Dream DAO is an innovative DAO founded in late 2021 to train Gen Z to use web3 for good. Powered by Civics Unplugged, Dream DAO operates as an international, youth-led organization that empowers young people to harness the potential of web3 technologies for social impact. We have been doing this primarily through... education, internships, and gatherings.

• Education: Hosting Learning Sessions with leaders in web3 x social impact, like Kevin Owocki and Aya Miyaguchi. Additionally, our Web3 x Social Impact Bootcamp equips new community builders with the tools they need to succeed.
• Internships: Hosting an internship program twice per-year to let young leaders put their knowledge into action at leading web3 organizations (like Celo, WaterLAB, and Regen Network).
• Gatherings: Sponsoring young leaders to attend their first web3 conference and hosting our own events to onboard young people from all around the world.

Vision for the Future

Our ultimate goal is to create a future where communities worldwide benefit from capable builders who use their web3 skills to regenerate their environments and address global challenges. By 2030, Dream DAO aims to directly support thousands of Gen Z builders in leveraging web3 to accelerate the flourishing of their communities and the world.

Expanding Our Impact: Generation Accelerator (gen/acc)

We are working to launch our newest initiative, the Generation Accelerator (gen/acc), designed to provide a structured environment for young innovators to actualize their ideas. This project will support creative endeavors through comprehensive mentorship, essential resources, and significant funding opportunities, which will promote a culture of building and innovation. Our aim is to accelerate the culture of building in youth by connecting curiosity with opportunities and support.

The funding we are requesting is to launch a pilot for this project. To learn more about Generation Accelerator, click here.

Objective: To launch a "pilot version" of the Generation Accelerator (gen/acc) program, focusing on enabling a culture of building among youth.

Project Description: The pilot will be an offline initiative, limited to 15 participants, to closely assess and refine the program. gen/acc aims to nurture young innovators by connecting curiosity with opportunities and support. Through pilot projects, 15 university students will engage in building impactful projects, with a focus on web3 x social impact.

How Will It Work

1. We will be doing this IRL in Mumbai, India (It will be coordinated by a mix of offline and online coordinators).
2. Each university has a students club (or community) focused around entrepreneurship and career development. Systematically, we will approach these student communities with our proposal. To make sure we have students from diverse backgrounds, we will organize students into four clusters based on their academic fields: Engineering, Social Sciences, Design, and Business/Management. This clustering approach will also guide our selection of universities. Our aim is to have students from 4-5 Universities of Mumbai.
3. A baseline survey will be conducted, which will focus on understanding students' needs (by this we mean what kind of project will help them academically and professionally) and their understanding of web3 and social impact. We will be looking for 30-50 respondents for this.
   Note: We are looking for those students as participants who have almost zero knowledge about web3 space, which will allow us to understand the needs of these participants better during the building phase and grants round.
4. Out of those respondents a diverse group of 15 students will be invited for an interview, this will also be part of the baseline survey (but more focused on collecting qualitative data), for which we will do semi-structured interviews. These will form the group of 15 participants for the gen/acc.
5. Idea Pool Creation
   • Using data of those 15 students from the baseline survey, we will create an Idea Pool (of 30-35 Ideas) which will cater the students’ interest as well as have an angle of web3 x social impact.
   • Will also ensure ideas are impactful, feasible, and can be completed within 30-40 hours.
6. Idea Selection Process
   • Participants will need to select an idea from the pool.
7. Preliminary Planning
   • Participants will submit a one to two page plan detailing their project's objectives, outcomes, and timeline based on the idea selected.
8. Building Phase
   • Participants dedicate 2-3 hours daily to their projects and provide daily updates.
   • Focus on the journey, personal growth, and project impact.
   • We will have one 6 hour long building day, where all participants will work at one location.
9. Daily Assessments and Support
   • Implement a daily assessment system using a framework developed by Dream DAO.
   • Sessions, workshops, and mentorship will be offered (such as sessions on public goods ecosystem).
10. Self-Assessment and Reporting
    • Upon completion, participants submit a comprehensive report, including self-assessment and project impact evaluation.
11. Evaluation by Dream DAO.
    • Projects will be evaluated using predefined rubrics by Dream DAO.
    • And each project will receive an Impact Score.
12. Quadratic Funding (QF) Round
    • For this pilot project we will set up a special QF round on testnet. The aim is to understand the process and look for potential difficulties while doing it on the mainnet for the main project.
13. Impact-Based Allocations
    • Similarly for this we will use the impact score received by the participants impact based matching amount.
    • We will have some equal (not real) amount for both matching pool (50% each, QF and impact-based allocations),
    • Extra funds will be calculated using:
      • QF Matching Pool: (Total matching pool) * (Number of contributors to the project) / (Total number of contributors to all projects)
      • Impact Matching Pool: (Total matching pool) * (Impact score of the project) / (Total impact score of all projects)
14. Endline Survey and Interview:
    We will do an endline survey, to gather feedback from the participants. Also we will do a 30 minute interview with the participants.
15. Implementation of feedback and and report:
    We will then re-work on gen/acc to implement a better strategy for gen/acc and create a detailed report of this pilot project.

