Revised Cardano dOSPO and OMF Program Proposal
This proposal is to establish an independent entity dedicated to managing open source sustainability funds for the Cardano ecosystem.DAOs and traditional foundations are often too vulnerable to political influence, lack execution speed, and can become centralized in ways that distort outcomes based on internal politics. These issues can undermine priorities and weaken long-term initiatives. To address these problems, I am proposing a purpose-built independent structure — an execution function, not an executive one. This program has a single, clearly defined purpose set by its charter, and the community can shut it down at any time through governance without having to wait for the funds to run out.I am requesting funding for one year. I left a stable, well-paying job to focus on doing this properly, and I believe my track record in the ecosystem speaks for itself. During this period, I will directly manage the fund while deliberately avoiding overlap with existing funding programs.The structure will remain fully accountable to governance. DReps will have the ability to replace me or sunset the entire initiative at any time through an on-chain Info Action. I commit to sponsoring any such Info Action if requested by 15 or more DReps.To ensure proper legal and financial operations, I have already engaged a law firm to establish a public charity through which the majority of funds will flow. This step cannot be completed without initial capital. Once established, the law firm will handle formal auditing in addition to the transparent financial tracking I will maintain.
Reasoning
Written after the vote was cast
What this asks for, and from whom
4,094,000 ADA to stand up an independent entity managing open-source sustainability funds for Cardano. One person directly managing the fund for a year, with a two-council model alongside LFDT, and a public charity to be formed by a law firm after the money arrives. Dreps could remove the manager or sunset the program via Info Action if 15 or more Dreps request it.
What would have to be true for this to be a good use of treasury funds
Open-source sustainability is a real problem. The proposal's own citations are right that most maintainers work unpaid and critical infrastructure runs on a handful of contributors. For this structure to be the answer, the legal entity would need to exist before the treasury wires millions to it, and the program would need clean separation from the funding programs we already pay for.
What specifically concerns me
Sequence and concentration. The charity "cannot be completed without initial capital". Meaning the accountability structure gets built after the withdrawal, not before. That's backwards. One individual directly managing ecosystem funds for a year, with removal requiring coordinated Drep action, is a lot of trust to extend up front. And we already fund open-source maintenance through the Intersect budget process. The TxPipe maintainers, MLabs tooling, hardware wallet support all just came through that pipe. The overlap this proposal says it will avoid isn't spelled out enough for me.
What I am asking of the proposer if this passes
It's still active, so my no stands as cast. If it's revised again: form the entity first, name the councils, publish the charter, and show exactly which funding gaps the existing programs leave. The mission is right. The structure isn't there yet.