Governance

A DAO with a legal wrapper

The Local Solar System Foundation is a humanity-run project on planet Earth, organised as a DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation). A DAO without a legal entity can leave the people who take part personally liable for what it does. US courts have treated DAOs as general partnerships or unincorporated associations (for example Samuels v. Lido DAO and CFTC v. Ooki DAO).

Open decisions are only safe when the people making them are protected.

So we are forming Local Solar System DAO LLC, a non-profit DAO limited liability company under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. It will give the project its own legal personality and limited liability. The treasury, contracts, domain names and intellectual property will belong to the DAO LLC, not to individuals.

Later, when donations are sustained, we plan to set up a Swiss association and, in time, a Swiss foundation, and to transfer assets to it by a vote of members. Until then, “Foundation” in our logo describes that goal, not an existing foundation.

Who does what

Stewards coordinate contributors in each initiative. Learning Editors and Translation Coordinators look after quality.

Most people who help are contributors, not members. That is deliberate: it keeps participation simple and free of legal exposure.

What members vote on

• the direction and priorities of the project;
• the annual budget;
• electing the Council;
• changes to the Operating Agreement, transfer to a successor entity, and dissolution.

What the Council decides under written policies

Individual payments, whether a particular donation is accepted or quarantined, compliance decisions, and contracts within the approved budget. These are not put to open votes. They follow our written policies and every decision is recorded.

No token, no economic rights

• We do not sell, issue or airdrop any token.
• Membership is a non-transferable entry in a members’ register. It carries no right to profits, distributions, treasury assets or resale value.
• Contribution points have no monetary value. They are not transferable and are not crypto-assets. They measure contribution and can make you eligible to apply for membership. See Points, badges and certificates.
• No part of the DAO’s income or assets is ever distributed to members. On dissolution, what remains goes to a non-profit with a similar purpose.

Money

All donations go to the Treasury, which may be used for any need of the project and its future expansions: staff, contributors and contractors, suppliers and service providers, servers, software and licences, equipment, research and testing, and legal, compliance and administrative costs. The DAO allocates Treasury funds under its governance rules, to any activity or initiative, and donors cannot earmark them. Every public address, balance and incoming donation is on the Transparency page. Paid work happens only from the approved budget under written contracts and appears there as an outflow.

Records

Proposals, votes, Council decisions and treasury movements are recorded and kept. Every action in the administration area goes into an append-only audit log. We will publish an annual report on activities and finances.

Draft governance documents

These drafts are under review by the team and counsel:

• Operating Agreement (outline)
• Treasury Policy
• Donation Policy
• AML/CFT Procedure
• Contribution Policy

They will be published here once approved. To take part now, see Get involved.