CNGO - DAOs & NGOs working together

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

Following the Beirut blast, international aid flooded into the country to provide humanitarian relief. Many surveys were conducted in affected areas to compensate victims and help rebuild the destruction, however the execution of the funding was left to the local community. Given the lack of oversight and transparency, an influx of NGOs popped out of the blue to get a share of the donations yet quickly disappeared after providing little -to -no benefits. Of the significant amounts of funds received the money distributed to locals was minimal. Moreover, food and other donated goods were found on supermarket shelves and in stores being sold. Our solution was born from experiencing this real life event. 

Canadian Case Study - inflation consequences

Problem

NGOs are still working as centralized entities which lack transparency and accountability. 

Many NGOs use exorbitantly expensive Web 2.0 proprietary softwares that achieve varying and often limited success in reaching donors, driving event attendance, increasing digital engagement or inspiring new volunteers. (e.g Almabase) This approach not only reduces the success of the NGOs by limiting their ability to deliver the essential services they provide, it also breeds a lack of trust among individuals or entities looking to donate.

Solution

We are researching how to integrate DAO with NGOs. By building a DAO, we are pushing NGOs to behave better. When NGOs are on the blockchain, donors have insight into their finances, voting records, and behavior, which provides them with complete transparency. As a result, this would reduce the mismanagement of funds and potential fraud. By bringing NGOs to the technology space, donors will benefit from the best of both worlds.

Methodology of research

• Documenting donors' experiences via interviews
• Understanding NGOs internal procedures prior, during and after receiving funds through participant observation.

Impactful Research Results

The findings of this research will be utilized in the execution of our primary Dapp solution. 

[IMPACT] Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.

Our research will bridge the gap between NGOs and DAO. We will use our results to find ways on how to include DAOs with NGOs. And later stage, we will create a DAO tool to be used publicly with an open source.

[IMPACT] What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?

As our focus is not solely on the people within Cardano, but people outside the blockchain as well and how to onboard them, the challenges we might face along the way to create a platform that connects donors to NGOs in a transparent way are the following:

Risk 1: Some NGOs won’t believe in the efficiency of blockchain or don't have enough knowledge/information about blockchains, investing the time to educate individuals about the blockchain

Mitigation 1:The mentioned challenges above lie in the decentralized nature of the project, therefore we need to approach NGOs professionally and prove to them that the blockchain can help them restore donors’ trust, along with making the process of receiving payments easier and much faster.

Risk 2: Donors/NGOs will not be interested in interviewing for research purposes

Mitigation 2: We will engage with donors/ngos already engaged in blockchain. Additionally, we will incentivize individuals for their time.

Risk 3: We aren't asking the right questions

Mitigation 3: We will work with organizations and individuals who have already successfully created DAOs in their communities to ensure we are covering all of our bases in terms of the data we plan to gather.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed plan, including timeline and key milestones for delivering your proposal.

Now Until September 2022

• Build a research foundation to understand how such a platform could be a viable solution as a DAO for donor-NGO mediations
• Launching a website [ cngo.io ] with a purpose to provide detailed information about the roadmap & Sustainability model, the team & partners, the mission & vision  (beta version of the website is now available)

September 2022

• Brief UX/Ui designer based on the most relevant use cases and user journeys found and to start testing them

Roadmap for our broader vision

Following the initial launch, it is our plan to release ongoing updates of the platform where vendors/suppliers of NGOs will be onboarded to optimize the monitoring of NGO expenditures.

Long-term Goal  [2 years ahead]

Build a tool that validates eligibility of NGOs in a form of badge based and integrate it within the platform. The criteria will be the recorded performance of NGOs since their onboarding on the platform.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

Research Phase (Desk Research & Interviews)

• Dedicated researcher
• Survey & Interview Incentive Fees (depending on sample size)
• Incentives for potential interviewees
• Tools for meetings, surveys, and data gathering

Total: USD 20,000

Findings Reporting

• Dedicated Report Analyst
• Report Design

Total: USD 5,000

Community Management

Community Manager to handle the discord channel for 5 months

1000$/Month

Total: USD 5,000

Total Budget: USD 30,000

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide details of the people who will work on the project.

Raphael Ibrahim

Founder / business development

Professional Business Developer with more than five years of experience in the business development processes.

Involved in product testing, management and development of new business opportunities.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphael-ibrahim-7b6a7496/

Marie-Claude Abou Khalil

Marketing Expert

Founder of Switch Avenue Agency following expertise of 10 years in luxury brands setup and Marketing (Loyalty, CRM, SOP…), mass market retail online and offline marketing. Expert in Financial institution’s(banks and others) digital redesign and relaunch in Mena region. Mastercard’s Lead consultant in contextual marketing engine expansion and development in GCC and Mena region. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-claude-abou-khalil-6258a218/

Zuha El Helou

Anthropologist

Anthropologist and Philanthropist with 4 years of continuous experience in researching social and human science with UNESCO working on SDGs, with a special focus on SDG4 (Inclusive Education for all). Psycho-social support and community development volunteer for more than 3 years.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zuha-el-helou/

Fadi Tawile

Chief Financial Officer

Senior Executive with more than 25 years of experience in management accounting for wholesale, retail and manufacturing industry.

Expert in negotiation related to commercial, administrative or legal contracts with clients, suppliers and NGOs.

Investor in ADA for more than 2 years.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fadi-tawile-04127212/

Team Breakdown

Management Raphael, Zuha & Marie Claude 

Operations    Raphael, Zuha & Fady

Marketing    Marie-Claude

Tech Team    TBD

[FEASIBILITY] If you are funded, will you return to Catalyst in a later round for further funding? Please explain why / why not.

Yes, we are creating a dao tool with an open source so we might return to Catalyst in a later round.

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or any member of your team working on any other proposals in this Fund9?

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or your team working on any other proposals from previous Funds?

[AUDITABILITY] Please describe what you will measure to track your project's progress, and how will you measure these?

1. Publish Literature Review by the end of July
2. Conduct fieldwork (interviews, observation) (September)
3. Publish fieldwork results (October)

Progress will be measured against monthly progress and a KPI tracker aligned with our project plan. Progress reports will be shared with the Cardano community through the evidence field in our monthly submissions and through our regular community meetings.

[AUDITABILITY] What does success for this project look like?

Success for this project will mean that we answer all research questions and run a conclusive experiment with the selected NGOs and Donors. Upon completion of the project, we should have a clear understanding of how to include a DAO with NGOs, and how this integration might be beneficial for both parties.

[AUDITABILITY] Please provide information on whether this proposal is a continuation of a previously funded project in Catalyst or an entirely new one.

This is an entirely new proposal

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Rating

The impact of working to reach any SDG has a substantial impact on community development. Two main features of SDGs are decentralization and of course traceability, CNGO aims at targeting all the 17 SDGs in an indirect manner by simply bridging the gap between the donor and the NGO. Our end-user is the human being.