Establishing a DAO Events Budget for 2025

Ogh, means I read it wrong, thanks for the clarifications.

Will they be subjected to an RFP? :smiley:

That’s great and I believe is how things have been working for the past year. The DAs are doing an excelent job, one thing I would add and personally think would be great is if the DAO will assign :official" representatives to those events. Web3 sometimes has an alignment problem when it comes to events-some events benefit the organizers more than the funder body(and yield superficial results) and would be cool if Arb Dao would avoid those situations as much as possible.

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Below are the opinions of the UADP:

Given the bit of disorder that came from multiple event-based proposals in the past couple of months, we welcome this proposal. Hack Humanity’s Bangkok proposal, for instance, came last minute and had to go through a formal governance process before having the capital in their pocket to pay for the venue, etc. Last-minute event planning should ideally have been addressed after the one-off EthCC proposal. This preset budget for 2025 will ideally help with organization and foresight.

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I voted in favour of this proposal on temp check. Advertising expenses are always important, especially when other teams and organizations are doing it. Sponsoring events is important for Arbitrum.

Before my on-chain vote:

  • It’s still not 100% perfectly clear to me why should this be done through the DAO instead of the Foundation, or Offchain Labs? Who was paying for this before the DAO existed?

  • It would be very helpful to have a deeper breakdown of expenses (although estimates per events were given, I saw). Will a report be published afterwards? How much time after each event? Deadlines?

  • I̶t̶’̶s̶ ̶u̶n̶c̶l̶e̶a̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶p̶e̶n̶s̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶b̶e̶h̶i̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶p̶o̶s̶a̶l̶ ̶(̶E̶n̶t̶r̶o̶p̶y̶ ̶A̶d̶v̶i̶s̶o̶r̶s̶,̶ ̶D̶i̶s̶r̶u̶p̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶J̶o̶e̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶A̶D̶P̶C̶)̶.̶ ̶A̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶g̶e̶t̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶ ̶c̶u̶t̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶$̶1̶,̶5̶0̶0̶,̶0̶0̶0̶?̶ ̶@̶E̶n̶t̶r̶o̶p̶y̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶ ̶m̶e̶n̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶n̶’̶t̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶m̶s̶ ̶u̶n̶u̶s̶u̶a̶l̶?̶

  • EDIT: Point discussed via TG, this is part -and included- of Entropy’s OG proposal (link), and ADPC work events is also in their scope, so nothing additional is charged

My apologies if any of this has been answered in detail, I read all replies and didn’t find it. Supportive on this stage, attentive for feedback for the on-chain vote, which is active right now and a deadline in 14 days.

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Voted FOR: Establishing a DAO Events Budget for 2025

Proposal link: Establishing a DAO Events Budget for 2025

Voting Rationale Link: Alex Lumley (Savvy DAO) Delegate Communication Thread - #32 by AlexLumley

=== COMMENTING ON PROPOSAL: ===

This proposal offers a structured, pre-approved events budget for 2025, addressing challenges that arose from last-minute event planning in 2024. By establishing a dedicated budget managed by Entropy, ADPC, and Disruption Joe, this initiative seeks to streamline event planning and enhance Arbitrum’s presence at critical industry events. The focus on both Delegate Gatherings and Ecosystem Growth Events ensures that DAO activities can be better organized, more impactful, and strategically aligned with the broader goals of the Arbitrum community.

One area of feedback involves ensuring diverse representation in event locations, especially given feedback on the absence of Asian events like Token2049 Dubai. The proposal wisely incorporates a flexible process, allowing contributors to bring forth new event ideas through Snapshot votes, which helps ensure regional representation. Additionally, for events under $50,000, the Questbook program will be utilized to avoid unnecessary governance overload on smaller initiatives.

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I vote FOR this proposal. In my opinion, the competition among Layer 2 solutions is currently very fierce, given the huge potential market at stake. Now is the right moment to invest and leverage the DAO Treasury to attract as many builders as possible.

In my view, a $1.5M budget is appropriately sized for a project as significant as Arbitrum. If we do a quick benchmark with 1inchDAO Events budget for 2024, it amounts to $1.6M all the details here. Like many others, I would appreciate some clear KPIs so that continuous improvement can be implemented.

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Voting FOR.

Many have pointed out the need to have better accountability in these project and I think this concern is justified but I also think the individuals and entities in charge will correctly report and communicate the utilization of funds. It is important to consider that having presence in major events is an important part of the ecosystem growth and it could also help with enhancing collaboration.

