voting FOR, with POAP - $69,300 the current offchain proposal because the proposer has incorporated most of the feedback from delegates and this team has a proven track record of delivering value for Arbitrum for a while now
I also bought the 804.770,97 ARB of voting power available in lobbyfi.xyz to vote FOR, with POAP - $69,300 in this offchain proposal Arbitrum One Transaction Hash (Txhash) Details | Arbitrum One
Also, according to the original 2025 Events Budget proposal, this funding request can only be done through said budget if the current offchain vote for this event achieves at least 3% of quorum. At the start time of the offchain vote, 3% of quorum is 122,920,794.51 123,154,471.08 ARB that would need to be casted on either the FOR, with POAP - $69,300, FOR, without POAP - $55,800, or Abstain vote choices on Snapshot.
@Entropy can you confirm if this is correct?
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We can confirm - thank you for pointing this out.
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In the snapshot vote 
: FOR 、WITH POAP, $69,300)
Reason:
This proposal will significantly enhance Arbitrum’s brand influence, attract high-quality developers, and promote the growth of the Eastern European community, making it a strategic investment. I believe the cost is reasonable and necessary, so I cast my vote in support (including POAP, $69,300).
ETH Bucharest is one of the most influential Ethereum events in Eastern Europe. As a major partner, Arbitrum will be able to establish stronger brand recognition and technical awareness among developers, industry professionals, and enthusiasts through booths, presentations, and workshops. In particular, the promotion of Stylus technology will further solidify Arbitrum’s leadership in the Layer 2 space.
The design of the hackathon and bounty tracks, especially the focus on real-world use cases, will attract high-quality developer teams and startups to the ecosystem. This not only fosters technical innovation but also drives the adoption and application of Arbitrum among European developers.
Interestingly, this collaboration not only provides high exposure but also enhances attendee engagement and community involvement through POAP activation, helping Arbitrum expand its ecosystem in Eastern Europe while boosting awareness of Layer 2 technology.
Direct funding through the DAO event budget avoids Questbook approval delays, making event planning more efficient. Additionally, the discount included in the proposal further optimizes cost-effectiveness.
My focus points:
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Ensuring a detailed post-event report is submitted, including metrics on attendee numbers, hackathon project quality, and brand impact analysis, to measure the actual outcomes of this investment.
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Monitoring the outcomes of the open track to ensure it not only drives technological innovation but also attracts non-technical contributors to form more well-rounded startup teams.
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Understanding the concerns of entropy for this, I might want to highlight that the discontinuity of programs, in this case the D.A.O. grants program, is something that is causing most of this situation, and should be generally tackled better by us as a collective (one of the reason why we gonna move to a 1y program instead of 6 months over 6 months).
That said, and because of the reason above, I am voting in favor with no poap. I don’t necessarily share the concerns about the dao event budget since this will be fixed, hopefully, in a couple of months; but at the same time I don’t see the benefit to add 15k of costs which are an increase of 25% and counting on top of the base of 55k.
I think the organizers are doing a great job tho and that these events can become de facto a staple for the eth and arb community in countries that don’t necessarily have one “champion” yet.
Full support on my side, hoping to have the time to drop there by the time is live 
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Confirming that the vote has been cast from our side “FOR, with POAP” right after the voting power has been acquired by @paulofonseca.
P.S.: would love to visit ETH Bucharest in 2025!
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Hello, I voted in favor but not for the POAP. Thanks for the breakdown in costs above, but maybe could it be worth to coordinate with the Arbitrum Foundation, make them own all the POAP related material, and the customize it for this event at a lower cost? So we can reutilize it in future.
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Hi! I will vote against this proposal.
I believe the team is excellent, and the work you did during the hackathon was very interesting.
However, I honestly do not find the budget sufficiently justified to approve such a large expense for an event targeting 1,000 attendees.
If we look at the budgets approved by Questbook in Season 2 (which underwent much greater scrutiny by the Domain Allocator), we can find similar sponsorships for significantly less money.
I understand that the need to approach the DAO directly instead of going through the Domain Allocator stems from the timing of the event and the fact that Season 3 will only become active in mid-February.
