Proposal: Pride Month Charity

Hey all! My name is marxistmillionaire and I’m a member of Shark DAO. l’d like to show you the following proposal that was written by my fellow sharks Sasquatch, Cryptasha, and me. What do you think?

Pride Month Charity

Celebrating Pride Month, this is a proposal to donate 60 ETH across six charitable organizations. In 2022 the LGBTIQ community faces serious threats around the world. We’d like to raise awareness for certain grievances and help the affected people with donations. The Caring with Crypto fundraising campaign organized by Shift4 and The Giving Block would match the donation (x 2). We’re thinking that it’s important for Nouns to help making a change happen for marginalized groups, and we’re kindly asking for your support!

These are the organizations/ purposes we’ve chosen:

  1. Human Rights Campaign Foundation

The HRC Foundation envisions a world where all LGBTQ+ people can participate fully in the systems that shape our daily lives. Through public education, research, policy and practice change, the Foundation’s impact can be felt in schools, on factory floors and corporate suites, as well as in places of worship. It touches LGBTQ+ lives from childhood through end-of-life, people of all races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, abilities and religious beliefs, in big cities and small towns, in the United States and across the globe.

  1. Elton John AIDS Foundation

The Elton John AIDS Foundation was established in 1992 and is one of the leading independent AIDS organizations in the world. The Foundation’s mission is simple: To be a powerful force in the end to the AIDS epidemic. They are committed to no more discrimination, no more HIV infections, no more AIDS deaths – no matter who or where you are.

  1. OutRight LGBTIQ Ukraine Emergency Fund:

OutRight is determined to assist LGBTIQ people remaining in or fleeing Ukraine in their fight to survive the brutality of Russian invasion. They’re also determined to support the LGBTIQ people and groups in the region who are coming to their aid while facing severe discrimination in their own countries. 100% of donations to OutRight’s Ukraine Fund are being disbursed directly to local LGBTIQ partners supporting the community in Ukraine and neighboring countries.

https://outrightinternational.org/ukraine

  1. LGBTQ Freedom Fund

LGBTQ+ people are three times more likely to be jailed. At risk of abuse, many can’t afford bail. The Freedom Fund gets them out to secure their safety and liberty by paying their bail. They also work to build a critical mass against the mass detention of LGBTQ+ people – a tangle of discrimination and poverty fuels disproportionate incarceration rates. The LGBTQ Freedom Fund works as an advocacy, education, grantmaking and policy outfit to mobilize the public and policymakers to address the disproportionate impact of incarceration on LGBTQ+ individuals in jail, prison and immigration detention.

  1. StartOut

StartOut’s mission is to increase the number, diversity, and impact of LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs and amplify their stories to drive the economic empowerment of the community. StartOut envisions a world where every LGBTQ+ entrepreneur has equal access to succeed, lead and shape the future. They are a group of driven, innovative, and passionate LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs and supporters. However, there are still major gaps in terms of access to critical resources. Donations will play a major role in reaching equality for any underrepresented entrepreneurs – for the benefit of society as a whole.

  1. LGA-Europe:

LGA-Europe is the European region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. It is an advocacy group promoting the interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people, at the European level. Its membership comprises more than 500 organizations from throughout Europe and Central Asia. ILGA-Europe focuses on empowering and training activists who work to advance LGBTI people’s rights in Europe.

I am opposed to this proposal. I do not think that the treasury should donate to political causes. This is a polarizing political cause based on identity politics. This would do very little to further the cause of Nouns and it would align the DAO with a polarizing political cause. Nouns are inherently agnostic to personal identity and do not have a gender, race, or sexual orientation. This DAO should not donate to political causes.

Being queer is not a political cause, but a pretty natural thing. Big companies as Coca Cola, Disney and more are celebrating Pride Month, so it’s not that polarizing anymore tbh. It’s a statement too, if you’re not supporting marginalized groups, and not “agnostic”.

Advocacy groups are political.

Your last sentence sounds like you are threatening the DAO if we do not support your political cause.

Nouns was also giving money to Ukraine, so I don’t think the DAO is afraid to support human rights in general.

When you’re facing severe discrimination and you’re organizing yourself against it, it’s pretty much self-defense. Discrimination is being political first.

I’m devoting a lot of time to proliferate Nouns every day, so I’m not getting your point with threatening and stuff. I just wanted to make clear that there’s no such thing as being “apolitical”. Your statements are totally political as well tbh.

I’d like to see Nouns have a definitive plan for an amount of charitable giving (if any) on an annual basis.

In the interim, I support a regular cadence of philanthropy from the DAO. I think this proposal is well structured to capture a unique opportunity - namely the donation matching provided by The Giving Block’s current campaign. Precedent for charitable giving has been established via Proposals #1 and #42.

