Cause Areas

In the Glo App, you select the Cause Area you care most about. 

Cause Areas are the different domains within which we can do good by funding a better world. They represent something we’d like to improve in the world (e.g. Fight Extreme Poverty, Combat Climate Change) or want to see more of (e.g. Web3 Public Goods).

Once you’ve picked your favorite Cause Area in the Glo App, we’ll donate monthly profits to a selection of best-in-class Funding Recipients within that Cause Area.

Is your favorite Cause Area missing? Let us know: hello@glodollar.org. We’ll expand the Cause Area list over time based on feedback from our community.

Funding Recipients

Our monthly donations for each Cause Area are split between one or more Funding Recipients.

Funding Recipients are organizations that do amazing work in improving their Cause Area. By funding them, we scale their impact.

The Funding Recipients per Cause Area are curated by the Glo Foundation, together with our Advisory Board.

Example. If you select Fight Extreme Poverty, our monthly donations go to the non-profit GiveDirectly, who distribute basic incomes for people in extreme poverty.

How we curate Funding Recipients

In curating the Funding Recipients, our goal is to make each Cause Area an appealing option for users and builders that has actual positive impact. 

That’s why we look for:

• Quality & Fit. Are we confident that funding this organization meaningfully improves this Cause Area? Do they survive scrutiny?
• Popular Demand. Is this an organization that users, builders, and the broader ecosystem are excited to support via Glo Dollar?

Additionally, we take into account legal, regulations, and several other factors—see below.

Example. For Fight Extreme Poverty, we’ve selected the non-profit GiveDirectly as Funding Recipient. Not only do we and our Advisory Board believe GiveDirectly’s basic income programs are one of the most effective, proven, and transparently executed ways to reduce extreme poverty—they’re also widely loved amongst our community. Vitalik is a fan, for instance. 

Quality & Fit

Together with our Advisory Board and, when needed, external subject matter experts, we scrutinize potential Funding Recipients based on the following criteria:

• Cause Area Fit. Is their success aligned with the intent of the Cause Area? Are they an improvement over or relevant addition to the Cause Area’s current Funding Recipients?
• Proof of Impact. Do they have a demonstrated track record of positive changes made over time in the communities or causes they serve?
• Transparency and Documentation. Are they earnest in assessing their own effectiveness? Do they openly share information about their operations, impact, finances, and externalities?
• Funding Needs. Do they have the potential and the capacity to turn additional funding into more impact?

The Glo Foundation only donates to organizations that satisfy these criteria. 

Popular Demand

We gauge popular demand for potential Funding Recipients by talking to and being in touch with our community. Feedback is always welcome, so join our Discord, shoot us an email or DM us anywhere. We’ll be making this process more sophisticated as Glo Dollar adoption grows.

Legal, regulations, and other factors

In reviewing Funding Recipients, the Glo Foundation always takes into account:

• AML rules & sanctions
• Other applicable laws and regulations

We may also take into consideration other factors such as (non-exhaustive):

• Fiscal status. We prioritize nonprofits and organizations that receive fiscal sponsorship.
• On-chain donations. For added transparency, we prefer organizations to which we can make our donations on-chain.
• Mission alignment. We prefer organizations that align with our shared goals and values, as well as those of our users. Open source, for example.

Nomination process

Anyone, internal or external to the Glo Foundation, is welcome to nominate new Cause Areas and Funding Recipients.

In reviewing nominations, our team and Advisory Board follow the below process:

1. Nomination. This is when someone, internal or external, suggests a new funding recipient.
2. Temperature check. During the weekly team meeting, the Glo Foundation briefly discusses nominations based on the core selection criteria. 
3. Due diligence. If the nomination has potential, we start a deep dive to assess Quality & Fit, Popular Demand, and potential legal and regulatory implications. 
4. Advisory Board. We present our findings to the Advisory Board and ask for their input. 
5. Voting. Based on our review and the Advisory Board’s feedback, the Glo Foundation leadership team votes on the nomination.
6. Adoption. If positive, the new Cause Area and/or Funding Recipient is added and can now be selected by Glo Dollar holders to generate funds for.

In situations where an Advisory Board member has a conflict of interest with a potential Funding Recipient, this member is excluded from the due diligence process.

Disclaimer

Ultimately, the decision to include or exclude Cause Areas and Funding Recipients happens at the sole discretion of the Glo Foundation. 

While the factors and processes laid out above are generally how we make these decisions, we reserve the right to change who we fund at any time and for any reason. Changes may happen without prior communication. Past inclusion is not a guarantee for future inclusion. None of Glo Foundation’s communications constitute any kind of guarantee or promise of funding to any organization.