--- TITLE: Public Nouns: A Public Goods DAO Experiment DESCRIPTION: Learn how web3 communities come together to fund public goods. LANGUAGE: English WRITERS: OrnellaWeb3 TRANSLATORS: X LINK: https://app.banklessacademy.com/lessons/public-nouns-a-public-goods-dao-experiment FORMAT: LESSON --- ``` __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ $$$$$$$\ $$\ $$\ $$$$$$\ $$\ $$ __$$\ $$ | $$ | $$ __$$\ $$ | $$ | $$ | $$$$$$\ $$$$$$$\ $$ | $$\ $$ | $$$$$$\ $$$$$$$\ $$$$$$$\ $$ / $$ | $$$$$$$\ $$$$$$\ $$$$$$$ | $$$$$$\ $$$$$$\$$$$\ $$\ $$\ $$$$$$$\ | \____$$\ $$ __$$\ $$ | $$ |$$ |$$ __$$\ $$ _____|$$ _____| $$$$$$$$ |$$ _____|\____$$\ $$ __$$ |$$ __$$\ $$ _$$ _$$\ $$ | $$ | $$ __$$\ $$$$$$$ |$$ | $$ |$$$$$$ / $$ |$$$$$$$$ |\$$$$$$\ \$$$$$$\ $$ __$$ |$$ / $$$$$$$ |$$ / $$ |$$$$$$$$ |$$ / $$ / $$ |$$ | $$ | $$ | $$ |$$ __$$ |$$ | $$ |$$ _$$< $$ |$$ ____| \____$$\ \____$$\ $$ | $$ |$$ | $$ __$$ |$$ | $$ |$$ ____|$$ | $$ | $$ |$$ | $$ | $$$$$$$ |\$$$$$$$ |$$ | $$ |$$ | \$$\ $$ |\$$$$$$$\ $$$$$$$ |$$$$$$$ | $$ | $$ |\$$$$$$$\\$$$$$$$ |\$$$$$$$ |\$$$$$$$\ $$ | $$ | $$ |\$$$$$$$ | \_______/ \_______|\__| \__|\__| \__|\__| \_______|\_______/ \_______/ \__| \__| \_______|\_______| \_______| \_______|\__| \__| \__| \____$$ | $$\ $$ | PORTABLE LESSON DATADISK COLLECTION \$$$$$$ | \______/ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ``` --- # Introduction **Welcome, Explorers, to a new Community Lesson!** In web3, everything starts with **community**. Thanks to blockchain technology and Ethereum, communities can now do more than just coordinate! They can take **action**, **govern** shared resources, **fund** aligned projects, and **support** the future they want to see 🌱 In this lesson, you’ll explore how **public goods, DAOs, NFTs**, and **onchain governance** come together in a bold experiment called **Public Nouns**. Think of open-source tools, Ethereum infrastructure, or free educational platforms like Bankless Academy. These are digital public goods. They can benefit everyone, but since they are not profit-driven, they’re generally hard to fund. To tackle the challenge, Public Nouns raised a question: _**What if a decentralized community could fund these goods directly using art, culture, and code?**_ **👨🏻‍💻** Let’s find out what happens when people care enough to build! ⚒️ ![](https://app.banklessacademy.com/images/public-nouns-a-public-goods-dao-experiment/introduction-959fa0fe.png) # Public goods are good To start, let’s learn what public goods are 💡 Public goods are resources that **everyone can access, and one person’s use doesn’t reduce its availability to others.** In more economic terms, they are **non-excludable and non-rivalrous.** It might be a difficult concept to grasp at first, but think of clean air, streetlights, and public spaces like libraries and parks 🌳 In web3, public goods include things like **open-source code** (such as Ethereum clients), **shared infrastructure**, and **free educational resources** like tutorials and documentation. These are the digital commons that can be used by everyone, and their availability isn’t reduced if used 🌐 Public Nouns is a web3-native experiment designed to support both **web3 and real-world** public goods without middlemen, using **art, community, and culture** 🎨 ![](https://app.banklessacademy.com/images/public-nouns-a-public-goods-dao-experiment/public-goods-are-good-aa712ff1.png) # Knowledge Check 1 What’s true about public goods? - [ ] They run out when used - [ ] They’re invite-only spaces - [x] They are free and shared - [ ] They’re locked behind a paywall # Using web3 to fund public goods To understand how web3 enables funding for public goods, we need to define its **core building blocks 🧱** If you’re already familiar with them, you’ll be able to engage with the next slides more confidently. If not, do not worry, we encourage you to _read carefully_, as these are **foundational** ideas that will help everything else make sense. We’ll cover: - **NFTs:** non-fungible tokens used for identity and coordination 🖼️ - **DAOs:** decentralized autonomous organizations with shared treasuries 🌐 - **Onchain governance:** transparent, code-based systems for collective decisions 🗳️ These elements come together in a _unique case study_: **Public Nouns**, a community experiment for public goods funding. ![](https://app.banklessacademy.com/images/public-nouns-a-public-goods-dao-experiment/using-web3-to-fund-public-goods-9ee02318.png) # What is an NFT? The role of meme culture Ethereum has different types of tokens. `NFT` stands for _non-fungible token_, most commonly implemented as `ERC-721` or `ERC-1155`. ERC stands for Ethereum Request for Comment, it refers to a set of **technical standards** that govern how tokens are created and function on Ethereum. Unlike interchangeable tokens, like ETH or tokens like USDC (`ERC-20`), each NFT is distinct and can represent many things: art, music, identity, status, or access. In Public Nouns, they’re **symbols of shared values.