The lesson from Proposal 1 and 42 is not that the DAO is obligated to do more charitable giving, but rather that those proposals were mistakes because now your political cause is using them as a reason to justify why Nouns DAO is obligated to make more political donations and that inaction in this case is a political statement (which is a thinly veiled threat).

Feedback in #nouner-public was universally against this proposal. It is very telling that you have gotten no engagement in this thread from Nouners outside of anon burner accounts and I think that is because you have threatened the DAO if we are inactive.

You represent a very polarizing political cause. The groups you are suggesting we fund will explicitly advocate for things like transgender policy in places of worship) and that is just not something Nouns DAO should be expected to advocate for OR against.

Please take the hint that NO DAO members have come out supporting this and drop it. Nouns is not a political organization, we aren’t obligated to donate to political causes, and this proposal trying to use past charitable donations to force our hand is in very bad form.

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The vibe at Shark Dao is quite different (100% voted FOR the prop), so we’re going to put it on chain and vote in behalf of it. I like democracy, so if Nouners vote against it, I’m fine with it. I think I’ve said enough about our motivation, but once again: I’m not theatening anyone, I’m just convinced that Nouns DAO should support this cause. As a bisexual man I’m a part of the queer community, which is really in need of support right now. Nouns DAO is not pretty diverse imo, and supporting the prop would be a sign that LGBTIQ people are welcome in our community.

We’ve made some changes bc of Giving Blocks mechanics. I can not edit the prop above, so I’m posting it here:

This is a new version of “Proposal: Pride Month Charity”, shared on Discourse. Thanks for the feedback thus far. After speaking with The Giving Block, we have revised this proposal to contribute directly to their Pride Campaign Index Fund, which supports well over a dozen charities (listed below). This will ensure that our donation is matched by their Caring With Crypto fundraising campaign.

Donate 60 ETH to The Giving Block’s Pride Month Charity Index Fund

This is a proposal to donate 60 ETH to The Giving Block’s Pride Month Charity Index Fund. The Caring With Crypto campaign will match our donation, meaning 120 ETH will be distributed to the following charities.

The Caring With Crypto Campaign: Caring With Crypto | Donation Matching Campaign | The Giving Block

Ruth Ellis Center: https://thegivingblock.com/donate/ruth-ellis-center/

Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund: https://thegivingblock.com/donate/transgender-legal-defense-and-education-fund/

LGBTQ Freedom Fund: https://thegivingblock.com/donate/lgbtq-freedom-fund/

Lunar Inc (Lunar Startups): https://thegivingblock.com/donate/lunar-startups/

Ali Forney Center: https://thegivingblock.com/donate/ali-forney-center/

Equality California: https://thegivingblock.com/donate/equality-california-institute/

StartOut: https://thegivingblock.com/donate/startout/

OutRight Action International: https://thegivingblock.com/donate/outright-action-international/

Human Rights Campaign Foundation: https://thegivingblock.com/donate/human-rights-campaign-foundation/

Elton John AIDS Foundation, Inc: https://thegivingblock.com/donate/elton-john-aids-foundation/

Project Transitions: https://thegivingblock.com/donate/project-transitions/

ILGA-Europe: https://thegivingblock.com/donate/ilga-europe/

The Source LGBT Center: https://thegivingblock.com/donate/the-source-lgbt-center/

Trans Lifeline: https://thegivingblock.com/donate/trans-lifeline/

Donation Address will be pulled by SharkDAO Representative Joshua Fisher

I dislike the tone here, and I dislike the way you aim to politicize Nouns to aid your cause (regardless of how worthy a cause).

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Nobody cares about you or your identity. Stop trying to make this about yourself. This is a community of mostly pseudonymous individuals who own NFTs that do not have a gender, race, or sexual orientation. I support numerous political causes and I would never bring them into the DAO because this DAO has nothing to do with politics.

Your tone is offensive as you are threatening the DAO and then suggesting we are not diverse enough to your liking is offensive. Is that so? How do you know we’re not diverse enough? You don’t know who any of us are. I didn’t have to check a box that indicated any aspects of my identity when I bought bought Ethereum / a Noun.

You are attempting to hijack the DAO and politicize it for your own selfish reasons.

I reject the premise that voting for or against donating to these charities is only a political statement for or against support or acceptance of LGBTIQ people. membership to the DAO is censorship resistant as intended and I’ve seen nothing but acceptance from the community towards all people.

I’ll reiterate my stance in Discord here that I find most charity organizations, even for causes I personally support like this one, to be frivolous with spending without a direct line to mission impact or just outright grifts. one does not need to search hard to find the opportunists that collected donations on behalf of BLM and squandered it.

