Grant Title:
Drive CoW Awareness & Adoption
Author:
About You:
Kara is the Co-Founder & Ecosystem Growth Lead at SI<3>. SI<3> is an ecosystem that supports Web3 organizations and communities in driving real-world adoption through collaborative educational programs and growth-focused projects. Within SI<3>, our core focuses are our Grow3dge growth and partnerships program and our Si Her DAO.
Experiences and qualifications:
SI<3> and Si Her DAO have collaborated with multiple ecosystems and DAO’s in growth-related initiatives. Example projects include:
Granting Access virtual event in partnership with Arbitrum, Gitcoin, Octant, LUKSO, Unlock Protocol DAO and Push DAO. This was a LinkedIn Live event that drove awareness of grant opportunities within these projects. We had over 300 attendees and strong engagement.
Testimonial:
“The Granting Access event was well-attended and successfully executed, with clear evidence of deliverables. The focus on onboarding under-represented groups is seen as a positive step that could drive significant impact for Arbitrum.” - ArbitrumDAO
Grow3dge (Season 1). This program is a peer-to-peer education and networking group, fostering collaboration between DAO’s, dApps, blockchains and protocols. After a successful Season 1, we are initiating Season 2 in January.
Testimonials:
“I have experienced real value within the Grow3dge program, with significant partnership opportunities that have been made from integrations to event partners. I’ve also very much enjoyed the educational programming and learning from other industry experts. This is a program rich with value, and I’m excited to continue on the Grow3dge journey.” - Sohobit, RARI DAO delegate
“SI<3> did a great job bringing people together in their Grow3dge program. I’ve been able to make meaningful connections with other Grow3dge members across DAO’s, Web3 companies, and local communities. I’ve already started applying some of the frameworks shared in the sessions to refine our existing programs, and I’m excited to keep learning and meeting more amazing people!” - Szutung, Starknet DevRel Marketer
Grant Description:
The purpose of this proposal is to support CoW DAO and the protocol in driving more awareness and adoption. The offerings listed below are within our ‘Thought Leadership & Partnerships’ Package for driving new business growth, and is valued at $10K USD.
- Thought Leadership-style virtual LinkedIn Live event in February 2026. This is a 1-hour event that will be streamed live on LinkedIn and through 10 of our influencers channels on LinkedIn, X and Telegram (also to be streamed through CoW’s channels).
A concept for this virtual event is ‘Don’t Get Milked!’ - Strategies for a Successful 2026 in DeFi.
The audience for this event would be DeFi professionals, blockchains and general crypto consumers. We could have table topics around best practices and industry channels, and position CoW DAO as a thought leader in DeFi. We could also explore inviting a teammate from Milk Road to join as a follow on to Cowmaster’s interview in Milk Road in February 2025.
This event would be marketed through our Si Her DAO communities and audiences, targeting 30k invites on LinkedIn and through an on-chain event link with Unlock Protocol. Both the LinkedIn event and Unlock Protocol event link will have a registration form to collect email addresses. These MQL’s would be shared with the CoW team for post-event BD and marketing, and our organization will warm up the attendees with teaser emails and a post-event video recap.
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Invitation for 3-7 CoW teammates and project partner owners to join Grow3dge Season 2 to present to our participants on CoW protocol (thought leadership-style format), create connection and partnership opportunities from our participating organizations, and receive peer-to-peer education.
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Invitation for three women from the CoW team and/or DAO to join into our Si Her DAO to develop their personal brands and faciliate connection with our DAO members.
Also, we are introducing our Si Her Trade program in January 2026 and will introduce and utilize CoW Swap in our trading toolkit for our members.
The intended outcomes of these projects are to drive greater awareness of CoW’s technology and projects, and adoption of the protocol in terms of business development leads, partnership integrations, general adoptors, and DAO members. Our Grow3dge and Si Her DAO programs also support professionals in their industry education and personal brand development, and fostering meaningful community.
In terms of hard numbers, we will reach a minimum of 30k invitations for the LinkedIn Live event, and estimate 2-3k registrations. Live event attendee goals are around 1-300. If we have unique and attention-grabbing topics, we can expect a solid live turnout.
Type of Grant:
Milestone-based
Milestones:
| Milestone 1 | Ecosystem Onboarding | Dec 2025 | 20,527 COW
| Milestone 2 | Virtual Event Marketing Kickoff| | Jan 2026 | 15,395 COW
| Milestone 3 | Virtual Event Completion | Feb 2026 | 15,395 COW
Milestone 1 Activities:
a) Onboarding of 3-7 CoW teammates, DAO delegates, and protocol leaders into our Grow3dge program (program fees are paid up front for all participants). Schedule date of CoW’s thought leadership presentation and aligned topic. This includes onboarding into our private Telegram group with all members, on-chain learning platform, and access to our Kaia agent for targeted match-making and networking.
b) Onboard 3 womxn CoW teammates into our Si Her DAO (can be the same as Grow3dge participants and membership fees are paid up front). Access to our bi-weekly training sessions and private Telegram group with our members and AI agent for targeted networking and partnership facilitation.
c) Set date, topic and speakers for February’s virtual live event.
Milestone 2 Activities:
Create LinkedIn Live event, select 30 influencers and/or communities to co-market this event, and begin marketing the event with a teaser video. Marketing will run for 1 month in advance of the event. CoW will have presented in our Grow3dge program to our audience of blockchains and their builders, protocols, DAO’s and dApps.
Milestone 3 Activities:
Virtual event will be completed. Targeted 30k invitations on LinkedIn, 2-3k registrations, and 1-300 live attendees. MQL’s (marketing qualified leads) to be shared with CoW team (registration buttons will include this opt-in so that registrants are aware). Summary report of the activities will be shared on the forum with the results.
Milestone 3 funding will be distributed from our DAO to our 30 influencers and communities that will be co-marketing the virtual event.
Length:
This is a 3-month project from mid-December to mid-March. Grow3dge and Si Her DAO participants will be able to stay in both of those programs as they continue on (no defined end dates).
Funding Request:
51,283 COW
This funding supports the efforts of SI<3> including its Grow3dge program organizers, and Si Her DAO leaders and members.
**Gnois Chain Address (to receive the grant): **
0x8687AB2FF3188F961828FC2131b6150Ee97Bedce
By submitting this grant application, I acknowledge and agree to be bound by the CoW DAO Participation Agreement and the CoW DAO Grant Agreement Terms.
INCLUDE NOTE TO COMMITTEE:
Please notify the Grantee of their reviewer and their steward in the thread and latest upon successful approval of the Grant on Snapshot.