Gitcoin donations start with a compatible project, network and wallet.
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Gitcoin lets you support public goods through participating grant rounds, and your first donation begins with checking the selected project's payment requirements. Confirm the receiving project, accepted network, donation asset and amount before approving payment. Compare the network fee with your contribution, then distinguish the completed transfer from any matching allocation that depends on the round's rules.
The donation interface depends on the round's operator. Gitcoin retired Grants Stack in May 2025, so older checkout instructions don't describe every subsequent round. Begin with the selected round's donation destination rather than an archived tutorial.
In short: A completed payment and an eligible matching contribution are separate outcomes, so review the network and round requirements before confirming.
Round Access and Wallet Readiness
Your starting information should identify the project, donation window and receiving platform, together with the network and assets that the project accepts. An accessible project page alone doesn't establish that matching remains open. A donation option can remain available outside a particular funding round.
Giveth operated the open-source quadratic funding rounds in GG24. Its connected-wallet donation flow includes project selection, an amount entry and wallet confirmation. Projects can accept different networks, so platform-wide support doesn't establish compatibility with your chosen recipient. The platform provides a confirmation page and transaction details after processing.
Before opening the payment request, note the intended project, account, network and contribution. Those details give you something concrete to compare with the wallet prompt and eventual receipt.
Project Selection Before the Payment Form
The project description should explain the work that your contribution supports, while its round participation establishes which funding opportunity you're considering. Read both before entering an amount. A recognizable name doesn't resolve whether you're viewing the intended project or the relevant round.
Look for a concrete description of the work, recent project updates and an explanation of how funding will be used. These details help you choose a recipient; they don't prove future delivery. A successful donation records financial support, while subsequent project reporting addresses what that support helped accomplish.
Keep the project selection distinct from support for the platform itself. Where the interface offers an additional contribution to its operator, inspect that allocation separately. Your intended project amount should remain clear in the payment review.
Which Network Should Your First Donation Use?
Your first donation needs a network that the selected project accepts, with an eligible asset available in the paying wallet and enough balance to cover transaction costs.
If matching matters to your decision, the round must also accept donations on that network. A network can work for direct support while failing the round's matching requirements. Don't infer eligibility from the presence of a network selector or a visible token balance.
Changing the selected network changes which chain the wallet interacts with. It doesn't move assets between chains. Funds held elsewhere require a separate transfer or bridge operation before they become available for payment. Those operations introduce their own costs and compatibility checks; they aren't part of simply switching the wallet's network.
Contribution Amount and Transaction Costs
The amount assigned to the project and the fee that the network charges are separate parts of your spending. Compare them before approving the transaction, particularly when preparing a small contribution.
In the documented connected-wallet flow, the network fee comes on top of the donation amount. A wallet needs sufficient funds for both. Holding the donation token doesn't necessarily provide the asset needed to pay transaction fees.
Use the wallet's fee estimate for the transaction you're reviewing. A figure copied from an earlier donation can describe different network conditions or a different operation. Where fees and donations use different assets, compare their displayed values on a consistent basis without treating a changing conversion as permanent.
A lower contribution doesn't necessarily reduce the transaction fee proportionally. If the total exceeds your budget, stop before confirmation and reconsider the amount or another supported network. Include any cost of moving funds when comparing those options.
Does the Matching Estimate Change What You Pay?
A matching estimate doesn't increase the donation amount that you authorize; it describes a possible additional allocation to the project from a separate funding pool.
Giveth's matching estimates don't incorporate every donor eligibility check or post-round disqualification. They also reflect donations received so far and the round's project cap. Treat the estimate as provisional rather than a promised multiplier.
Eligibility requires attention before payment. The project, donation timing, network, minimum contribution and donor verification can all affect matching. Read the selected round's requirements together. Increasing your amount won't repair an ineligible network, and a successful transfer doesn't establish that verification is complete.
Wallet Requests and the Stop Point
The wallet request should agree with the contribution you intended to make. Review the account, network, amount and destination or contract interaction before signing. A login signature, token spending authorization and donation transaction perform different functions. Don't treat one as proof that another has completed. Reject an unexpected request before authorization, and never enter a recovery phrase into a donation form. Closing a website after broadcasting a transaction doesn't recall the payment.
