IRI: Cross-Chain Happy Hours

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem.

The Immutable Research Institute will hold monthly Happy Hour Meetups near the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The invitation will go to all Crypto enthusiasts and Cardano will be featured.

[GENERAL] Summarize your relevant experience.

Adam Rusch has served as organizer of the Champaign Blockchain meetup group since January 2021 and assisted with event planning before that. As an experienced event organizer he can help interested people at the UI Research Park learn about Cardano in a relaxed atmosphere.

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

The purpose of these events will be to allow Illinois students and industry professionals to meet and mingle in a relaxed environment where they can network and discuss the Crypto industry. As an extra benefit, we will have activities to teach them about Cardano.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has over 34,000 undergraduates and 20,000 graduate students. It is also home to the University of Illinois Research Park which hosts offices and research centers of some of the top technology companies. The local community also has its share of blockchain companies such as Runtime Verification and Wolfram Blockchain Labs.

[IMPACT] Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.

We have recently formed a non-profit entity named "The Immutable Research Institute" (IRI) to organize educational, advocacy, and networking activities. The mission of our organization is to educate the public about blockchain technology and advocate for good regulatory frameworks that support the industry. While the organization works with all blockchain platforms it has a special relationship with Cardano because of the involvement of its founding members.

[IMPACT] What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?

This project might not be successful if people do not hear about the events or are not interested in Cardano. Our hope is that by having Cardano as a featured platform and making it clear that the events are sponsored by Project Catalyst, any members of the crypto community who have negative views of Cardano will begin to reconsider them.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed plan, including timeline and key milestones for delivering your proposal.

From August - May, we will have monthly Cardano Happy Hour Meetups at various venues near the Research Park and Campus. We will try to rotate to different venues to optimize people who live or work in different areas.

At our Happy Hours we will provide personal instruction on how to set up a Cardano Wallet and give away a small amount of ADA to new members. Our idea is to have 10 Happy Hours this academic year (August - May) and give away 10 pre-funded Cardano wallets with $10 worth of ADA in each wallet per month. (Each wallet must go to a new member who has not received one before.)

Individuals who attend the Happy Hour Meetups will be invited to get more involved with the Immutable Research Institute and to attend our monthly Champaign Blockchain Meetups that cover industry events.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

We expect the following costs.

$1,000 ($100 per month x 10 months) - Appetizers and Soft Drinks

$1,000 ($10 of ADA x 100 wallets) - Provide pre-loaded wallet to new members

$1,000 (spent as needed) - Budget for marketing and administration

Appetizers and Soft Drinks will be complimentary for participants. Any speciality drinks or alcoholic beverages can be purchased from a server or at the bar.

As part of the Learning Experience new members to the Happy Hour Meetup will be given hands-on training of how to set up a Cardano Wallet. This could be on a laptop computer or a mobile phone app. Once the Wallet is set up the new member will be given a pre-loaded wallet with $10 worth of ADA to transfer to the wallet with their own Private Keys.

IRI will take on responsibility for marketing of the events. This could include sponsored Facebook or Twitter posts, paying students to put up posters for guerilla marketing campaigns, or running ads on the campus radio station.

Any leftover funds will be used for other activities that promote the blockchain community in Urbana-Champaign. We are asking for a very small portion of the challenge budget because we believe a little ADA would go a long way for this endeavor.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide details of the people who will work on the project.

Adam Rusch holds a PhD from the University of Illinois in Education Policy where he works as a Teaching Assistant Professor in Information Sciences. He is the organizer of the Champaign Blockchain meetup group with a passion for cryptocurrency education and public policy. He is also a Core Contributor to ADAO and wrote the ADAO Constitution.

[FEASIBILITY] If you are funded, will you return to Catalyst in a later round for further funding? Please explain why / why not.

Our hope is that once we go through an Academic Year with this activity it will be self-sustaining and we will not need further Catalyst grants to keep it going.

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or any member of your team working on any other proposals in this Fund9?

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or your team working on any other proposals from previous Funds?

[AUDITABILITY] Please describe what you will measure to track your project's progress, and how will you measure these?

Each month we will submit our monthly report to Catalyst with the following information:

1. When and where the Happy Hour Meetup was held
2. How many people attended the Happy Hour Meetup
3. How many new members were provided with pre-funded Cardano Wallets
4. How we plan to make the next event even better

[AUDITABILITY] What does success for this project look like?

Success for this project will be a vibrant monthly Happy Hour Meetup for students and professionals interested in Cardano and blockchain technologies. We will provided 10 new members with Cardano wallets each event and help them become more interested in working with Cardano to advance the wider Blockchain community. At the end of the academic year more people will be comfortable working with Cardano as a platform.

[AUDITABILITY] Please provide information on whether this proposal is a continuation of a previously funded project in Catalyst or an entirely new one.

This proposal was submitted in Fund 8 but was not approved. It has been refined from the feedback given by Community Associates to have a better budget and better methods of accountability.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Rating

We believe that blockchain technologies are inherently aligned with Sustainable Development Goals by virtue of the decentralization philosophy that empowers every individual to make a difference in their own community and the wider world.

This project would align with the goal of Reduced Inequalities because it will help members of the blockchain community connect with peers and mentors. There is great inequality that comes from the connections (or lack thereof) that one has in an industry or society. By providing a space where every individual is welcome, regardless of privilege or background, we are doing just a little bit to level the playing field.