Project Verification Processes and Guidelines

Giveth is progressively decentralizing its system of reviewing projects for legitimacy and determining if they are providing a public good. This system determines which projects provide rewards to their donors to those projects via the GIVbacks program as well as which projects are eligible to be boosted with GIVpower.

There are two statuses that project's can have that impact their eligiblity for GIVbacks and GIVpower: "Vouched" and "GIVbacks Eligible". Each of these have a unique flow and are recommended for different types of projects.

• GIVbacks Eligible projects are those that are providing a public good to the world, either physical or digital. We'll cover the criteria we look for further down in this article. These projects must fill out a GIVbacks eligiblity application and be approved by someone from the Giveth review team.
• "Vouched" projects are those that have been vouched for by 3 Giveth Verifiers. This means that the project isn't considered a public good but it is legitimate and has a trustworthy reputation.

We'll break down the details of each status and how they work.

Vouched Projects

Vouched Projects are linked to the activity of Giveth Verifiers, which are fundamental to our goals of decentralizing our project review system.

Giveth Verifiers

Giveth Verifiers are a group of trusted members of the Giveth community and Ethereum ecosystem. They are responsible for vouching for projects that they believe are legitimate and trustworthy. Currently Giveth Verifiers include Optimism Citizen House Badgeholders, Top Optimism Token Delegates as well as members of our project review team. More members will be added later through a forthcoming onboarding program.

Eligibility & Benefits

When a project that is not yet GIVbacks eligible has received 3 vouches from Giveth Verifiers it will become "Vouched". This will allow the project to be boosted by GIVpower.

How Vouching Works

Vouching happens using DeVouch, another product built by Giveth focused on building reputation systems for projects looking for funding in the Ethereum ecosystem.

While Vouched Projects are only influenced by vouches from Giveth Verifiers, anyone can vouch for a project on DeVouch. You can find a link to any Giveth project from that project's details page to their project page on DeVouch.

Here's a short video tutorial of how to vouch for a Giveth project on DeVouch:

GIVbacks Eligible Projects

GIVbacks Eligible projects are those that are providing a public good to the world, either physical or digital. In order to become a GIVbacks Eligible project you must fill out an application form and the application must be approved by someone from the Giveth review team.

Project owners can apply, after signing in, from their project page or by visiting the "My Project" page and clicking Apply for GIVbacks Eligiblity.

Benefits of Becoming a GIVbacks Eligible Project

• Create greater legitimacy for your Project.
• Build deeper trust and transparency with Donors.
• Make your project stand out! Get listed as a "GIVbacks Eligible" project on our platform and searchable by that category.
• GIV stakers will be able to boost your project with GIVpower. Yes, you can even boost your own project!
• Having the GIVbacks Eligible badge can increase your project's chances of participation in Giveth’s Quadratic Funding rounds.
• Participate in the GIVbacks program, which rewards donors for their donations. Once your project is GIVbacks eligible, the supporters who donate to your project will be rewarded with GIV tokens. GIVbacks eligibility will greatly increase the likelihood of your project receiving donations. Note that GIVbacks eligible project addresses will not receive GIVbacks rewards for donations made to their own project or any other GIVbacks Eligible projects. Please refer to the Disqualifying Measures outlined below.

Qualifying Measures for GIVbacks Eligibility

Are you interested in making your project GIVbacks eligible on Giveth? The application process will require some additional information about a project and the intended impact of the organization.

These are the top criteria we look for when approving any GIVbacks eligibility application:

• Action and Impact: We want to see that your project has a track record of making a difference in the world. An idea cannot be verified, but what we CAN verify is action and impact!

• Reputation: We need to know that your project has a following and support from the community. This includes having a strong online presence, non-profit status, or someone who can vouch for your project. You should be able to show us that your project has some skin in the game.

• Public Good: We're all about creating positive change in the world. If your project is focused on personal gain, it is not eligible for the GIVbacks program. We want to see that your project is oriented towards creating social benefits and improving some corner of the world somehow.

So, if you meet these criteria and are ready to take your project to the next level, let's get started!

After we receive your application, it will be reviewed by our team and a decision will be made. You can expect to receive the results via email within 2 weeks. Once approved, your project's status is updated on Giveth and it will be given a 'GIVbacks Eligible' badge. GIVbacks Eligible badges will automatically expire after 3 months of project inactivity. Be sure to share your progress with the world by adding regular updates!

Application Process

Let’s take a closer look at what will need to be provided when applying for verification!

A few things to consider before you start:

• If your project is a registered non-profit organization, you will need to upload verifiable proof to complete the form.
• You will need to provide a link to a public post made by your organization where you have shared a link to your Giveth project to prove that the project is indeed owned by the organization it claims to be.
• You will be required to submit a list of all wallet addresses used for managing funds within your project.
• You will want to ensure that your project description is up to date and includes media or links to external sites where the team can clearly see the evidence of your project’s actions.

