Project Description:
DAOs striving to use their resources ‘for good’ often face challenges in channeling them toward meaningful, real-world impact beyond the Web3 ecosystem. We are creating a groundbreaking Web3 infrastructure of hyper-local community DAOs, designed to empower ‘real life’ disadvantaged communities with resources in a way that is radically more efficient, transparent, and impactful.
We see this as a huge opportunity to onboard new segments of society to Web 3 and reframe Web 3 as a force for good for people outside the Web 3 ecosystem.
“I see the immense potential of this initiative to harness decentralised technology for the betterment of underprivileged segments of society and beyond”
Aya Miyaguchi - Executive Director Ethereum Foundation (Aya personally funded one of our early trials
For more details on the project please see this draft document or our website.
Public Repository:
We will be open sourcing everything but haven’t done so yet as the code needs to be checked.
Budget Breakdown
Over the last 18 months we have been working with communities to build and refine the workflow/governance app interface and working with community development organisations to build out the assets (e.g. training material, best practices etc) to support communities in different parts of the world.
Using learnings and relationships built over the last 18 months we would use Octant funding to support two parallel streams of work:
- Support our existing trials and start new trials so that we can continue to refine the community user interface and build out new tools. This includes
- Building new relationships with community development organisations
- Helping to start and support new trials
- Capturing feedback and continuing to evolve UI/UX
Requesting US$20K for staff/contributor time to support existing product and start / support new trials and continue to evolve UX. Estimated 330 hrs @ US$60/hr, split between four staff / contributors
- Plan, design and raise money to support the move to Web 3 backend infrastructure and create the foundations to scale the project to a point of sustainability, organic growth and global impact. This would include:
- The selection of a suitable Ethereum L2,
- Draft DAO / tokenomic research and design
- Building key ecosystem relationships (in Web 3 and non-Web 3 spaces)
- Building out the team
- Impact measurement research
- Raising capital (mostly via grant applications to Web 3 public good grants)
Requesting $US30k - for staff / contributor time for Web 3 inception/design phase. Estimated 500 hrs @ $US 60/hr split between four staff / contributors
Total requested funding US$50k
Milestones for both workstreams
- End Feb 2025
- 3 new trials started
- Product upgrade driven by user feedback (including multilanguage support)
- Draft Lightpaper completed, shared with stakeholders
- L2 Selected
- 3-5 grant applications submitted
- End of May 2025
- Lightpaper v1 complete
- Proof of concept tests done in key areas or risk / uncertainty
- 3 new additional trials started
- US$500k funding target achieved
- Roadmap / product development published
Impact Measurement and Reporting
Short-term Outcomes (0-3 months):
- 3 new trials started
- Product upgrade driven by user feedback (including multilanguage support)
- Draft Lightpaper completed, shared with stakeholders
- L2 Selected
- 3-5 grant applications submitted
Mid-term Outcomes (3-6+ months):
- Lightpaper v1 complete
- Proof of concept tests done in key areas or risk / uncertainty
- 3 new additional trials started
- US$500k funding target achieved
- Roadmap / product development published
Long-term Impact (5+ years):
This project will bring a new segment of people into Web 3 and a bridge from the traditional world of philanthropy / charity / social welfare with the Web 3 worlds.
We want to scale localism in order to push back against the oppressive forces of centralisation / capitalism. Once this is replicated thousands / millions of times the result is a highly resilient, decentralised network of grassroots change-makers. As we start to connect them, they start to become a powerful movement.
Outcomes Measurement:
We will be blogging at every stage of the project so that the wider community can learn. For the first work-stream we will be tracking key metrics such as: user signups, ideas, proposals, reports as well as capturing subjective feedback from all stakeholders.
Interim Reporting
We will be providing monthly updates via our social media channels and will commit to quarterly progress reports with detailed breakdown of learnings and progress.
Milestone Verification:
This will be via to our Karma GAP page (to be set up).
Sustainability Plan
The current systems for funding / supporting the most marginalised / disadvantaged / vulnerable segment in our society is complex, bureaucratic and inefficient. It often involves numerous intermediaries (often competing for the same pots of money) and a lack of transparency. We believe our system can radically change this by offering a complementary system that is more efficient, transparent, resilient and community empowering. We have already proven that traditional funders are happy to pay for those benefits. Our business model is to take a small % of the funds going into the system. This might start high but reduce as we scale and the funding total increases. We are a not-for-profit and propose to be radically transparent with all our finances.
Case Studies and Testimonials
Gathering Feedback:
We will collect feedback from our community trial participants at the beginning and monthly via an incentivised online form plus interactive workshops.
We will be sharing progess with stakeholders via blog articles.
Showcasing Success:
We will produce reports, blogs and social posts as the project progesses
Advancing Values of Freedom and Privacy
We are helping individuals in resource-constrained communities to uplift themselves through impact generation and grow their communities’ socio-ecological wealth. By giving people hope, a purpose, and a means to generate value - we will allow them to become more free.
Supporting Decentralization
We’re bringing decentraliation / Web 3 to hard-to-reach, marginalised community groups
Team Information
The Wellbeing Protocol was founded by Mark Pascall, a New Zealand based crypto OG. Some of the highlights of Mark’s career:
- TVNZ documentary covering Mark’s life and the early stages of the project.
- Co-founded Blockchain Labs
- In 2017 brought Vitalik Buterin to New Zealand to keynote at conference he organised
- Early partner at Metacartel Ventures
- Presented on Blockchain topics at two New Zealand parliamentary select committees
- In 2020 created and ran the first University level course on DAO organisational design at Victoria University, NZ. Currently teaching course on DAOs as part of masters program
- Previously Executive Director of BlockchainNZ
- Co-authored “New Zealand: Unlocking Blockchain’s Potential” for the New Zealand government
- Presented at over 40 conferences in 6 countries on decentralisation topics (including recently at DevCon 24)
In 2022 he was joined by Benjamin Alder, a designer and social entrepreneur. There are also two developers currently working on the project.
Social Proof
Selected to present at Devcon24
“I see the immense potential of this initiative to harness decentralised technology for the betterment of underprivileged segments of society and beyond”*
Aya Miyaguchi - Executive Director Ethereum Foundation (Aya personally funded one of our early trials
Transparency
Our default is radical transparency so will be sharing all expenditure information publically .
Other funding
Since August 2022 we have raised US$190k from fiat grants, donations and consulting work.
We intend on applying for other Web 3 grants.