However, this does not change the fact that, in my opinion, such a high budget is not sufficiently justified. Supporting documents could have been provided, such as a breakdown of the costs being covered (as seen in Questbook) or comparisons with other events, highlighting the cost-benefit ratio.
This elevated level of scrutiny stems from the fact that through the DDA program, the DAO has already set a precedent for the amount it is willing to allocate to this type of sponsorship (50k max).
Therefore, if a proposal of this nature is to be reviewed by the DAO instead of the Domain Allocator and seeks more funds than what is typically approved for such sponsorships, I expect the level of detail to be exceptionally high.
Additionally, the final report on last year’s hackathon revealed that a little over 50% of its total cost went toward paying the teams that worked on implementing the proposal, which I find excessively high. This proposal does not disclose any information regarding this aspect.
Nor were my questions convincingly answered:
The TLDR is that it remains unclear who will be responsible for executing everything that has been promised. I believe approving such a high budget without more precise details sets a poor precedent.
Finally, the fulfillment of milestones is not tied to the release of funds, meaning the DAO has no guarantees that all the promises will be executed at the quality level the sponsorship amount implies. This is particularly relevant to my questions about who is committed to delivering the talks, workshops, and ensuring the DAO’s presence at the booth.
That said, understanding that time constraints make it difficult to wait for the Domain Allocator, I am willing to reconsider my vote and support the proposal if the budget is either better justified or significantly reduced to align more closely with the amounts approved by the Events Domain Allocator.
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I will vote FOR (with POAP, $69,300) to support this proposal.
Voting Reasons:
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After researching, I found this to be one of the most important Ethereum events. Sponsorship can enhance Arbitrum’s technical leadership. Even if it’s not a big success, ARB must have a presence at the event.
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The design of the Hackathon and Open Track aims to diversify and strengthen the Arbitrum ecosystem. Any ecosystem relies on exceptional developers. Even if there’s no immediate success, supporting such events is essential.
Additional Suggestions:
While I’m not familiar with the budget details, I hope the event will be a success. I suggest:
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Providing a detailed post-event report, including participation numbers, hackathon outcomes, and branding impact.
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Tracking the event’s long-term effects, ensuring developers stay within the ecosystem.
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Collaborating with Arbitrum’s ecosystem investment funds to connect outstanding projects from the event with resources, offering incubation, funding, and in-depth developer support programs to solidify the event’s long-term value.
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I looked through the questions and answers.
I didn’t see the following:
- I don’t see POAP in the official PDF file from the organizers. What kind of personal initiative is this that costs $14k?
- I see that Arbitrum (apparently Foundation) is already a sponsor of the event. Why do we have duplicate sponsorship? We discussed this last year and the problem still remains.
- I don’t understand why, with a large number of sponsorship options, we are only considering the most expensive ones (considering that Arbitrum is already a sponsor)
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I support this proposal and believe Arbitrum’s presence at this event is important. I have stated before that we should prioritize being present at events like this to strengthen its visibility and engagement within the ecosystem.
I second Entropy’s concern about the administrative burden on delegates when reviewing high-budget proposals like this. It’s something the DAO should address moving forward to streamline the process and avoid unnecessary strain. A detailed post-event reporting will be helpful to justify future funding for the same or similar events.
Regarding ROI, as Danielo mentioned, it’s challenging to have clear, results-driven outcomes from sponsorships and marketing efforts. However, I see this as an opportunity to attract talent to the ecosystem. While there are no guarantees of immediate returns, it’s an investment to keep doors open for future value creation.
I will be voting FOR this proposal on Snapshot, including the POAP activation.
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I just cast my vote on Snapshot as 'FOR, without POAP.’ As I mentioned in my earlier comments, I think this is a fantastic event (with an incredible venue) where Arbitrum absolutely should have a presence. While I liked the idea of the POAP, I found it too expensive, especially given the already high budget for this event compared to similar sponsorships in the past. Wishing you all the best, and I’ll do my best to make it to Bucharest!
