It is normal to see creators giving back to society. What is new is the rate at which they are exploring giving through donating NFTs, with funds to charitable organizations by different artists and celebrities. While the prices of NFTs vary daily, many non-profitable organizations have benefited from this new wealth creation.

Non-fungible tokens are a way to give unique ownership to artworks, as well as other media including video and music. They can be traded on marketplaces like BitClout (the NFT platform is still in development), Rarible, and OpenSea. Each time it is sold, a royalty is paid to the original creator in cryptocurrency such as Ethereum.

NFTs are not just a way to establish uniqueness and claim ownership of digital artwork. Their use cases have extended as they stir the interest of creators giving back to society.

They have become the rave of the moment for creators giving back big. A report shows the highest donation of NFTs to charity was more than $5 million by Paul Graham, a programmer, and author. This NFT was raised through OpenSea marketplace to benefit a non-profit, Noora Foundation.

Looking closely at all these givings, you might begin to wonder why creators dole out so much in token to not-for-profit organizations and other causes in society.

Why Are Creators Giving Back Through Donating NFTs?

Besides the act of kindness, creators also save on their taxes by giving back to society through NFTs. In many developed countries like the US and UK, donations of property like cryptocurrency, arts, and stocks are not fully tax-deductible. 

A donor doesn’t pay capital gains taxes or have market value deducted on their tax returns when donating appreciated property like cryptocurrency. If the donation is made to a registered non-profit, it is also not required to pay tax.

NFTs are appreciable properties, therefore not taxable because they are classified as cash donations. For example, if your token was valued at $7,000 last year and now it has appreciated in value to $15,000. Normally, if you sell your NFT you will be left with 30 percent less than the sales value.

If you decide to donate your NFT to a charity, you will have to give the full worth, write off the full amount and the non-profit keeps the full amount. Now you are writing off 30 percent more, and the charity is getting 30 percent more. 

A little digress from the tokenization, creators give back through charities or causes with great impact on the communities and the world around us. Donors are more concerned about the effect a donation makes on the lives of people.

Impact influences donation and giving, according to new research by Pilotlight. In a survey of more than 160 business leaders and philanthropists across England and Scotland, 60 percent of respondents felt that an understanding of the impact of a charity’s work forms a better basis in their decision to donate. 

What happens if creators are sure of the impact but can’t easily raise funds to support a cause? NFTs make it easier in both ways for creators to raise funds and support the cause of their choices.

Based on the hassle free opportunity NFTs offer creators in giving back, more artists are coming up with different causes that can be supported via tokens, to render financial or developmental assistance to those who need it.

Recent Donations by Creators Giving Back to Society

NFTs are a hot commodity in the crypto space. Recently, a lot of artists are creating new income streams via tokenization. A report shows the most expensive NFT sold Everyday: The First 5000 Days was for $69.3 million.

Among many creators raking in millions made from selling NFTs, some decide to give out the chunk to affect lives. Here are some creators who recently give back to society through NFT donations.

Steve Harvey is a global entertainer, philanthropist and businessman, he launched his first NFTs in May on Rarible.com. Harvey intends to give the proceeds of his token sales to Steve and Marjorie Harvey Foundation, delivering mentoring, education and scholarship programs for youth development.

According to Harvey, as a growing child in Cleveland he was more interested in learning and doing better than getting the newest things. He is excited that NFT offers him the opportunity to give back to the society and support the technology. 

Harvey NFTs offers three categories to choose from;

• The first is minted in 112 editions, a node to Steve’s childhood home on East 112th Street in Cleveland 
• Second one is in three editions including a Steve Harvey digital signature
• The third one which is minted in one edition and sold at auction includes the tie in the NFT autographed by Harvey

Steve and Rarible collaborate through these NFTs to offer his fans, audience and collectors the opportunity to access memorabilia coming directly from Steve. He aims to pay it forward for programs that benefit the community by donating the proceeds of NFT auction to his foundation.

Russian Creators Giving Back to Support Meduza

Russian artists launched a digital art auction to support Meduza, a popular Russian news media site that recently suffered pressure from the authorities. Eighty-one artists from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan came together to participate in creating two college videos and pictures dedicated to Meduza. This NFT was sold at auction on Rarible on May 27.

The idea was initiated by Sasshhaaaart, a female artist from Moscow. According to the artist, the thought of assembling artists to support Meduza came when she learned the media outfit started a fundraiser due to the negative impact of being labelled a “foreign agent” by the authorities.

According to the editor-in-chief at Meduza, Ivan Kolpakov, the outlet’s struggles began in April after it was designated by the Russian Ministry of Justice. Meduza lost advertising clients in weeks, had to cut expenses and struggled to pay reporter’s salaries.

The Russian media outlet launched donations in fiat and crypto in April joining the few media outlets using cryptocurrencies. It received $90,000 in donations, worth 0.88 BTC and 22 ETH in less than a month.

Kolpakov said the organisation’s designation became a “Light in the Dark” with over 800,000 people donating to the fundraising in a space of one month.

Artists collaborated for another stage of donation via NFT sales, to support this media outlet attacked by the state and at the verge of closing down. Each artist created different artwork that will form part of the bigger piece.

The project featured a popular act in Russia, electronic band Aigel, which produced the soundtrack for the video NFT, and TV journalist Leonid Parfenov did the voice-over. 

Another creator,  Artem Loskutov, a founder of the Monstration movement created a special edition of his painting, dubinopis, and filmed it; part of the clip will be used in the joint video composition. The physical painting will be sold separately, on his Facebook page, Loskutov said the proceeds will go to Meduza.

Since creators discovered that donating NFTs is a fast way of raising funds, millions of dollars have been raised in tokens. Non-fungible tokens make it easier for creators to give back, pursue their causes, and impact society without incurring as much taxes.

Featured image credit: Executium on Unsplash