Greetings MGD and Interested Parties!
I am Sunny Joy Co-Founder of SpiritDAO, embodying decentralized enthusiasm with all and especially those actively engaged in creative ways to onboard minority woman into Web3. I feel our DAO model opens a window of opportunity otherwise unavailable to those distant from Web3.
Project name: SpiritDAO Launch
Description: SpiritDAO is an on-chain spiritual community embracing frameworks of meaning and value informed by cosmology and physics. We serve to spread our message, provide physical and virtual utility for our members, and further the Eight Dignities.
Brief intro of your project in 1-2 sentences
Vision: SpiritDAO is a non-profit DAO with a non-fiction book-based protocol. After 10 months of collaboration and infrastructure building, we’re ready to launch.
Problem: Web3 has a resonance problem and many women/minorities lack the technological context to meaningfully participate. SpiritDAO leverages a proactive inclusivity approach to membership to ensure historically marginalized individuals are part of this space.
Solution/Product: SpiritDAO is a pluralistic, inclusive community focusing on what we believe to be the central problem of our various crises—our available frameworks of meaning and value. We believe that vision and values are more important than tech to the average individual and have developed an onboarding process to reflect these ideals.
Describe the project in detail including…
Detail: SpiritDAO is moving towards a formal launch alongside the completion of our upcoming graphic novel which was made possible via a recent Gitcoin Grant. A graphic novel distills the core philosophies and practices contained in Self-Actualization in the Age of Crisis in order to simplify the message. Your grant funds will help our community distribute these books for free, support membership costs for new women members, and hold spaces for women and minorities to connect and organize around our philosophies and practice.
How does the project relate to blockchain or web3?
SpiritDAO is the first on-chain spiritual community embracing new first principles informed by cosmology and physics. Our initial protocol, Self-Actualization in the Age of Crisis is a living document stewarded by and evolving alongside our community. We are reimagining spirituality in alignment with our technological ascendency and growing collective knowledge.
Our DAO resides in the Optimism chain and leverages a variety of onchain tools that we provide training for during onboarding and via perpetual upskilling connections. We focus on binding spirituality to the systems we surround ourselves with and empower our community members to enact these changes locally and globally through our support of the Eight Dignities. For more details about our central philosophies, operations, and on-chain infrastructure see https://docs.spiritdao.org
How are you encouraging other women/minorities to be part of your community?
As an Indigenous, Women Co-Founder of SpiritDAO, prioritizing women/minorities to be a part of our community is central to our mission. We’re presently in our infancy, meaning that much of our efforts revolve around spreading the message through targeted events, outreach, book distribution, and communal spaces. At SpiritDAO we provide a wide range of resources and weekly communal spaces to help our members upskill and redirect their lives. Additionally, our message of expansive plurality stands in opposition to the dominator cultures and philosophies growing in popularity among men — we provide women/minorities an alternative framework of being and community rooted in science and nature, rejecting dogmas of historical spiritual technologies.
Validation / Traction / Progress so far
Team:
Sunny Joy Balfour: Co-Founding Member of SpiritDAO
Ron Rivers: Co-Founding Member of SpiritDAO, Original author Self-Actualization in the Age of Crisis
We have a community of over ~60 members with several active members but are presently in pre-launch with the intent of opening up memberships within the next month.
Grant Amount Requested
Amount in USD $10000
What will it be used for?
Seed funding to formally launch our community and formalize our 501c3 nonprofit status.
$3000 will be set aside for operational costs (SaaS) and website buildout — likely to partner with General Magic.
$1000 will be allocated to expenses of incorporation and Tax Exempt application fees.
$2000 will be allocated to outreach efforts and funding memberships for low-income women and historically underrepresented individuals.
$4000 will be put into the community vault to fund initiatives.
- Present projects this would support:
- Design of our graphic novel
- Printing/distribution of graphic novel
Any excess funds not specifically earmarked will be returned to our community vault.
Attach any additional documents/resources about the project if you have any.
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, MGD’s transition out will breathe life into the birth of our community.
How did you hear about MGD’s Funding program? Twitter
Docs: 
Community Wallet: 0xF3c47077C406FeA33daD4BE498fDf03Cb5d4537f
$SELF Token Contract: 0xed034912584d0bcdefc396d27b641f4419cec865
Collaboration Hub: 
Voting: 
Twitter: 
Discord: