Please describe your proposed solution.
<u>Background</u>
The homeless crisis is a problem that stems from many causes and thus it has many potential solutions. That can include anything from rehabilitation centers for substance abuse to shelters, case management centers, street outreach programs, transitional housing, and many other approaches. Our goal is not to solve the whole homeless crisis, but to focus on one solution and educate the public about that specific approach.
As of now, we have partnered with a transitional housing organization, Uncle Dave's Housing, which focuses on helping men from South Central LA transition back into permanent housing. Transitional housing is an essential step that many have to take before transitioning back into permanent housing. Mike, a manager at the organization describes the process in four steps:
- Enter a rehab program
- Complete program
- Enter into transitional housing
- Enter back into permanent housing
Each one of the steps is a journey of its own and we would like to educate the public on this process and also bring awareness to this organization and organizations like it.
Uncle Dave's Housing charges $600/month to those seeking transitional housing. Usually, their tenants are individuals who come from rehab centers that just completed a program, were recently incarcerated, or are veterans. These men have nowhere else to go and could easily become homeless due to their situation. We want to ensure those individuals don't end up on the streets because they couldn't afford transitional housing.
<u>NFT Breakdown</u>
500 NFTs at $100 each for a total of $50,000 in sales => 16 recipients will each receive 5 months of housing paid for
- We will let the community decide what to do with the remaining $2,000
- can go towards providing clothing, shoes, etc.
<u>High-Level Summary </u>
- Conduct interviews of success stories that have either lived or are currently living at Uncle Dave's Housing. We will also interview the organizers of the organization.
- After each interview will conduct a documentary-style photoshoot using a film camera
- The film pictures will then be scanned and turned into NFTs which will be sold to raise funds for the organization
- The NFTs will be embedded with re-sale royalties of 20%, this is a step taken to ensure that the organization (Uncle Dave's Housing) continues to benefit from any secondary sales.
- AirDrop of an update NFT will be made to holders at the end of the campaign
NFT PROTOTYPES
<u> Summary Expanded </u>
These are just prototypes but they help to illustrate our vision. We want to tell a story through an image that is also accompanied by video content. For example, we already conducted an interview with Mike where he tells his experience being homeless and how he managed to transition back into permanent housing. We will produce one of our first NFTs on Mike and share his story with the world. You can think of Mike and the other 15 success stories as sponsors.
The proceeds from his NFT collection will be dedicated to one individual who receives 5 months' worth of rent at Uncle Dave's Housing. Once we find a recipient who gets the free housing, we will conduct a short interview to hear their story and share it with the rest of the world. A new NFT will be made that corresponds with to recipient's story. The new batch of NFTs will be airdropped to the NFT holders
<u>For Example:</u> If Mike's NFT collection raises funds to house 'Bob' for 5 months, all the holders of Mike's NFT will be airdropped a new NFT that tells Bob's story.
Mike won't be the only individual we make our original NFTs based on. We will conduct interviews on 15 other success stories and each will sponsor one recipient to get free housing for 5 months. They will be sponsoring through the stories that they share. Through this whole process, we will share our progress with the community
<u>NFT Utility </u>
Our mission with this NFT project is to raise funds to help with the homeless crisis in LA. Thus, our marketing campaign will focus on attaining the empathy of the NFT community. We will make it clear through our marketing that this is a donation so the NFT holder should not expect a monetary return. Instead, the NFT holder will get to be part of a social impact project. It will allow holders to be a part of a community that is focused on giving.
Holders will have more tangible evidence of their NFT utility when we begin to do the AirDrop updates. For these updates, we will revisit the organization and show tangible proof that the funds from the NFT sale went towards housing those in need. After the airdrops, we will then send all NFT holders a physical copy of the film picture. This film picture will be produced by hand in a dark room.
Finally, there is the utility of tax deductions. Uncle Dave's Housing is a 501(c)(3) which means any contributions to the organization are tax-deductible. The NFT proceeds will be directed straight to the organization's wallet which qualifies the original purchaser to receive a tax deduction receipt. We will embed this into the smart contract and ensure that only the original buyers receive the tax deduction receipt. (This utility is only applicable to US purchasers)
<u>End Result</u>
The funds will be used to pay 5 months' worth of rent for 16 men who are in danger of becoming homeless.
- That means 16 fewer people who end up on the streets.
- That means 16 more people who are able to transition back into permanent housing.
The community will get to see the tangible end results that came from their contributions. And the public at large will be better informed about the homeless crisis, the journey back into permanent housing, and organizations like Uncle Dave's Housing.
<u>Beneficiaries </u>
The group that benefits the most from this project will be those 16 men who are provided free housing for almost half a year. The second group to benefit will be Uncle Dave's Housing, through the royalties.
Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.
SheltersOnTheBlock will create a new use case for NFTs by introducing a new form of philanthropy. This project will create a transparent community where the proceeds of the sale could be traced and verified. As a result, impact valuation will be delivered to the Cardano Ecosystem. The community will know exactly how much was raised for the cause, and the distribution of funds, but most importantly the community will be able to measure the impact created. The impact created will be measured through AirDrops once the funds have been put into use.
<u> For example</u>: After the sale goes live, and we raise enough money to pay for 5 months' worth of rent we will find our first recipient. This recipient will be someone in need and who is in danger of experiencing homelessness. In order to prove to the community that funds were used to house this individual, we will make a quick video where the recipient shares his story with the community. After this video is taken we will create a new NFT and airdrop it to the community. Additionally, we will also upload proof of residency over the course of the 5 months. At the end of this project, there will be tangible proof to showcase how many men we kept off the streets and transitioned back into permanent housing. We will have created a way to measure the social impact.
<u>Tax Deductions</u>: Also important to note that if the minter/first purchaser of the NFT resides in the US, they will be able to count this as a donation and write it off on their taxes. Uncle Dave's Housing is a 501(c)(3), and there will be a system set in place to send the purchaser a receipt of donation. This mechanism could encourage companies or entities to interact with Cardano. If said entity or company has an agenda to help with the homeless crisis and they see Cardano has a project that supports the same cause it could draw their attention mostly if it has tax implications.
<u>A Project That Keeps on Giving: </u>This project will create impact monetization by making these NFTs tradable. After an NFT is traded on the secondary market, 20% in royalties will be collected and given back to Uncle Dave's Housing. This creates a situation of perpetual impact creation because each time an NFT is resold, the impact will be kept alive. And because all this will be carried out on the blockchain, the impact could be traced over time.
What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?
<u>Unclear Legal Environment Around NFTs</u>: The regulatory environment around crypto as a whole is very unclear. So the tax deductions perk is something that could be affected at any moment if unfavorable legislation gets put into place. To mitigate this risk we will have to work closely with our partnering organizations to receive feedback on our system that gives out receipts to the purchaser. This system must be compliant with 501(c)(3) tax regulations.
<u>Partnership</u>: If our collaboration partners ever decide to no longer proceed with the project it could throw away a lot of our work. In order to this risk, we must choose the right collaborators from the start. They have to be an organization that shares the same vision as us and will be willy to stick through the highs and the lows of the project.