My rationale for the vote is based on the idea that having a presence in major events is essential for Arbitrum. These events will help ecosystem growth, visibility, community engagement, and strategic development. It will bring increased visibility and brand awareness, help the Arbitrum ecosystem stay relevant, strengthen its credibility and attract talent.

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This proposal provides a clear direction for Arbitrum’s campaign budget and strategy for 2025, helping to manage campaign funds flexibly by adding dynamic budgets and transparent evaluation mechanisms, giving the community a clear view of how each budget is being spent and how effective it is.
There was a comment submitted earlier, unfortunately it is missing.

Suggestions:
1、 Although the pre-set budget increases flexibility, it is recommended that the budget be evaluated on a quarterly or half-yearly basis, and dynamically adjusted according to the effect of the activity and changes in the market environment to ensure optimal results in resource allocation.
2. The proposal sets up a flexible budget, but how exactly does it ensure the supervision of the use of funds? Is there a specialized team or process to review the use and allocation of campaign funds? The relevant proposal needs to be refined here.
3. It is proposed to establish a data collection mechanism after each activity, including user participation, media exposure, feedback, etc., to form an activity report for the community’s reference, so that the DAO can evaluate the effectiveness of the activity based on the data and optimize the future activity strategy.
4、It is recommended to have a long-term tracking and feedback mechanism for market coverage and brand promotion to ensure the continuity of the campaign effect and provide data support for future marketing.

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I agree with Establishing a DAO Events Budget for 2025 - #60 by ZER8

A more decentralized approach to selecting events would ensure broader coverage, reduce the likelihood of missed opportunities, and better reflect the interests of the entire DAO community. Allowing the DAO to weigh in would create a more balanced approach, leveraging diverse perspectives and maximizing the potential impact of each event. This way, decisions align more closely with the community’s goals and strengthen the DAO’s outreach and influence.

That’s why I understand the position of Establishing a DAO Events Budget for 2025 - #59 by Mehdi_eth. We need to have a choice to vote for the locations, because not all people have the opportunity of visiting North America and Europe. Many people live in Asia and South America. This locations would help address these barriers, ensuring that the DAO’s events are accessible to a broader, more representative audience. This adjustment would ultimately strengthen community engagement and ensure that voices from all regions are effectively included in DAO activities.

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I vote in favor of this proposal in Tally for the same reasons stated during the vote in Snapshot.

Additionally, @Entropy addressed my doubts in their last response. I’m excited to see how this budget fosters Arbitrum’s presence at the best events in 2025!

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I voted for on this proposal on Tally. The budget is reasonable since it has mostly support on the Snapshot vote. With a clear view of the event budget for 2025, it will help the DAO organize events more effectively and respond quickly to new opportunities, so attracting more participants :slightly_smiling_face:

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We appreciate the questions @olimpio, please find some additional context below:

Before the DAO existed, Offchain Labs was responsible for organizing and paying for Arbitrum related events. While they still have an events team, the Arbitrum Foundation has been scaling their own dedicated events team to take over this function. According to their recent 2024 H1 report, ~$5.26m was spent on “Events, Marketing, and Communications”. From Entropy’s understanding, this figure includes both the cost to organize & executive events and several key full-time employees across all three of those functions, but our team does not have exact figures to share.

We’d also point contributors to slides 19-27 of the 2024 H1 report that highlight previous events. These include major side events like Arbitrum Day at EthCC and sponsorship of conferences like the ETHDenver BUIDLathon & the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

While the DAO does not currently have the capability to organize a large event like Arbiverse or Arbitrum Day, it was envisioned that it could collaborate with the Foundation and OCL events team by helping bolster their budget strategically at the three mentioned conferences.

For example, Arbitrum’s booth at ETHDenver last year was only a 10x20 in the back corner of the trade floor. Compared this to Base and Near, who had major floor displays. Rather than compete with the Foundation’s plans for ETHDenver, the DAO can help support by providing additional resources.

It is important to note that this monetary support is more a secondary objective for the proposal. Its main purpose is to set aside a budget for event ideas, such as GovHack, that may be brought forward to the DAO.

Event proposals brought forward by individuals or service providers will be required to publish a post-event report. For the events mentioned above, Entropy will provide updates on how funds were spent. These will be posted after the event, likely no more than a few weeks afterwards. Below is the language included in the proposal:

The Foundation’s events team has communicated that they are still in the early stages of planning for ETHDenver. Once the scale of the sponsorship/adjacent events are confirmed, we will provide as best of a breakdown as possible and are committed to not releasing the funds until there is clarity for what they will be spent on. However, at this point in time we can’t speak to the exact breakdowns of each event because the events themselves have not been planned.