I am not closely familiar with all these groups so I decided to pick one out and consume what they had public and this is what I found:

Site: https://www.ilga-europe.org/

Activity reports 2021: http://www.ilga-europe.org/files/uploads/2022/04/ILGA-Europe-Annual-Report-2021.pdf

so about half their income goes towards opex and about half is given to grants or campaigns. unclear how they are funding their annual conference from this brief report.

funding FAQ page: https://www.ilga-europe.org/uncategorized/how-we-fund-the-movement-faqs/

  • red flag: “Flexible funding may be allocated to any costs, both direct and indirect, in any way the grantee sees fit.” - very loose definition for how funds can be used…
  • red flag: “In practice, this means that many grantees are our members and have a direct say in our overall governance” - voting members directing funding are also receiving grants…
  • red flag: “We work to set standards and advocate alongside groups for LGBTI rights. In other words: our relationships with organisations are complex and often multi-layered.” - layered obfuscation in how resources and funding are used…

I could find no directory of work products as the result of their grants. in fact, many pages on their site just lead me to an error page.

I went digging around for one of the grantee initiatives mentioned in their annual report and found this: No One Left Behind: A Fund to tackle LGBTI socioeconomic inequalities | by ILGA-Europe | Medium. the grants described near the end are incredibly ambiguous eg. “one group aims to map the root causes of socio-economic inequality experienced by LGBTI people…”. no follow up post on these reports or outcomes that I could find.

I would personally feel uncomfortable donating my own capital to this organization after this brief amount of due diligence despite being an advocate for the cause.

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still thinking about this one, but just want to emphasize that we should be kind to one another, especially when the subject matter is charged, sensitive etc. there are no negative long term outcomes with respect to the proposal vote (it is after all a tiny % of our current treasury), but there are negative long term outcomes with respect to polluting the culture with astro turfing, ad hominem attacks etc. so let’s please argue the proposal on its merits, and try to be extra civil when discussing sensitive subject matter. this applies to the weekly call tomorrow as well!

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We’ve confronted The Giving Block with your research, and we’ll let you know, what they say. I totally agree that we have to make sure that all the donations are spend effectively.

I agree re: charitable organizations. And that philanthropy is very hard to get right in general and requires real work and diligence, which @vapeape showed with just a tiny bit of digging.

I will be a No vote on this proposal for all my votes and also any Proposal that is just charity, by rule at this point just to deter broadbrush appeals to charity. And it’s not because I don’t support this cause or the next charity proposal that will come after this one in my own life outside the DAO or anything along those lines. But any proposal has to make sense for NounsDAO, not for my personal life or beliefs or desire to do good. It has to have fit with Nouns and be geared to be additive to NounsDAO and its future. So if a Proposal was for say a series of Nounish Statues depicting the great educators of American history and also included an 5-10% donation to inner city education, I wouldn’t vote No by rule (but still might based on the merits of the proposal!). But if it was just a charitable donation to inner city education and the charities were a list, then I would vote No by rule.

I also would reiterate comments I have made in Discord re: the issues with charitable grants and how it can easily lead to intraDAO division and rent seeking over the treasury. I have extremely great personal causes that I have supported for years that are extremely important for the future and affect the most marginalized young people in the US. I know they are great because they are my causes. But NounsDAO is not the vehicle for those causes, neither through its lack of tax efficiency/benefits nor through the fact that its an organization with hundreds of people and thousands of stakeholders all of whom have different interests and priorities. As a member of the DAO, my votes have a responsibility to all push forward the DAO itself.

More thoughts here from a month ago on charities and where they fit and where they don’t with Proposals.

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If we leave politics aside, id like to know:

  • How does this prop effectively proliferate Nouns?
  • Im not entirely against the DAO donating to charity, but would like funds to be spent in a way that maximizes the outcome. For example, charities supported by givewell — whats the argument for donating to a less effective org? (again, politics aside)
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  1. I think that there is some potential for proliferating Nouns by making donations. Most big companies and brands are making donations/ doing charitable work because they want to give back at least some of their profits to marginalized groups. But you’re right: Just making a donation and not talking about it, doesn’t make sense. These companies are often pretty vocal about doing charity, and so Nouns would have to be as well. Another opportunity is not to make a donation, but a nounish cooperation with a LGBTIQ organization.

  2. We liked the Giving Block’s matching mechanism, but the criticism concerning ILGA Europe (and probably more organizations on the index fund) is totally legitimate. Shark DAO is taking a step back, reconsidering. We’re still convinced that making a donation to the LGBTIQ community or working together with them is the right thing to do for Nouns, but we need to work on the details again. We’ll start a new thread here on Discourse soon with a new or revised proposal. We’d appreciate, if any future conversations about this topic could happen without astroturfing and personal attacks. Thank you!

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Thank you for reconsidering, looking fwd to seeing a revised prop.

Also would like to apologize for any harm caused by my own or others’ comments. That is not nounish.

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