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I just voted “FOR, with POAP” on Snapshot. Excellent proposal, very well-detailed breakdown of the activities, workshops, and talks planned for the event. The timing of the proposal and the step-by-step approach, I believe, guarantee an early start to prepare everything related to branding. I think the cost-benefit ratio of the event in terms of space and exposure time is very fair. It’s an opportunity to network with other sponsors and attendees. I consider it important to use POAP for an event of this magnitude, but if the majority votes against it, we could opt for more economical options like “GitPOAP” (free) and “Mintkudos” (low cost). Both allow you to create custom badges and manage credentials.
Something that could be included in the budget is the generation of valuable video and photo content (professional) during the event to communicate Arbitrum’s presence afterwards. This content would be valuable for the marketing team.
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We support sponsoring ETH Bucharest 2025 as it offers a valuable platform for Arbitrum to showcase Stylus, engage with developers, and expand its ecosystem in a key region. The proposed workshops, hackathon bounties, and prime visibility are well-aligned with Arbitrum’s goals and provide significant opportunities for ecosystem growth. While we think the POAP activation is a creative way to get attendees involved and highlight Arbitrum’s technology, we find it too expensive for the value it adds. Therefore, we will vote for the proposal without the POAP add-on. We appreciate the team’s flexibility in considering feedback and believe focusing on optimizing hackathon engagement, improving developer follow-up support, and tracking outcomes will further enhance the event’s impact and efficiency.
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I have voted AGAINST as I could not find sufficient details on who will be attending this event from Arbitrum Foundation, offchain labs or key people from Arbitrum DAO.
At Gitcoin we have seen that sponsoring events without attendance from its high context people is low RoI. So until i know who is there to ensure our sponsorship gives bang for the buck, i need to vote against.
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Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment and support, @Ignas ! 
We’re glad to hear you see the value of ETH Bucharest as a platform for boosting Arbitrum’s presence in Eastern Europe.
We appreciate you taking the time to weigh the options and share your reasoning. We agree that the POAP activation adds a unique element to community engagement, and your vote of confidence in this approach means a lot to us. If there’s anything further you’d like to discuss or suggest, feel free to let us know!
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Thank you, @paulofonseca , for pointing out the quorum requirement tied to the Events Budget. You’re absolutely correct that this offchain vote must achieve at least 3% of quorum to align with the guidelines set in the 2025 Events Budget proposal.
We’re closely monitoring the voting process to ensure this threshold is met, and we’re grateful for the community’s engagement in reviewing and supporting the proposal. Your attention to these details is invaluable, and we appreciate your due diligence.
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Thank you, @JoJo , for your thoughtful support and for highlighting the broader context around the discontinuity of programs like the DAO grants. We agree that moving to a longer-term structure will help mitigate these challenges in the future.
We also appreciate your vote in favor, even without the POAP. While we believe the POAP activation would provide added engagement and visibility for Arbitrum, we respect the feedback around cost considerations and have structured the proposal to provide a clear option for delegates to vote without it.
Thank you again for your kind words about the organizers and the potential of ETH Bucharest to become a key event for both the Ethereum and Arbitrum communities. We hope to see you there in April!
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Thank you so much for your thoughtful and detailed feedback, @duokongcrypto ! We deeply appreciate your support and the recognition of ETH Bucharest’s potential to enhance Arbitrum’s brand influence and ecosystem growth in Eastern Europe.
We’re thrilled that you see the strategic value in both the core sponsorship and the POAP activation, as well as the unique opportunity to promote Stylus technology and attract high-quality developers through the hackathon and bounty tracks. Your points about fostering real-world use cases and innovation are central to our goals for this partnership.
Regarding your focus points:
- Post-Event Report: We fully agree that transparency and measurable outcomes are essential. A comprehensive post-event report, including metrics on attendee engagement, hackathon project quality, and brand impact, will be a priority.
- General Track Outcomes: Attracting multidisciplinary teams, including non-technical contributors, is a core objective of the General Track, and we’ll ensure that the judging process emphasizes the importance of well-rounded team compositions.
Thank you again for your insightful feedback and support for this proposal. We’re excited about the opportunity to make a lasting impact with Arbitrum at ETH Bucharest 2025!