As part of the Accelerating Makers program, we’re hosting regular events that bring you expert presenters on various topics to support purpose-built technology for civil society.
If you’d like to be notified of upcoming events make sure you’re on our email list.
Advancing Impact Measurement: Exploring New Approaches for Evaluating Success
Demos:
- Open Source Observer: This free analytics suite offers a promising model for measuring the impact of contributions to the health of an ecosystem, with potential applications for nonprofit projects.
- Hypercerts: This protocol aims to streamline the process of funding and rewarding positive impact through a shared, decentralized database for impact claims and funding mechanisms.
- Metrics Garden Labs: By developing tools to measure the "soft" contributions of a community beyond code, Metrics Garden Labs is exploring new dimensions of impact assessment.
Hosted on: May 23, 2024.
Learn about innovative new open-source solutions for impact measurement and funding.
Securing the Future: Activists and Decentralized Security Solutions
Demos:
- Snowflake: a free and open-source censorship circumvention tool from The Tor Project.
- Signal: why most chat tools are problematic for privacy, how they can be exploited, and how Signal can help. Freedom of the Press Foundation will demo some basic Signal features that will benefit activists.
- Quiet: a "Slackier Signal" for teams doing sensitive work.
- Self-help security education with Surveillance Self-Defense: the EFF's repository of how-to guides and explainers for protecting yourself and your friends online.
Hosted on: May 9, 2024.
This event was designed to empower activists with the knowledge of decentralized technologies that serve to bolster privacy and enhance security measures.
Building the Commons: Community Archiving & Decentralized Storage
Demos:
- TRANSFER Trust: Decentralizing Contemporary Art. Kelani Nichole introduces her project, which introduces an emergent movement of artists transferring trust into decentralized infrastructure to create new forms of cultural value.
- Save, by OpenArchive: a Secure Archiving Verification Mobile App. Natalie Cadranel and Lauren Salim demo Save, which helps you share, archive, verify, and encrypt your evidentiary media.
- Truth, Justice, and the Decentralized Way: Investigative Journalism Meets Dweb Archiving. Adam Rose shows how a groundbreaking cryptographic archive published by Rolling Stone helped reopen a 30-year-old cold case using the Starling Framework: Capture, Store, Verify.
Hosted on: April 25, 2024.
This event shines a spotlight on the intersection of decentralized storage solutions and community archive projects.
Crafting Our Collective Future: Accelerating Makers Town Hall [Session 2]
Presenters: Billy Bicket and Joel Harrison
Hosted on: Feb 7, 2024
Your voice is the key to unlocking the full potential of the 'Accelerating Makers' project. Your insights, experiences, and feedback will shape our current initiatives and light the path forward.
Crafting Our Collective Future: Accelerating Makers Town Hall [Session 1]
Presenters: Billy Bicket and Joel Harrison
Hosted on: Jan 29, 2024
Are you brimming with ideas about leveraging blockchain, cryptocurrencies, DAOs, and DWeb, but seeking direction to ground these technologies in real world projects? If your vision for decentralized social change is clear, but the path to realization seems foggy, watch our Info Session about Maker Studios and see if they are a fit for you and your project!
Office Hours: Secrets to Collaborating with Makers to Co-create Tech for Civil Society
Presenters: Mashal Waqar, Octant
Hosted on: Dec 20, 2023
Get practical advice on how to implement decentralized applications.
> Guide: Getting Your Organization Maker-Ready
Secrets to Collaborating with Makers to Co-create Tech for Civil Society
Presenters: Mashal Waqar, Octant
Hosted on: Dec 13, 2023
Civil society leaders connect and work with Makers to create purpose-built tools for public good.
> Guide: Getting Your Organization Maker-Ready
Improving Your Nonprofit Impact Using Real Web3 Examples
Presenters: Robby Greenfield, Umoja Labs
Hosted on: Dec 6, 2023
Discover how to use decentralized Web3 technology to create an impact in civil society.
> Guide: Creating Your Decentralized Identity
Office Hours: How Web3 Is Giving Power Back to Society
Presenters: Jodi Callender, The Emerge Group
Hosted on: Nov 21, 2023
In this informal Q&A, guest expert Jodi Callender answers your questions about the impacts of decentralization and the transition from Web2 to Web3.
How Web3 Is Giving Power Back to Society (and Your Nonprofit Organization)
Presenters: Jodi Callender, The Emerge Group
Hosted on: Nov 15, 2023
Explore what decentralization means and how Web3 technologies are making an impact on society, ownership, and sovereignty.
Blockchain Basics for Nonprofits: Preparing for the Future
Presenters: Jason Shim, Author of Bitcoin and the Future of Fundraising
Hosted on: Nov 1, 2023
Blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs. We hear these terms every day, but what do they really mean? And, more importantly, how can they open up new opportunities for leaders in nonprofits and civil society? In this first in a series of webinars for nonprofit leaders, Jason Shim will take you through the fundamentals.
