Funding the Commons

?? Blockchain for Real-World Impact We're excited to announce that our CEO, Melyn McKay (Ph.D.), was recently featured by Funding the Commons, a groundbreaking platform dedicated to innovating funding models for public goods and regenerative projects. ?? At?Coala Pay, we’re transforming how large international aid organizations leverage blockchain to:? ??Ensure seamless and secure payments from local partners to communities in need.? ??Improve traceability and transparency in aid distribution.? ??Drastically reduce costs and time associated with fund transfers. During the?Funding the Commons Residency, we developed a?digital wallet?integrated into our app, enabling real-time aid disbursements and communication directly with beneficiaries – all within one platform.?? Blockchain is more than technology; it's a tool to?rebuild trust and sovereignty?for those on the front lines of humanitarian crises. Thank you to?Funding the Commons?for amplifying our vision and supporting our mission. Let’s keep building a better future.????

A heartfelt thank you to the Internet Archive for welcoming us into such a meaningful space for Funding the Commons San Francisco. ??? ?? And especially to Wendy Hanamura and Mark Graham—for your warmth, thoughtfulness, and the decades you’ve dedicated to preserving open knowledge and defending the digital commons. Hosting this gathering in a place so deeply tied to the mission of access and stewardship made the conversations feel even more special. We’re grateful for the chance to be there with you—and for all the work you continue to do.

On March 15–16, 2025, the?Internet Archive hosted some of the world’s most forward-thinking minds to explore the intersection of AI, the Open Web, and digital infrastructure as commons. The event was led by?Funding the Commons ?— a network for system change uniting cross-disciplinary experts to build regenerative, resilient, and equitable digital systems that rethink how we fund and govern Earth’s shared resources. We had the pleasure of supporting and representing human.tech by Holonym Foundation, a key sponsor and contributor to the gathering. Our role included curating a thoughtful art activation, producing branded merchandise, and overseeing partner logistics. This community isn’t just talking about change — they’re actively building optimistic technologies and governance models that reimagine how we live and collaborate. Being part of this movement is both an honor and a reminder of the power of intentional design. ?? ???Samoura? Coop

Had such a great time discussing community with Beth McCarthy at Funding the Commons' summit themed to Structures of Resilience. I've long been deeply passionate about the value of online communities and the importance that they are, essentially, cheap, common goods that anyone should be able to take advantage of. In our fireside chat, Beth and I honed in on the importance of hierarchy in community - especially as they scale. That's a bit of a controversial take for certain audiences where there's value placed on decentralization. But it's important to remember that, both online and off, people do begin behaving a certain way when their groups certain sizes. There are "laws" to community building. For example, as groups get bigger they'll form subgroups, all communities are exclusive to varying extents, people conform to their communities, and, yes, eventually layers of membership and leadership roles form. Thank you again for having me, Beth!

The Internet Archive is SUCH a special place. I was tremendously honored to be invited to speak at Funding the Commons "Infrastructures of Resilience" this last weekend. The event brought together brilliant thinkers and builders like Wendy Hanamura, Samuel J Klein, Danny O'Brien, Tom Kalil, Allison Duettmann, Evan Miyazono, Mark Graham, and SO many others who continue to inspire me to think differently and dream bigger. ?? HUGE thank you to Beth McCarthy and the team for inviting me. I believe the talks were recorded, so I’ll share back when we get the links! UPDATE: Thanks to Matthew Markovich for finding the recording. My part starts at ~1:36:00, about halfway in the video. My talk is ~10min, but I highly recommend watching the other sessions if you have time! https://lnkd.in/edDGkA73

