Welcome to the fifth edition of Web3 Impact, a briefing on the ways Web3 is being leveraged to create social and environmental impact. 

Impact DAOs

Impact DAOs are the blockchain version of a nonprofit or a philanthropic foundation where DAO members collectively decide on the terms for both raising and disbursing funds. Impact DAOs have been credited for rapidly raising funds for everything from reproductive rights to the war in Ukraine. Proponents cite impact DAOs as a new form of philanthropy that is more egalitarian and transparent, but impact DAOs still face barriers like general distrust of anything associated with crypto and onboarding of nonprofits and everyday people into the complex array of digital systems. Projects like Oak, based in Oakland, California, are using a distributed community-funding process to determine which local nonprofits the community would want to fund. Impact DAOs are still in their infancy and face a host of challenges, but they present experimental new models for the internet-native age. CNET (7 minutes)

The Intersection of Food and Web3

The very act of purchasing, eating and cooking food—once considered private—has become the site of everyday politics in online spaces. In the Web3 space, DAOs are focusing on reforming the way we interact with food and are emerging as a tool to address both the social aspects of food and the operational aspects of the food industry. In Dinner DAO, eight strangers gather monthly for a series of intimate dinner parties. In Cafeteria DAO, the goal is to address the mistreatment of workers in the food industry by aligning financial incentives of food enthusiasts with food workers. Thirsty Thirsty, a nonprofit Web3 project, aims to advance regenerative farming practices, ancestral agriculture, and food justice in the high-end restaurant and hospitality industry. Forefront (14 minutes)

Project Spotlight

GoodDollar is a wealth creation and redistribution protocol, along with being a DAO that provides a digital, universal, basic income to its members. Anyone with a smartphone can open a wallet and receive a daily disbursement of GoodDollar tokens as a form of universal basic income. The protocol connects crypto holders who earn interest off of their cryptocurrency principal. This interest (the yield) then becomes redistributed to people around the world as a universal basic income via a daily transfer to a crypto wallet (daily transfers are currently tiny). There are currently 451,000 people receiving a daily allocation of GoodDollar tokens. GoodDollar. 

Fund Opportunity: Celo’s Africa Web3 Fund 

Celo Foundation recently launched the Celo Africa Web3 Fund to help scale African startups building on Celo and the broader adoption of blockchains and cryptocurrencies on the African continent. This fund might be for you if your startup is based in Africa and is aligned with Celo’s mission of creating prosperity for everyone. They are hosting in-person events in five countries. Participants will benefit from in-person workshops, mentorships from the Research and Innovation teams, introductions to VC firms, and being in a community with like-minded builders. Celo (2 minutes)

Web3 Impact

Web3 Impact is a briefing about leveraging Web3 for positive social and environmental impact by Banks Benitez and Kyle Westaway. This month, we’re lucky to have Dave Kim as a contributor as well. Photo by Martin Sanchez.