Cardano4Charities

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem.

We will reach out to the most important NGOs and charitable organisations to educate them in crypto tools and adoption to encourage acceptance of crypto donations, benefiting donors and organisations.

[GENERAL] Summarize your relevant experience.

We are a team of 2 with c. 2 years of experience in crypto (as users, investors, members of communities, voters, etc.) and with experience in legal practice. We have worked with several NGOs and charitable organisations in the past, both as volunteers and legal advisers.

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

The migration of financial power from the traditional fiat rails into crypto is having short-term consequences such as the reduction in utility of those funds due to the still relatively low adoption of crypto infrastructure by institutions, including NGOs and other charitable organisations. Individuals who decide to transfer all or part of their wealth into crypto should continue to be able to use their financial power as they see fit, including by donating funds to their NGOs and charities of choice. In addition, charities could benefit from additional fundraising sources (plus all the added technical benefits, such as faster, more secure and more transparent payments) by adopting certain crypto tools and infrastructure.

The growing impact of crypto currency on payment methods is undeniable, including within the word of charitable donations. In 2021, donations via crypto assets reached an estimated $330 million, with the actual amount being likely much larger.

It has always been difficult to contribute directly to individuals who are in need or to have certainty about the allocation and purpose of the funds donated. Over time, NGOs and charities have received bad reputation for their high overhead costs and money mismanagement. According to Charity Navigator, on average 40% of charitable donations are used to cover these overhead costs. Charitable donations via crypto can be traced on the blockchain allowing donors to know how their donations are being used increasing transparency and the effectiveness of donations.

In addition to these advantages, donors can benefit from financial advantages by making crypto donations as it allows the donor to claim a fair market value charitable deduction. According to Charles Schwab donating in crypto can “potentially eliminate the capital gains tax you would incur if you sold the assets yourself and donated the proceeds, which may increase the amount available for charity by up to 20%.”

We aim to spend time educating the most important NGOs and charities in crypto tools, mechanics and general infrastructure, including by teaching them how to set up their own (non-custodial) wallets and receive and make transfers of crypto assets. We will focus on adoption of Cardano infrastructure (Cardano wallets, ADA on- and off-ramps, etc.).

On top of that, we will contribute at least half of the funds raised by this proposal to the charities that adopt Cardano infrastructure and start accepting ADA (and other CNAs) donations.

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

The intended impact of our proposal is to kick-start adoption of Cardano infrastructure by NGOs and charitable organisations, a sector of the economy that is often overlooked by innovators and does not benefit from cutting-edge technology and new opportunities at an early stage. Our intention is to show that Cardano is the most accessible and user-friendly blockchain and to make it the blockchain solution of choice for some of the largest charitable organisations on Earth.

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

NGOs and charitable institutions are generally risk-averse and reluctant to adopt "edgy" or not-thoroughly-proven solutions. We could face some resistance in some of these institutions' willingness to open their doors to crypto infrastructure. Our plan is to tackle this potential resistance with actual proof and practical demonstrations of how crypto transfers are faster, cheaper, more secure and more transparent than traditional fiat transfers, as well as to show that there are already proven access routes, deep liquidity and working alternatives within the crypto space that they can benefit from (and which will only improve in the coming years).

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

1. Defining a list of NGOs, foundations and charitable organisations to reach out to - 2 weeks.
2. Reaching out to all of the filtered NGOs, foundations and charitable organisations via email - 2 weeks.
3. Setting up meetings with all the NGOs, foundations and charitable organisations with which we make a successful first contact to explain our proposal in full detail and to discuss next steps - 1 month.
4. Setting up in-person meetings to (i) conduct practical demonstrations and (ii) provide short educative courses on crypto infrastructure adoption, including setting up wallets and using fiat on- and off-ramps, all with a focus on Cardano infrastructure - 1 month.
5. Ensuring practical adoption of crypto infrastructure by the NGOs, foundations and charitable organisations to which we have provided with crypto information and resources via our practical courses and sessions - 1 month.
6. Contribute at least half of the funds raised by the proposal to the NGOs and charities that effectively adopt Cardano tools and infrastructure - 1 month.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

At least 50% of the funds will be used to make crypto donations to the NGOs and charitable organisations that take our courses and participate in our sessions (which will encourage adoption and help with familiarisation).

The remaining funds will be used to cover all the expenses required for the successful implementation of the proposal, as set out in the steps plan described above..

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

We are a team of 2 with c. 2 years of experience in crypto (as users, investors, members of communities, voters, etc.) and with experience in legal practice. We have worked with several NGOs and charitable organisations in the past, both as volunteers and legal advisers.

Our names are Inés Alfaro and Javier Sánchez Valiente. We both have preexisting contacts at some of the most relevant NGOs and charitable organisations in Spain (Cáritas, aecc, Fundación Pan y Peces, Fundación Soñar Despierto, Fundación Esperanza y Alegría...). We will both coordinate our discussions with the main NGOs and charitable organisations we reach out to and share our knowledge and experience with them to encourage adoption of crypto infrastructure (and, particularly, Cardano's) in the goodwill sector.

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

Our intention is to not return to Catalyst to ask for additional funding in relation to this proposal. This is, of course, without prejudice to the possibility to return to Catalyst with new and unrelated proposals.

[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?

We will record, in an Excel sheet (or similar), a list of all the NGOs and charitable organisations we reach out to (and the dates on which we do so), as well as all the sessions and courses we hold with them (and the respective dates), and we will also track and record all donations of funds that we execute in favour of NGOs and charitable organisations adopting Cardano infrastructure and solutions (and any other available informationconcerning such transfers, such as contributed funds, donation dates, transaction hashes, etc.).

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

Success for our proposal would be having at least 4 or 5 major NGOs or charitable organisations adopt relevant Cardano infrastructure tools, such as wallets (Daedalus, Lace, Nami, Eternl, etc.) and fiat on- and off-ramps (e.g. accounts in centralised exchanges and experience with decentralised exchanges), and start accepting crypto (and, particularly, ADA and other CNAs) donations from the public.

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

This is an entirely new proposal.