We’re excited to announce that ReFi DAO has launched our community and funding pools on Gardens! 
Gardens has been integrated as one of ReFi DAO’s core infrastructure tools, enabling our community to fund regenerative initiatives through democratic conviction-based voting. During GG23, we secured matching funds from the Gitcoin Gardens round to boost our funding capacity.
What is Gardens?
Gardens is a decentralized funding platform that lets communities democratically fund projects through conviction voting. It’s designed specifically for web3 ecosystems working on public goods, providing tools to coordinate, make decisions, and govern resources with an emphasis on healthy, open, and democratic community experiences.
How it works:
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Support proposals by allocating your voting power
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Your support grows stronger over time (50% every 7 days)
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Sustained backing carries more weight than quick decisions
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When proposals reach the threshold, they get funded automatically
Why conviction voting? It rewards genuine, persistent community support and prevents last-minute manipulation of funding decisions.
Learn more about Gardens 
https://www.gardens.fund/
Our Two Initial Funding Pools
Pools Details:
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Voting System: One person, one vote (fixed weight using USDGLO)
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Eligibility: Open to wallets lvl 3 and above - see ReFi DAO Contribution Points - on the allowlist. New addresses are added regularly; if you’re a member and your wallet isn’t yet included, please contact us to be added.
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Covenant Alignment: All proposals must align with our community values
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Total Funding: 5.8k USDGLO (3k from ReFi DAO treasury + 2.8k matching from Gitcoin Gardens GG23 round)
ReFi Local Node Kickstarter Pool
Providing initial funding for new ReFi Local Nodes to kickstart activities that bring regenerative finance (ReFi) principles to local communities. This might include organizing events, workshops, meetups, or other local touchpoints that deepen understanding and engagement with ReFi solutions.
Goals:
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Empower new Local Nodes by providing seed capital for their first regenerative finance initiatives
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Foster community growth in diverse regions, ensuring local groups can organize, educate, and experiment with ReFi solutions
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Accelerate real-world impact by supporting events, pilots, and projects that align with ReFi DAO’s mission and values
Key Requirements:
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Early-Stage Focus: Proposals must be created by (or on behalf of) a newly formed or recently launched ReFi Local Node
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Clear Activity Plan: Each request should specify which activities or events the funds will support
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Maximum Funding: Up to 500 USDGLO (17.9% of the pool) per proposal
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Alignment: Must follow the Local Node Onboarding Guide and align with ReFi DAO’s mission
Initial pool funding: 2.8k USDGLO
ReFi DAO Network Initiatives Pool
Designed to fund and reward community-led proposals that advance ReFi DAO’s broader network goals. Initiatives could include new platforms, research, content production, collaborative gatherings, or other ventures that bring collective benefits to ReFi DAO’s network.
Goals:
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Encourage network innovation by funding initiatives that advance ReFi DAO’s impact, tooling, and community-building efforts
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Foster collaboration among Core Stewards, Contributors, Advisors, Local Nodes, and active community members
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Strengthen ReFi DAO’s community through accessible micro-grants that reward valuable contributions and experimentation
Key Requirements:
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Direct Benefit to ReFi DAO: Each proposal must demonstrate how it will strengthen or expand the DAO’s impact, tooling, or culture
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Membership Required: Must be led by a ReFi DAO Member (Core Stewards, Contributors, Advisors, Local Node Leads, or Network Members)
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Maximum Funding: Up to 3k USDGLO (100% of the pool) per proposal - higher requests require more conviction to pass
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Process: Must go through the Network Initiative Onboarding Guide
Initial pool funding: 2.8k USDGLO
How to Participate & Get Started
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Join ReFi DAO: Follow the Network Member Onboarding Guide to become a Network Member
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Access Gardens: Visit our Gardens community and register with USDGLO
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Support or Create: Browse existing proposals and add your conviction, or create your own proposal
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Watch Impact Grow: The longer you support a proposal, the stronger your voting power becomes
Visit our Gardens community: ReFi DAO Garden
Learn more on ReFi DAO’s Resources Hub: ReFi DAO Garden - Funding Pools
Future Developments
Additional Funding Pools
As our community grows and evolves, we’re open to exploring additional funding pools that could serve specific needs within the ReFi DAO network.
Signaling Pools - Community Sentiment & Decision Making
Beyond funding, Gardens offers signaling pools - a powerful tool for gauging community sentiment and guiding collective decision-making. Unlike funding pools, signaling pools don’t distribute money but instead measure community support or opposition to proposals, helping us understand what matters most to our network.
Potential use cases we’re excited to explore:
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Election processes for leadership roles and working group coordinators
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Curated lists for recommended tools, partners, or best practices
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Strategic direction polling on ReFi DAO’s priorities and focus areas
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Governance proposals for changes to our processes and structures
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Resource allocation priorities to guide future funding decisions
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Community standards and covenant updates
We want YOUR input! 
What topics would you like to see the ReFi DAO community signal on? How could we use conviction-based sentiment polling to improve our coordination and decision-making?
Share your suggestions, ideas, and feedback! Gardens gives us powerful tools for collective intelligence, and we’re excited to experiment with how they can best serve the ecosystem.
This is part of ReFi DAO 2.0’s infrastructure rollout, empowering our network to take initiative and drive collectively the evolution of ReFi DAO and the entire movement! 