The efforts of many charities are often hampered by bureaucracy and the presence of hierarchical structures within these organizations can further complicate matters.
To circumvent this inefficient gibberish, PactDAO co-founder Marisa Rando suggests that those looking to distribute aid focus on being "active," as this is the root of the term "activism." Rando hinted that the presence of hierarchical structures within charities leads to a bias in aid distribution, while the adoption of a fully decentralized model encourages activism from both donors and recipients.
This results in a stronger community base and more objectivity and fairness in the selection and distribution of aid. This is the true intent of mutual aid and grassroots activism.
In episode 11 of The agendahosts Jonathan DeYoung and Ray Salmond were joined by PactDAO co-founder Marisa Rando who discussed the key differences between charity and mutual aid, along with several of the initiatives spearheaded by PactDAO.
When skepticism becomes optimism
Initially, Rando and others at PactDAO were generally skeptical about cryptocurrency, but after a year of successfully raising funds and connecting New York City residents with various mutual aid organizations, some members began to explore more ways. efficient ways to democratically manage the organization and distribute aid.
Recurring challenges when trying to set up a multisig bank account eventually led PactDAO to explore the components of Web3.
rando said:
โWe had been like talking to lawyers and talking to accountants and trying to design what we would later find out is like a multi-sig. We thought, how do we create this bank account that, you know, multiple groups can participate in? But, you know, there are railings. There's a built-in democracy, and I remember explaining this to a friend and they said, this is what I've been talking about. This is like these cryptographic things. This is what our DAO runs on. It's called a multi-signature wallet. And I was like, I don't know, I don't want to hear any of this crypto stuff."
Fortunately, the group's views on crypto, Web3, and NFTs changed after Rando connected with "some like-minded people in this space, people I'm close friends with now and have become good mentors and partners and people with which I work".
Related: DAOs can turn into a disaster faster than you think
DOAs democratize activism and aid distribution
When asked about the reasons for transforming Pact Collective into a DAO, Rando said:
โGoing back to when we were called Pact Collective. We were like, what does this collective mean? We were running our subscription service, for example, we used to do these monthly email newsletters and we'd put polls in there and have this as a close friends group on Instagram. That was how we kept in touch with the people who were donating. And we ask them, hey, help us decide which organization to donate to next month, or you know, what do you think we should address next?
According to Rando, the structure and function of a DAO allows for more organic participation and input from members, which he believes is a net benefit, since members "are best equipped to make those decisions."
To hear more of Rando's conversation with The agenda โ including current PactDAO initiatives, 2023 goals, and the current state of mutual aid collectives โ listen to the full episode on Cointelegraph Podcast Page, Apple Podcasts either Spotify. And don't forget to check out Cointelegraph full lineup from other shows! Magazine: Building community resilience to crises through mutual aid and Web3 This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed herein are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
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