> Guide: How to Buy and Store Crypto
Office Hours: Art of the Impact Pitch with Andrea Samson
Presenters: Andrea Samson, Talk Boutique
Hosted on: October 25, 2023
In this informal Q&A session, attendees had the opportunity to refine their impact pitch with our guest expert. Andrea Sampson is the CEO of Talk Boutique and has over 25 years of experience helping Fortune 100 companies, startups, TED speakers and impact organizations tell their impact story.
Art of the Impact Pitch: How To Craft Your Narrative for Funders and Nonprofits
Presenters: Andrea Samson, Talk Boutique
Hosted on: October 18, 2023
With over 25 years advising Fortune 100 companies, startups, TED speakers and impact organizations, Andrea Samson knows what it takes to capture attention in a pitch. In this 4th session in our makers series, she detailed the tried and tested ways of connecting with civil society organizations to realize your vision.
> Guide: Pitching DWeb App Ideas To Civil Society Leaders
Unlocking the Potential of Decentralized Storage
Presenters: Hunter Treseder & Ian Davis, Filecoin Foundation For The Decentralized Web
Hosted on: October 12, 2023
Learn the basics of decentralization and how to harness the power of decentralized storage. This talk includes real-world tools and applications that will help you explore storage solutions.
> Guide: Decentralized Storage
Office Hours: How to Access Web3 Funding for Your Projects
Presenter: Azeem Khan, Gitcoin
Hosted on: October 11, 2023
Participants engaged in a live Q&A session with our DWeb funding expert Azeem Khan, Head of Impact at Gitcoin.
How to Access Web3 Funding for Your Projects
Presenter: Azeem Khan, Gitcoin
Hosted on: October 4, 2023
In this third session in our series, we explored how Makers can use DWeb mechanisms to build their projects like hackathons and accelerators. We also looked at how to fund your impact projects including grants, venture capital, and initial coin offerings.
> Guide: Decentralized Storage
After Twitter: Understanding Social Media Protocols
Presenter: Evan Henshaw-Plath, Nos.Social and Planetary.Social
Hosted on: September 28, 2023
Discover post-Twitter social media's evolution, alternative platforms, and trends. In this recorded session, Ex-Twitter dev Evan Henshaw-Plath explores Activity Pub/Mastodon, Nostr, Threads, and more. Learn about decentralization's significance for nonprofits in online communication.
Office Hours: DWeb for Good: Real-World Examples of Innovation
Presenter: Shannon Ewing, ETHDenver
Hosted on: September 27, 2023
Explore the intersection of technology and social impact through this interactive Q&A office hour with Shannon Ewing as she delves into the use of the DWeb for change.
DWeb for Good: Real-World Examples of Innovation
Presenter: Shannon Ewing, ETHDenver
Hosted on: September 20, 2023
Expert speaker Shannon Ewing explores how leading civil society organizations are using the decentralized web for impact. These inspiring real-world case studies showcase innovators in fundraising, governance, humanitarian aid, traceability, and impact tokenization.
> Guide: Starting DWeb Development
DWeb and Civil Society: An Introduction For Makers
Presenter: Gloria Kimbwala, Supermodular
Hosted on: September 13, 2023
Discover the essentials of the decentralized web, the workings of blockchains, and the ethical development of DApps in this engaging webinar led by Gloria Kimbwala.
> Guide: How to Buy and Store Crypto
Office Hours: Unlocking Community Empowerment with Nathan Hewitt from Open Collective
Presenter: Nathan Hewitt, Open Collective
Hosted on: August 30, 2023
Missed the Office Hours session with Nathan Hewitt from Open Collective? Watch here to learn more about Open Collective’s legal and financial toolbox for grassroots groups doing good.
Making Your Community Project Sustainable
Presenter: Pia Mancini, Co-Founder & CEO, Open Collective
Hosted on: August 23, 2023
In this session with Pia Mancini, we explore tools to help you easily collaborate and fund your community projects.
How to Create a Digital-First Community with DAOs
Presenter: Deepa Chaudhary, Impact DAO Media
Hosted on: July 18, 2023
The Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) model gives you the tools to create a community that reflects your values. This session focuses on decentralized apps for distributed communities and collective governance.
How Can Civil Society Participate in the Decentralized Future Of The Web?
Presenters:
Hunter Treseder, Filecoin Foundation For The Decentralized Web
Nathan Freitas, Guardian Project
Hosted on: May 2, 2023
In this special event, Nathan Freitas of the Guardian Project shows how a decentralized approach has enabled his team to create easy-to-use and secure apps that enable activists to protect their communications and personal data from unjust intrusion, interception, and monitoring.