A huge thank you to Funding the Commons for inviting us to speak and moderate a workshop at their San Francisco conference this past weekend! We felt privileged to be in such good company alongside Dr. Brad Shaffer of UCLA's La Kretz Center for California Conservation and fellow speakers we had the chance to connect with: David Dao of GainForest.Earth, Matthew Monahan, Daniel Wolfe of Ma Earth, Aya Miyaguchi of Ethereum Foundation, Vincent Weisser of Prime Intellect, Dr. Stuart Cowan of Buckminster Fuller Institute, Lou de K, Ben Goldhaber of Future of Life Foundation (FLF), Tony Lai of CodeX Stanford Blockchain Group, Shady El Damaty of human.tech by Holonym Foundation, Will Ruddick of Grassroots Economics, Alan Ransil of Devonian Systems. Thank you again to the event organizers Beth McCarthy & David Casey for thinking of us. We look forward to sharing a video of the discussion photographed above between Wise Ancestors Executive Director Ann Pace, PhD, Strategic & Creative Director Smilek Aleksandra, and Dr. Shaffer. #FTCSF Internet Archive #biotech #biodiversity #conservation #genomics

Thank you to everyone who joined us for a fantastic #FtCSF! ??? ?? The weekend was all about resilience—of infrastructure, knowledge, and communities. From AI and open-source funding to climate data and public goods, the conversations and connections reminded us why this work matters. Appreciate the energy and insights you brought. Until next time!

"When a complex system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire system to a higher order." Iya Prigogine, Noble prize-winning chemist That quote cited by Matthew Monahan at Funding the Commons stuck with me, as it's so relevant for the times we live in. And it was so encouraging to see at the event, the island of coherence that we are building in the regenerative tech space, where countless organizations are linking to design and build new systems for a better future. I had the pleasure to speak on stage with Dr. Stuart Cowan from the Buckminster Fuller Institute, about how Geospatial AI can help restore nature and address climate change. We brainstormed live how these tools can now help us build Buckminster's vision of the 'World Game', a simulation of our planet to design solutions for Earth as a whole. The event was hosted at the Internet Archive, a wonderful building and project with the mission of providing universal access to all knowledge. (You should visit it when you're in San Francisco!). Their long term view is an inspiration for everyone working on important missions.

Funding the Commons: Rethinking the Future of Genomic Data and Biodiversity Conservation ?? ?? We are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction, and at the same time, entering an era where genomic data is becoming the backbone of generative biology industries. This dual reality makes it urgent to rethink how we fund biodiversity conservation and ensure equitable benefit-sharing of the wealth generated from open-source genomic data. Scientists working on biodiversity are generating massive genomic datasets, often freely accessible. Yet, as industries—from pharma to synthetic biology—leverage this data for groundbreaking applications, the question remains: How do we ensure fair redistribution and benefit-sharing? The Funding the Commons San Francisco conference took place at the Internet Archive. I had the pleasure of discussing these critical issues as the strategist of Wise Ancestors and hosting a panel with Brad Shaffer UCLA & Director of the California Conservation Genomics Project, and Ann Pace, PhD from Wise Ancestors. We explored how conservation genomics can drive new funding models and how to align incentives between scientists, Indigenous stewards, and industries benefiting from these discoveries. A huge thank you to the organizers Beth McCarthy David Casey and the brilliant minds of: David Dao Matthew Monahan Daniel Wolfe Aya Miyaguchi Vincent Weisser Dr. Stuart Cowan Lou de K Ben Goldhaber Tony Lai Shady El Damaty Alan Ransil Let’s continue building mechanisms that safeguard our commons ?? .

Today at the Internet Archive former startup leader from The Batchery program, David Casey, kicked off the Funding the Commons event in SF. A truly incredible event where Aya Miyaguchi and Wendy Hanamura locked in on Leading through Subtraction and talked Ethereum Foundation values and strategy. Overwhelmingly good stuff… Met so many amazing, passionate, warm, super-smart folks … wish I could have met and chatted with every single person. Wow! If I didn’t meet you and we didn’t chat reach out and we can talk Ethereum based venture capital, impact investing, and catalytic funding. #fundingthecommons #ethereum #ethereumfoundation #eth #web3 #opensystems