A Network Mismatch Before Confirmation
In this hypothetical example, the selected project, wallet balances and network choices are illustrative. The project accepts a network where the donor already holds a supported asset and sufficient fee funds. The donor assumes the connected wallet has selected that network because the account address looks familiar.
The donation form reports that the connected network isn't accepted by the project. The donor stops before authorizing payment. Wallet activity contains no submitted donation transaction, so there is no payment receipt to reconcile. The warning shows that the wallet has selected the wrong network; the donor already has the required funds on an accepted one.
The donor changes to the project's accepted network and checks the balance there. Matching eligibility, if required, also permits that network. The donor confirms the intended donation amount and enough funds to cover the additional fee, then approves the payment.
The successful transaction and the platform's donation entry identify the intended contribution. A follow-up comparison confirms the project, asset and amount. If the receipt instead shows failure or different details, the donor pauses rather than repeating payment. Switching networks resolved the compatibility problem; the receipt determines whether payment succeeded.
Payment Records and Matching Records
The payment record establishes what happened to the donation, while the round's allocation record addresses matching. Keep those records separate when reviewing the result. A matching estimate beside a project doesn't prove that your transfer reached it.
A transaction identifier lets you locate the submitted payment on its network. Pending status means the transaction hasn't reached a completed outcome. For a successful transaction, examine the transfer details as well as the status, especially when the payment uses a contract. The project's donation history provides a second record of platform recognition.
Save the transaction identifier with the selected network and project. Those details are more useful for investigating a missing entry than a screenshot of a button or a wallet's total balance.
When Is Retrying a Donation Appropriate?
Retrying is appropriate after you establish that the intended payment didn't complete and correct the condition that blocked it. A slow page alone doesn't establish payment failure.
A rejected wallet request differs from a submitted transaction. For a submitted payment, inspect its network record before creating another. If it remains pending, another payment can duplicate the contribution when both eventually complete.
An Ethereum transaction that reverts during execution still incurs a fee for the work performed. Its failed payment therefore doesn't imply an unchanged wallet balance. Account for the fee when reviewing the funds available for another attempt.
After a successful transfer, investigate a missing platform entry with the transaction identifier. Don't repeat payment merely to make the page update. If the original attempt failed and the donation window has since closed, a new payment may still support the project but won't satisfy that round's timing requirement.
Helpful answers about Gitcoin
Can I Use a Different Wallet for My First Donation?
Giveth's connected-wallet flow lets you change the wallet used for a donation. Review the paying account after switching, including its balance on the selected network. If matching requires donor verification, the replacement account must satisfy that requirement; verification associated with another account doesn't establish eligibility for this payment.
How Can I Avoid Starting a Recurring Donation?
Choose the one-time donation option where the platform offers both one-time and recurring support. A recurring contribution creates an ongoing funding arrangement with separate balance and authorization requirements. Review the confirmation for recurring terms before signing, rather than assuming that every donation form sends only a single payment.
Why Can the Displayed Currency Value Change Before Confirmation?
A displayed currency equivalent can change when the donation asset's exchange value changes. Compare the actual token amount in the wallet with the amount you entered. Where a round measures its minimum contribution in a reference currency, that valuation also matters for eligibility; a displayed conversion isn't a permanent token threshold.
Is My First Donation Visible to Other People?
An ordinary donation on a public blockchain leaves a transaction record that other people can inspect. Giveth also displays project donation histories. A wallet address needn't contain your legal name to become associated with you through public activity, so consider that visibility before linking a personal profile to the paying account.
Where Does the Matching Money Go After I Donate?
Matching money goes to qualifying projects rather than returning to the donor's wallet. The contribution helps inform allocation under the round's mechanism, while the operator handles matching distribution separately. A project's estimated match isn't a donor balance, refund or amount that the donor can withdraw.
Does a High Position in the Project List Mean a Project Deserves My Donation?
A project's position reflects the platform's sorting method, which can use factors such as support or donation activity. It doesn't establish that the project best matches your purpose. Read the proposed work and funding use before choosing, even when a project appears prominently in the donation interface.