Personal Info

In this section, we will collect your name, wallet address and ask you to verify your email. Once you click the 'Verify Email Address' button, you will be sent an email with a link for you to verify the email address attached to your profile.

Social Profiles

On this page, you should list any social media handles or accounts that can help the team learn more about who you are as a project owner. Connecting your social media accounts is a good way to show that you are who you say you are.

Registration

If your project is part of a registered non-profit organization, you will need to upload documentation to prove your registered status. We also ask that you provide a link to your country's government registry where the team can look up and confirm your status.

If your project is not part of a registered non-profit organization, the team will need to know more about how your organization is structured.

Project Contact

In case of necessary communications like questions about your application, QF round eligibility, or problems with your project, please supply your contact details in this section.

Important: You will also be asked to provide a link to a public statement made by your organization that includes a link to your Giveth project. This is to verify that the Giveth project is actually owned by the organization it claims to be. This can be done in the form of a social media post, via your website, in the readme file of your github repo or any other public forum owned by the organization. Statements made from personal accounts will not be accepted and your application will be rejected.

Impact

Here you will be asked to explain to our team the mission of your project and what measurable impact it has already attained. We want to hear about past activities, milestones reached and any future plans that you may have. Please be sure to provide evidence of your history of action either via link or uploaded content.

Managing Funds

We need to know that your project is providing some sort of benefit to society or public good in order to be eligible for the GIVbacks program. Your project should be providing a non-excludable non-rivalrous good or service to the world. You will be asked to explain how the funds received by your Giveth project will be used for this purpose. Note that projects focused on personal gain will be rejected.

You should also include the wallet addresses used by your project for managing funds in this section.

Terms & Conditions

In the last step, you will need to agree to the GIVbacks program policies before being able to submit the application.

What comes next?

After you submit your application, our team of dedicated reviewers will investigate the contents and email you with the details of their decision within 2 weeks time. If you haven’t heard anything from us, feel free to drop a message in the Discord support channel or email us at info@giveth.io.

Updating Your Project

We want to see your progress! Please add updates to your project regularly. Not only does it keep the Giveth team informed of how the funds are being used, it also keeps donors engaged. When people can see the impact of their donations, it can inspire more support. Once your project is approved for the GIVbacks program, you will need to add an update to your project at least every quarter (90 days) in order to maintain your GIVbacks eligible status. Projects that go inactive for too long will have their badges revoked.

Watch this video to learn how to add updates to your project:

Disqualifying Factors for the GIVbacks Program

Once a GIVbacks round ends, there is a period of time allocated for our team to review flagged projects and donations for disqualifying factors before GIV is distributed to donors. A project could have their GIVbacks Eligible status revoked if any of these factors are found. Donors to projects who are found with any of the following activity may also be denied GIVbacks for that round. Disqualification factors are as follows:

1. Giving/offering goods or services to donors in exchange for their donation. (AKA quid-pro-quos). A project owner cannot offer goods such as project tokens, sponsorship for a conference, Girl Scout cookie purchases or NFTs, even if the proceeds go to charity. Project owners cannot provide services like acting as a crypto exchange for their donors. They can explain how to use an exchange, but they cannot convert the money for their donors.
2. Recirculating donations through your project. Only “first touch” donations count for GIVbacks. If a project receives funding from a donor and is found to be circulating these donations within the Giveth platform to receive GIVbacks, they will be disqualified. For example, a project should not be sending donated funds to anyone and asking them to donate on Giveth to receive GIVbacks.
3. The funds are not being used for what is expressed in the project page or submitted verification application. GIVbacks Eligible projects are responsible for keeping their projects up-to-date with information on how the funds are being used. If the project states explicitly that they are, for example, using the funds to develop education programs but are found to be using the funds to employ developers, they may be disqualified from the GIVbacks program.
4. Unscrupulous or fraudulent activity. This can be the use of violence, breaking laws, or other behaviour that does not uphold the values of the Giveth community. Projects found to be violating our Terms and Conditions will not only lose their verification status, but they also will be canceled.

The Giveth Project Verification Team is responsible for monitoring GIVbacks activity as well as the Project Verification System. We will ultimately use our discretion to determine whether a project’s actions are unscrupulous and/or disqualifying.

Graduated Sanctions for flagged projects

The activity and donation history of GIVbacks Eligible Projects will be periodically reviewed. GIVbacks Eligible projects that are flagged for any of the disqualifying factors above will be analyzed and discerned according to the graduated sanctions outlined here:

• A project that has been flagged and deemed to be disqualified for the first time will be notified and their donors will not receive GIVbacks for that round and the next. They will not, however, lose their GIVbacks Eligible status immediately and will have the opportunity to make any changes necessary to keep it.
• A project that has been flagged and deemed to be disqualified for the second time will be notified that their project has been flagged and that the donors for that round and all future rounds will not be receiving GIVbacks. Once a project has received a second flag, it will lose its 'GIVbacks Eligible' badge.