Our Funding Goal

Total Funding Needed for Pilot Project: $3,000

1. Participant Compensation: $1,500 ($100 each)
   This fund compensates participants for their time, effort, and active engagement in the pilot program. It ensures that participants are valued and incentivized to contribute effectively to the activities and discussions during the building day.

2. Coordination and Operational Costs: $1,000

• Coordinator Compensation: $800
  This will be used to compensate the project coordinators, who will oversee the planning, logistics, execution, and follow-up of the event.
• Operational Expenses: $200
  This budget will cover beverages during the interview, transportation costs for coordinators (if any), and miscellaneous operational expenses. These may include unforeseen costs such as last-minute purchases, and other incidental needs to ensure smooth operation.

3. Full-Day Building Session at Co-Working Space: $500

• Space Rental: $300
  Co-working space equipped with necessary amenities such as high-speed Wi-Fi, power outlets, comfortable seating, and workstations..
• Refreshments: $150
  Meals Provided: Light lunch, snacks, and beverages throughout the day.
• Miscellaneous Supplies: $50
  Items Included: Flip charts, markers, sticky notes, pens, and other stationery or materials needed for brainstorming sessions and collaborative work.

Roadmap

Phase 1: Pilot Launch (gen/acc 0.5) - Initiating with a small group of 15 participants (who will work in a controlled environment unlike the proposed main project) to refine our process and gather initial feedback.

Phase 2: Expansion - Based on the pilot’s success, scale the program and launch of proper Generation Accelerator (gen/acc) to include more participants across different regions, focusing on youth in underrepresented areas and this time, it will be remote.

Phase 3: Global Integration - Establish partnerships with other DAOs and educational institutions globally to broaden our impact.

Phase 4: Long-term Sustainability - Develop self-sustaining models through community-driven contributions and decentralized governance, ensuring the longevity of the project.

Our Impact so far?

Since Dream DAO was launched in December 2021, we have:

• Hosted 80+ learning together sessions, bringing leaders from different spaces across web3 to give a talk about a topic of their choice that fits Dream DAO's mission of leveraging the web3 x social impact space.
• Funded 20+ builders to attend NFT NYC, Web3Conf Goa, ETHMexico, and Devcon VI, with our community winning 3 awards in the ETHMexico hackathon..
• Builders have been provided with hands-on experiences through DAO governance, working groups, bounties, internships, and attending major web3 conferences.
• Dream DAO has received support from organizations like the Ethereum Foundation, NEAR, Celo, Gitcoin, Public Nouns and Coinbase, facilitating learning resources, bounties, and sponsorships for builders to attend IRL conferences and hackathons.
• The DAO has been able to pay Gen-Z builders for their contributions, ensuring ongoing support for DAO operations.
• Dream DAO builders have won awards, including ‘Best Public Goods’ by Polygon and ‘Best UX and User Onboarding’ at ETH Mexico.
• The DAO has built a community of over 109 builders across 18+ countries, with hotspots in the USA, India, and Mexico.

Social Media and Contact Information:

• Twitter: @DreamDAO_
• Discord: Dream DAO Discord
• Team Social Accounts:
  • Adarsh’s Twitter
  • Amanda’s Twitter
  • Joshua’s Twitter
• Telegram Contact: Adarsh on Telegram

To Learn More About Us: dreamdao.notion.site

Thank you for reading this; we look forward to dreaming up better futures with you! ❤️