TLDR
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The DAO Coalition is a group of approximately 30 DAOs and supporting organizations that seek to advocate on behalf of DAOs in the United States and globally. This coalition was started by Stuttgart on behalf of CityDAO, and therefore CityDAO has a significant place in the coalition. This CIP requests $10K as part of a fundraising effort among other DAOs in the coalition. The purpose of the fundraising is to provide funding to formalize the coalition as it relates to legal fees (incorporation, creation of bylaws) and website creation. Benefits to CityDAO would be a leadership role with the DAO Coalition as it advocates in Washington, D.C.
Project Team
The DAO Coalition currently consists of 3OH DAO, Alliance DAO, ATX DAO, Aragon DAO, Bankless DAO, City3, CityDAO, Cohere, Data Union DAO, enDAOment, Governor DAO, Impact DAO, JournoDAO, Kali DAO, Klaytn, Krause House, KYC DAO, LegalDAO, LexDAO, Lobby3, Nemus, OtoCo DAO, PAC DAO, Polygon DAO, R3WIND DAO, Sapien Network, Sporos DAO, SuperRare DAO, SSV DAO and Standard DAO.
Supporting organizations within the DAO Coalition include the Blockchain Association, COALA, NEAR, the DAO Research Collective, and the World Economic Fund.
Details
CityDAO has been leading an effort to establish a DAO Coalition for the purposes of advocating on behalf of CityDAO and all DAOs. DAOs face both risks and opportunities. It is critical that DAOs come together to speak with one voice on issues that impact the sector.
As it relates to risks, as a result of our relationship with the Blockchain Association, earlier this year we were made aware of interests in Washington, D.C., such as the Crowdfunding Professional Association, which have been advocating to the SEC with appeals that are directly averse to the existence of DAOs. More recently, we’ve seen the CFTC sue Ooki DAO on allegations that, as an unincorporated association, it violated federal laws.
As far as opportunities, this summer, Senators Gillibrand and Lummis introduced S. 4356, the Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act, which, if enacted, would, for the first time, provide a federal framework for DAOs. This legislation would provide an opportunity for the DAO Coalition, on behalf of CityDAO and all DAOs, to provide a positive narrative to policymakers about the promise of DAOs.
It is in light of the aforementioned risks and opportunities that the DAO Coalition has been holding monthly conference calls since its informal inception this summer. DAOs are being formed every day and, according to DeepDAO, there are almost 5,000 DAOs in existence to date. The DAO Coalition aims to harness that collective voice, but requires a small contribution from representative DAOs to begin its operations. To this end, the DAO Coalition is requesting a contribution to assist with the coalition’s formal establishment.
Other DAO representatives also are asking their respective DAOs for contributions and Lobby3 has secured its own $10,000 commitment. CityDAO’s $9,999 contribution would help ensure that CityDAO would play a leadership role as the DAO Coalition is formed.
Scottfits and Stuttgart currently are listed as CityDAO representatives within the DAO Coalition and this proposal would aim to have them represent CityDAO as Directors of the formal DAO Coalition. None of the CityDAO $10,000 contribution would go to Scott or Stuttgart. In the event that Scottfits is not available, David will take his role as CityDAO representative.
Proposal Budget
This proposal requests a one-time disbursement of $9,999 in USDC to the DAO Coalition treasury. Other DAOs also have been asked and may contribute money to this fund.
Timeline and Deliverables
Once the DAO Coalition has secured the necessary funding, the coalition would aim to take the necessary steps to formalize in Q4 2022 or Q1 2023.
Risks
There is little risk to CityDAO from this contribution other than the coalition not being able to raise the sufficient amount of funds to formalize and we believe that given the number of other DAOs in the coalition we should be able to raise these funds. If the coalition is unsuccessful in raising necessary funding, the coalition would reimburse CityDAO.
Regulatory
The project would create a new legal entity outside of CityDAO, but would not create a new tax burden for CityDAO. Should CityDAO also wish to provide a small sustaining contribution for ongoing activities after the DAO Coalition has been established, a separate CIP would be requested. Given the number of DAOs already in the coalition, we would not anticipate that a request to DAO Coalition members for such sustaining funding would be more than $10,000 per year, per coalition member.
Benefits to CityDAO
The first and most obvious benefit to CityDAO is the preservation of its existence. While CityDAO operates entirely within the law as an LLC, we are confronted with an uncertain legal landscape with pitfalls and obstacles. CityDAO seeks not only to exist but to collaborate with other DAOs and create IRL spaces for other DAOs to flourish. To that end, our presence as a leader in lobbying efforts keeps CityDAO in an important position in the DAO space.
Another key benefit comes from the collaborations and relationships with other DAOs that such a presence will foster. Working hand in hand with organizations like Bankless, Aragon, Polygon, the Blockchain Association, NEAR and the World Economic Fund has benefits that cannot be adequately measured in dollars or in the short term. For the $10K contribution this CIP seeks, it could benefit CityDAO immeasurably.
A third benefit is the engagement with larger communities and increased awareness of CityDAO. Having our name associated with so many other DAOs, each of them with many thousands of members, all of whom are committed to the web3 and DAO space, being in a leadership position within the DAO Coalition could serve as wonderful, perpetual marketing.