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I’m voting in favor on Tally for the same resons that I mentioned during the previous temp check phase. I’m also happy to see more clear details about the events. Here you can find my rationale: Establishing a DAO Events Budget for 2025 - #31 by 0x_ultra

I voted “FOR” on Tally. The reasoning remains the same.

Thank you @Entropy, I voted For in Tally (Reasoning)

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I voted FOR this proposal on Tally for the reasons outlined above.

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We find this proposal to be well-structured and strategically important for Arbitrum’s ecosystem development. The proposed framework effectively addresses several critical aspects of event management while maintaining appropriate checks and balances.

Strategic Value & Implementation The proposed approach demonstrates a good understanding of the challenges inherent in event planning and execution, particularly regarding the lengthy lead times and upfront capital requirements. The implementation of a pre-approved budget mechanism that enables faster execution through Snapshot voting (requiring 3% of votable token supply) is an efficient solution that balances agility with proper governance oversight.

Budget Allocation & Control The proposed budget of $1.5M (via 4M ARB) appears reasonable given:

  • The scope and scale of planned flagship events (ETHDenver, Bitcoin 2025, EthCC)
  • The need for flexibility in responding to emerging opportunities
  • The inclusion of proper financial controls through MSS and Foundation oversight
  • The commitment to return unused funds to the DAO treasury

Operational Framework The collaborative approach between Entropy Advisors, ADPC, and Disruption Joe, combined with their intention to work alongside OCL and the Arbitrum Foundation, creates a robust operational structure. This helps ensure alignment with broader ecosystem initiatives,prevention of competing or redundant events and efficient resource utilization.

One of the key aspects to be appreciated about the proposal is that it effectively upholds the decentralized and governance-oriented ethos of Arbitrum, by not introducing a centralized body that would determine the event strategy - but that it effectively leaves that up to the DAO and executes accordingly. The proposal should hence be perceived as more of an operational efficiency improvement rather than a fundamental change to how such decisions are made.

Overall, we are in support of this proposal as it represents a thoughtful approach to events management in the context of the Arbitrum ecosystem.

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I voted FOR this proposal on Tally. I think it provides a better system of organizing and funding DAO-related events.

As for whether to organize an Arbitrum-specific event not attached to any other conference, I think this sounds better on paper than in reality (at this point). I see for myself that when I travel to attend a crypto event, I choose to attend large conferences with many (side) events rather than to attend a smaller specific event with no other events around it (because it’s easier to justify the personal travel cost of attending a larger conference with side events). In the future, when the Arbitrum community grows, it could have its own major conference, but for now, let’s stick with side events attached to some major conference (e.g. an Ethereum conference or a non-crypto conference like krst from L2Beat proposed).

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The following reflects the views of the Lampros Labs DAO governance team, composed of Chain_L (@Blueweb), @Euphoria, and Hirangi Pandya (@Nyx), based on our combined research, analysis, and ideation.

We are voting FOR this proposal on Tally.

Attending key industry events is important for Arbitrum, as past events have proven valuable alongside those managed by the Foundation. This budget proposal, planned, should help prevent last-minute rushes due to the current 4-week confirmation period.

Rest our overall thoughts remain the same as expressed in our rationale during the Snapshot voting.

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voting Against this onchain proposal because I think the $1.5M USD annual budget is too short for a proper strategy for events organized by the DAO. We should transition from the current reality where most Arbitrum events are organized by Offchain Labs or the Arbitrum Foundation and they should start to be organized by service providers to the Arbitrum DAO. One can argue that the few examples of events that were organized by service providers, funded by Arbitrum DAO, were of better quality and with better outcomes, than those organized by Offchain Labs or the Arbitrum Foundation. In my opinion, Arbitrum DAO should have a $15M USD annual events budget, not $1.5M USD of which most of it is already earmarked for events that were not decided by the Arbitrum DAO. Also, these funds should really not go to the previous Entropy Advisors service provider payment multisig.

Voted For (same reason as Snapshot vote): Events are one of the most important channels for addressing our community. They also bring new users, projects, and developers to join Arbitrum. As leaders in the Ethereum ecosystem, we should have a very strong presence at as many events as possible. I understand that these things take time and require a lot of funds, but I think it’s worth it. Having a strategy and budget like this is a huge step in the right direction. It’s much better than the rest of our industry, where things are often decided ad hoc.

I would add that having KPI reports after each event would be awesome. This way, we could have measurable results for each one. In the beginning, there might not be enough data to draw conclusions, but over time, we could shape KPIs based on which we can make decisions for future events.