NFTs continue to gain attention in all areas of our lives and this time they are saving the lives of both humans and animals.
Donations in the form of cryptocurrency are already considered an adapted phenomenon, but the creation of NFT collectibles or artworks, the sales of which will go to charity, is rather a relatively new “movement” already demonstrating its effectiveness.
Such crypto and NFT-driven charitable activities do not require the involvement of banks, governments, and other legal intermediaries, which means they are less susceptible to corruption. Thus, revenues are passed directly to a non-profit organization in a decentralized way.
In March 2021, Beeple’s “Ocean Front” raised $6 million for the Open Earth Foundation — a non-profit organization with the main aims of tolerance and equity promotion.
DoinGud, an NFT platform launched last year, offers a policy of allocating a percentage of sales: from each NFT item sold on the platform, a minimum of 5% goes to a social impact organization that the creator of NFT can choose.
Noora Health is another non-profit organization that uses NFTs to raise funds for its programs. Most of the organization’s programs and research focus on infants and the elderly. All proceeds from the sale of NFTs are used to support their policy: more than 150 lives have already been saved in South Asian hospitals.
Orangutan Outreach raises funds not only via crypto-donations with the help of the Giving Block platform but is also “in touch” with one of NFT’s most sought-after collections, the Bored Ape Yacht Club.
The executive director of the organization focused on saving the orangutans population, Rich Zimmerman said, that “Their crypto journey began when NFT pioneer Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) made a series of donations last summer that amounted to the largest single donation to Orangutan Outreach in the nonprofit’s history”. These donations caused a furor in the NFT and charitable foundation space — and so Julius came into being.
Zimmerman added, “Julius is our Bored Ape Ambassador, and he has become our representative and avatar across our social media, putting our name out there to people who otherwise would not have known about us or what we do”.
The War in Ukraine sparks charitable NFT-based project launch
In light of recent events, it is impossible not to mention the war in Ukraine: sales from NFTs and continuing donations keep providing charitable funds to save the lives of Ukrainians, their cultural heritage, and reconstruction of the devastation caused by the Russian attack.
For example, Indestructible Donation came about as a result of a collaboration between a community of Ukrainian photographers and Sydney-based Performics Mercerbell. Their partnership turned into 40 NFTs that document “Ukraine’s cities, culture, and heritage in its pre-war times”.
Sales from NFTs will go to Come Back Alive, a charitable organization that supports the army and volunteers by funding defensive operations.
Legendary Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko is going to release an NFT collection to help Ukraine as well through a collaboration with the artist WhisBe. All proceeds from NFTs sales will go to the Ukrainian Red Cross and UNICEF. WhIsBe has an NFT collection called “Vandal Gummy.” In collaboration with Vladimir, he has redesigned his Vandal Gummy project to feature four issues of NFT Gummy Bears in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag.
No one seems to be indifferent anymore: art opens its floodgates of help as well
More and more artists and art-related people are launching their NFT-based projects and monetizing their digital masterpieces, with funding going for post-war reconstruction. For example, from the sales of more than 1,200 museum NFTs, Ukraine has raised $600,000 to help rebuild the country — particularly the destroyed museums. At the same time, projects such as Forza Ikonia, ArtWARks, Waone Interesni Kazki, Holy Water, and more are raising the proceeds from the sale of NFTs, which will go to the Ukrainian army and all the victims of Russia’s invasion.
