer Onboarding: A comprehensive library of engaging videos, content, and tutorials designed to welcome and support developers at all levels.
- Global Awareness Workshops: Regular, hands-on workshops in various locations worldwide, demystifying Arbitrum and spreading awareness of its capabilities.
- Hackathons: Encouraging and facilitating both participation and organization of hackathons to ignite creativity and collaboration.
- Mentorship and Developer Relations: Targeted programs to cultivate a network of mentors and developer advocates who can passionately convey the potential of Arbitrum.
- Problem-Solving Initiatives: Specific Requests for Proposals (RFPs) focusing on real-world problems that can be innovatively solved using Arbitrum, driving targeted development.
Community:
- Interconnected Ecosystem: Creating synergies between different apps in the ecosystem, allowing for seamless interaction and collaboration.
- Retention Strategies: Implementing initiatives that celebrate community participation and loyalty, ensuring a dynamic and engaged ecosystem.
- Collaboration Enhancements: Developing tools and activities that facilitate collaboration, fostering a sense of belonging and collective purpose.
- Community Opportunities: Encouraging Dapps in the ecosystem to provide meaningful opportunities for community members to contribute and grow.
Events:
- Hackathon and Conference Presence: Building a robust presence at key developer hackathons and conferences, offering side-events that showcase Arbitrum’s strengths.
- University Outreach: Expanding educational reach by conducting university workshops, tailored to onboard the next generation of developers and advocates for Arbitrum.
What a good grant proposal looks like for you
A proposal that consist of all the below items and in a well described manner which is specific for the problem they are hoping to solve and arbitrum ecosystem would be a good grant proposal according to me.
- Funding Request: The amount being requested and a high-level summary of how the funds will be used.
- Title: A concise name for the project.
- Overview: Brief description, alignment with Arbitrum’s mission, and funding request.
- Problem Statement: The issue to be addressed with details and statistics if possible.
- Team’s Background: Relevant information about the team members.
- Goals: Clear and specific goals that are aligned with the Arbitrum’s focus areas.
- Audience & Innovation: Target beneficiaries, innovative aspects and how the project will impact Arbitrum ecosystem
- Approach & Timeline: Detailed strategy and realistic and well-thought-out project timeline, with milestones.
- Collaborations: Any relevant partnerships.
- Breakdown & Justification: Detailed budget and explanations for each item.
- Measurement & Sustainability: Criteria for success, sustainability plans, KPIs
- Impact: Explanation of how the project will contribute to social good, community development, or other relevant benefits.
- Risks & Mitigation: Identification and plans to address potential risks.
- Past Successes: Evidence of previous successful projects, if available.
Time commitment - You need to commit at least 15 hours of your time per week as a domain allocator, and what is the expected Turn Around Time (TAT) that the builders can expect from you?
Absolutely! I can commit to 15 hours a week or even more if needed. But it’s not just about the time; it’s about quality interactions too. Whether I accept or reject a proposal, I’ll provide thoughtful and constructive feedback. I believe that feedback can be a valuable learning experience, and I’m committed to helping builders understand my decisions. And when it comes to responsiveness, I promise a maximum Turn Around Time of 48 hours regardless of whether it is a weekday or a weekend. Time is precious, and I’ll be there to support the project every step of the way.
Declaration of Conflict of Interest
I don’t have any conflict of Interest as of now. Since what I am building is a discovery platform there’s a probability that projects applying for arbitrum grants might be listed on our platform but I will make sure to evaluate them without any particular interest. If in the future, there exists a conflict or a case of personal interest, I will talk with the program manager and stay out of that decision and notify everyone in the community the same.