DAOs and their Case for Social Good
A radically new way of organizing for good. Based on the internet and written in code
DAO stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization. They are a radically new way of forming groups and organizations that require large potentially anonymous groups of people to manage funds.
In our current world if we want to start an organization for whatever purpose (for profit or nonprofit) we need to incorporate it with the government, have a physical address and be governed by the rules of the land.
DAOs are a totally new way of forming organizations. They are based on the internet and the terms of agreement are written in code that exists on a blockchain. There is no one leader, no managers or hierarchies. DAOs are owned and managed by its members and governed by smart contracts (aka. code on a blockchain). Currently most DAOs are built on the Ethereum blockchain. Decisions around disbursing and managing funds are made by proposals and voting to ensure that all members in the organization have a voice.
Why DAO?
DAO makes working with strangers on the internet more safe and trustworthy, especially in cases that involves money. With DAO the contract around fund disbursement and management is prewritten in the code which is on the blockchain visible and verifiable by anyone. People on the internet that are driven by similar goals can come together to form a DAO or be part of one.
An example of a famous DAO
There are many DAOs in operation in various sectors , one that I’d like to highlight is the PleasrDAO. Many of their investments have indirectly supported nonprofits.
You may have heard of PleasrDAO in the context of NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens). They are the group that bought the famous Edward Snowden’s “Stay Free” NFT. The NFT was auctioned on behalf of Freedom of the Press Foundation and was bought by PleasrDAO for 2,224.00 ETH.
PleasrDAO is first of its kind decentralized autonomous organization of art collectors investing in high value NFTs. Their first NFT purchase was from an artist by the name pplpleasr. The artist donated all proceeds from the sale to a charity. The DAO was formed initially to facilitate the purchase of pplpleasr NFT.
The other two famous NFT purchases by PleasrDAO were of Edward Snowden’s NFT, “Stay Free” and The TOR Project’s “Dreaming at Dusk”. The NFT sale benefitted the Tor Project, the nonprofit protecting online privacy.
Examples of how DAO could be used for social good
A volunteer network - People across the world inspired by similar causes can come together to form a DAO and incentivize volunteering through tokens. Volunteer Networks can form around causes that people are passionate about say the environment, animal rights, helping the underprivileged. The DAO members can potentially be rewarded for their work via grants of tokens.
Philanthropy - Just like how DAOs are operational in the venture capital space there are many opportunities to create DAOs around philanthropy. The Philanthropy DAO, potentially member based, can generate capital via sales of tokens to invest in high impact nonprofits in DAOs areas of interest.
There will be many interesting ways DAOs will be used for doing good. DAOs are a radically new way of collaborating on the internet to pursue similar interests. And doing good is a big part of the crypto community.
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