Radical Transparency

Updated: July 2025 — Draft v1.1

Current Status (as of July 2025)

SOUL is an open-source experiment in decentralized humanitarian design.

  • Funding: None (yet)
  • Team: One human (so far) + one AI
  • Legal Entity: Not formed (yet)
  • Infrastructure: Patreon, Discord, GitHub
  • Version: Alpha
  • Phase: Vision crystallization & core structure
  • Open Beta: Coming soon

This project is being prototyped publicly, transparently, and with a deep desire for collaboration. It’s a personal vision that’s being translated into something open-source and replicable—so that anyone, anywhere, can co-own it and make it real. You are welcome to:

  • 🧪 Test the framework
  • ✍️ Help improve documents
  • 🎨 Design tools or visuals
  • 🏗️ Start a prototype Node
  • 💬 Ask hard questions

Why Transparency Matters

SOUL is built on the belief that power should be accountable, and trust must be earned through openness—not image.

We don’t believe in gatekeeping ideas, exaggerating progress, or creating artificial mystique.

This isn’t a brand. This isn’t a pitch. This is a public prototype.

Transparency is how we protect our values before there’s money, status, or power at stake. We begin how we mean to continue.

What Transparency Looks Like for SOUL

Here are the specific ways we practice and aspire to transparency:

Financial Transparency

  • All income and spending will be tracked in a public ledger
  • Major purchases include photos, receipts, or explanations
  • Monthly financial reports will be shared via Discord and Patreon
  • Compensation (if and when it begins) will be capped and disclosed

We currently follow a 33 / 33 / 33 model for future budgeting:

  • 33% for direct humanitarian aid
  • 33% for savings/reserves
  • 33% for infrastructure and operations

Right now? We haven’t spent or received a dollar.

Structural Transparency

  • No paywalls for core content—everything is shared freely
  • No private strategy groups—all major docs are open for feedback
  • The Discord server will have public meeting logs and discussion history
  • Node and Nexus designs include rotating leadership and open notes
  • All decisions about the project structure are published and discussable

There are no hidden leaders. No steering committee. Just one person trying to do this the right way—with full visibility.

Ideological Transparency

  • We are not a political party, religion, or protest movement
  • There is no central belief required to participate
  • Our philosophy is written plainly and openly link to philosophy
  • We encourage thoughtful debate, revision, and public dialogue
  • We invite scrutiny—not to “win” arguments, but to improve alignment

Operational Transparency

  • All SOUL documents will be versioned, timestamped, and open to review
  • GitHub (or equivalent) will house a growing library of source files
  • Discord and Patreon are real-time mirrors of project development
  • Any future app/tool will be open-source and documented for audit

In the future, contributors will have clear options for anonymous vs. public collaboration, with peer review systems and clear records of what’s being built and why.

The Road Ahead

We hope to soon:

  • Launch our first test Nodes through park cleanups and service gatherings
  • Incorporate as a nonprofit (once it’s safe and necessary)
  • Onboard contributors to help refine tools and build shared systems
  • Run our first open feedback cycles with playtesters and aligned volunteers

None of this happens without trust, and trust begins today—not after the grant, the logo, or the follower count.

Final Note: The Culture We’re Creating

We don’t sell influence.
We don’t buy loyalty.
We don’t pretend to be further along than we are.

If we are to demonstrate a better way of building trust, leadership, and systems—we must live that better way from the start.

Thank you for holding us to it.

We stand together.
—SOUL Foundation Team