Skip to main contentThe ENS Foundation is a Foundation Company Limited By Guarantee, incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Foundation companies are nonprofits; the ENS Foundation has no shareholders and cannot pay out dividends to its directors or members. For more details on how foundation companies work, see this article.
Directors
The ENS Foundation has three directors: Nick Johnson, Kevin Gaspar, and Alex Van de Sande. The directors are responsible for the day-to-day running of the foundation.
Foundation
The ENS Foundation has one supervisor, an administrative role whose job is to ensure that the directors are fulfilling their duties in accordance with Cayman Islands law. This position is filled by DS Limited, a Cayman Islands firm.
Foundation Expenses
Operating a foundation incurs real-world costs. An incomplete list of anticipated expenses includes:
- Registered Office & Secretary Services: $10,000 USD per year
- Supervisory Services: $30,000 USD per year
- Agent for service of process: $1,200 USD per year
- Companies Register Fees: $850 USD per year
The directors may request reimbursement of these fees from the DAO as they are incurred, to ensure the continued operation of the Foundation.
Relationship to the ENS DAO
The ENS Foundation’s Articles of Incorporation grant significant powers to the ENS DAO (referred to as “The Council” in the Articles). The DAO may vote to:
- Appoint or remove a director, member, or supervisor
- Prohibit the admission of any new members in the future
- Instruct the directors to wind up the foundation and specify which charity or other foundation should receive the foundation’s assets
Additionally, while not specified directly in the Articles, the DAO may instruct the directors to take action on behalf of the Foundation—such as signing a contract, engaging a company for a service the DAO requires, or delegating some of the directors’ powers to a DAO working group. These powers are defined in the Foundation’s Articles of Incorporation.
Documents
For transparency, important documents relating to the ENS Foundation are made publicly available, including:
