Nonprofit organizations are networks. Around a specific cause, serving defined constituencies, donors and organizations come together to allocate capital to create social impact. These networks pursue the coordination of efforts, transparency and efficiency of operation, and stewardship of donor resources. These are praiseworthy goals. But in our time of digital transformation, we have seen failures in human coordination, a lack of transparency, and a civic sector that is gated with bureaucracy and governed by special interests. Philanthropy is not permissionless in our time, but permissioned by institutions and individuals with large capital resources and influence.
Through distributed ledger technology, early entrants have begun to experiment with Web3-enabled philanthropy. These experiments have often been defined by their ability to subvert centralized authority structures. While interesting, the disjointed nature of this cohort has resulted in the absence of systematized knowledge about what works, what doesn’t, and why, for Web3-powered philanthropy, social impact, and public goods.
Stay tuned for news on a forthcoming social impact DAO.