** Each one features an artwork representing a **public goods project**. These visuals act as shared symbols within each community and the Ethereum ecosystem. Examples include **MolochDAO, Gitcoin, Treegens**, and more. As communities emerge and others wind down, Public Nouners can propose new art/communities to be included 🗳️ The art draws from **meme culture**, as a way to define **cultural identity** and help people **coordinate** around a shared mission 🎯 ![](https://app.banklessacademy.com/images/public-nouns-a-public-goods-dao-experiment/what-is-an-nft-the-role-of-meme-culture-71cedc1a.png) # Knowledge Check 2 What does a Public Nouns NFT represent? - [ ] Pets of each community member - [ ] Speculative art with no intrinsic value - [x] A specific public goods project - [ ] Memecoins # What is a DAO? A **DAO**, or **Decentralized Autonomous Organization**, is a web3-native structure for making collective decisions. It manages a shared treasury and its community members vote on new initiatives and how to fund them, openly and without middlemen ⛓️ DAOs were born on **Ethereum. Smart contracts**, self-executing programs deployed on the blockchain, have made it possible to automate coordination through code. These programs define the rules: **who** can propose a project, **how** votes are counted, and **when** funds are released 🔓 **Public Nouns is a DAO**. If you hold in your Ethereum wallet a Public Noun NFT, you’re part of the DAO. You can **propose** new projects, **vote** on proposals, and **help decide** which public goods get supported 🗳️ There are many kinds of DAOs. Some manage protocols, others invest capital, and some, like Public Nouns, exist to support public goods. Its mission is to create impact, not profit. ![](https://app.banklessacademy.com/images/public-nouns-a-public-goods-dao-experiment/what-is-a-dao-e9562a03.png) # Nouns and Public Nouns Now that you know what a DAO is, let’s look at the one that inspired it all: **Nouns** ⌐◨-◨ Nouns began as an experiment in **community-owned culture**. Every 24 hours, a pixel-art “Noun” is generated and auctioned onchain. The ETH goes into a shared treasury, and each Noun gives its holder one vote in the DAO. The Nouns movement started with a meme and lets the community **decide what to build**. Projects can go from media to tooling to global events. Its most iconic trait? **The Noggles** ⌐◨-◨, pixelated glasses worn by every Noun. This cultural icon has expanded from the _digital realm to real-world landmarks_ and events such as the [Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo](https://x.com/punk4156/status/1822040547059446040), to a projection on the [Eiffel Tower](https://x.com/johnhamon_/status/1761348271421747554), and has even been part of a [Super Bowl commercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbke3F1VnsQ). Noggles are a **cultural symbol of shared Nouns identity** across sub-DAOs like Lil Nouns, Gnars, and of course, Public Nouns. [embed](https://www.youtube.com/embed/lOzCA7bZG_k?rel=0&start=8) # Knowledge Check 3 What connects Public Nouns to Nouns? - [ ] They have shared treasury and governance - [x] Coded fork and shared symbols - [ ] Founded by the same web3 team - [ ] They use pixel art that changes every week # Forking & Governance Contracts Public Nouns is a **fork of Nouns.** In web3, _forking_ means copying **open-source code** and adapting it for a new mission. Public Nouns **kept the daily auction model**, but instead of having random characters with different traits, each NFT features symbolic artwork tied to a public good. The system relies on three core contracts, each with a specific role: - **Auction**: handles timing and sales of NFTs 🖼️ - **Treasury**: holds the ETH and releases it when proposals pass 🗝️ - **Governor**: developed by Compound, it manages proposals, voting rules, and quorum 🗳️ These **smart contracts work together** to define how proposals are made, approved and executed, all automatically and onchain ⚡ This kind of **modular approach** is one of Web3’s biggest strengths: shared infrastructure becomes a public good of its own, ready to be _remixed, repurposed, and reimagined_ 💭 ![](https://app.banklessacademy.com/images/public-nouns-a-public-goods-dao-experiment/forking-governance-contracts-07be6c71.svg) # How Onchain Funding Works To understand onchain funding, here’s a brief summary of how it works: **🎨 Step 1**: the **auction contract** creates a new Public Noun every 12 hours (or when the past auction is settled), and sends the ETH from each auction directly to the treasury. **🗳️ Step 2**: the **governor contract** manages proposals and voting made by DAO members - only when a proposal passes, meeting quorum and approval thresholds, can it be executed. **💰 Step 3:** the **treasury contract** holds the funds and is only triggered by the governor contract, often with a built-in time delay. This setup means funds **move only when the community approves.