Hey all,

Did you know that Gitcoin’s been focused on funding open source since it’s start in 2017?

Here is a fun little visual overview of how we’ve represented that mission.

(Many of these can be independently viewed on archive.org 4 or google images.)

2017

In 2017, we stated our mission as Push Open Source Forward.

Checkout our launch video from 2017!

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And also this launch article that I somehow got published in Forbes (today we get free press because of our impact 1 - back then no one was writing about us unless i worked hard to get their attention!):

2018

In 2018, we evolved it to focus more on Open Source. This was a recognition that open source didnt need a “push”. It needed to grown - cultivated, like a garden.

You start to see more tree/plant based iconography during this era. (hey btw did you know that classic gitcoin tees are still for sale??!?)

2019

In 2019, during the great bear, we focused on articulating our view of the world + what web3 could do.

2020

A further articulation of our values (or… probably more likely… what I as founder/CEO wanted our values to be - in hindsight, we never did a good job of building consensus around them)

2021

In 2021, we revamped gitcoin.co/mission to look like this:

These values were pulled out of our heads (the Gitcoin Holdings team) by the great minds at Other Internet 2 (thanks @Toby !). Take a look at how they helped us arrive at this position here 3.

2022 / DAO articulation of mission

As of late 2021 and 2022, as the DAO has grown legs of it’s own, it has started to build consensus about what it’s mission is. Checkout this post to see a draft of that mission statement 4

Here is how https://primer.gitcoindao.com/ 2 (a tool built by the MMM workstream) visualizes those values/mission

We’ve always been Mission-first

I am very proud that Gitcoin through all of the years & all of the changes to tactics, has always been focused on the same north star. As our momentum has grown, we’ve cartographied the territory more, & our hearts have opened further, it has even expanded from Open Source to other public goods.

This is a progression I see:
From Open Source Funding > Open Source Funding & Public Goods Funding > Funding Public Goods as a means to create Human Thriving

I also see a progression from
Kevin aritculates our mission/values => Other Internet helps us articulate our mission/values with Gitcoin Holdings => GitcoinDAO articulates its mission/values through its own means.

I’d be curious how else the community would like to see this mission articulated into the future.a