** No shortcuts, no central admin, no backroom decisions. In simple terms, it’s a protocol for funding: transparent, automatic, and verifiable by anyone on the Ethereum blockchain. Check out the full contract [here](https://etherscan.io/address/0x2bbebfeca0febde8c70ef8501c991f3ab2095862#code) on Etherscan. ![](https://app.banklessacademy.com/images/public-nouns-a-public-goods-dao-experiment/how-onchain-funding-works-5d9d11c8.png) # Knowledge Check 4 What does forking mean? - [ ] Attending the annual Public Nouns dinner - [ ] Rewritten the governance contract - [x] Copying code and reusing it - [ ] Delegate the ability to vote on proposals # Public Nouns’ Impact - Part I Since inception, Public Nouns has funded more than 50 projects through community-approved proposals. These **early-stage experiments,** which can be web3 or non-web3 related, were designed by community members with new and disruptive ideas 💡 **Web3 Public Goods** - [Protocol Guild](https://x.com/ProtocolGuild): long-term funding for Ethereum core contributors ⛓️ - [PizzaDAO](https://x.com/Pizza_DAO): in-person events promoting web3 values through pizza 🍕 - [Giveth](https://x.com/Giveth): empowers changemakers to accept crypto donations 💜 - [Gardens Conviction Voting](https://publicnouns.wtf/vote/50): bottom-up web3 governance framework 🌱 This very lesson, content and onchain certification, is also possible thanks to the support of the community. Check out the full list of projects and proposals supported [here](https://publicnouns.wtf/vote). Public Nouns shows the **impact a small internet-native community can have** when it funds public goods with intent, speed, and shared values. ![](https://app.banklessacademy.com/images/public-nouns-a-public-goods-dao-experiment/public-nouns-impact-part-i-7b7c8535.png) # Public Nouns’ Impact - Part II Public Nouns doesn’t just support web3 public goods, its mission extends into real-world public goods too. The community has backed projects focused on climate action, education, local food systems, and regeneration 🌍 Recent examples include: - [Kokonut Network](https://publicnouns.wtf/vote/69): syntropic agroforestry farms using web3 🌱 - [Solar Foundation:](https://publicnouns.wtf/vote/71) expanding access to solar power in Tanzania - [Tree Planting Guinness World Record Sponsorship](https://publicnouns.wtf/vote/38) in Thailand - [Ayowecca Uganda:](https://publicnouns.wtf/vote/63) transforming lifestyle of indigenous and marginalized communities Each project followed a _three-step process_: 1. The proposal was **posted** in the [Public Nouns Discord](/20f12837a13b80fca3f0c312ba7d1fac?pvs=25) 🗨️ 2. A 7-day (suggested) community **discussion** period took place 🧠 3. The proposal advanced to **onchain voting** at [publicnouns.wtf](http://publicnouns.wtf) 🗳️ ![](https://app.banklessacademy.com/images/public-nouns-a-public-goods-dao-experiment/public-nouns-impact-part-ii-5de36323.png) # Mission accomplished Public Nouns set out with a **clear mission**: fund experiments in public goods using **onchain tools, community decision-making, and symbolic NFTs.** From protocol development and public education to coordination infrastructure and community-led initiatives, its impact is widely felt within the **Ethereum ecosystem.** **How long will this experiment last?** _That’s still being defined._ As more OG members move on, and new members join, the community is now exploring how the mission can evolve ✨ One of the core strengths of web3 is **building in public**. This supports innovation and cross-collaboration that can shape the next phase of Public Nouns. Whatever the future might hold, it is clear that Public Nouns has helped pioneer the frontier of **mission-driven, onchain funding** - with an impact that will echo for years to come ⏳ Whether through Public Nouns itself or new forks, the model remains **open, tested, and available**. The tools are onchain. The lessons are public. And the invitation to keep building, is always open ⚒️ ![](https://app.banklessacademy.com/images/public-nouns-a-public-goods-dao-experiment/mission-accomplished-a808dbc2.png) # What’s next? An open invitation You’re almost there, Explorer! 🧑🏻‍🚀 We’re just one step away from the end of the lesson. Once completed, you will conquer the quest and be eligible to claim your onchain certification 🛡️ Before we conclude, and if the **Public Nouns mission resonates with you**, here’s a few steps you can take to support the community: - Follow [Public Nouns](https://x.com/PublicNouns) - Join the Community Spaces 🎙️ - [Create content](https://x.com/KokonutNetwork/status/1934021469966635401) about Public Nouns - Become part of the community by buying a [Public Noun](https://publicnouns.wtf/) Getting involved in any of these initiatives, supports the mission and helps it move forward 🚀 _💡 To participate in the first three it's important to mention that you do not need to own a Public Nouns. All activities are free to access._ ![](https://app.banklessacademy.com/images/public-nouns-a-public-goods-dao-experiment/whats-next-an-open-invitation-5efe6f41.png)