NFTs have played a big role in social causes over the last year. We’ve seen projects aimed toward raising funds for the preservation of endangered species, forwarding social justice, and even helping fight climate change.
As such, it’s no surprise that NFTs have also been used to raise funds for medical purposes. Here are some of the most notable projects in the space doing just that.
NFT…Ps?
Earlier this year, Dallas-based software developer Joshua Lapidus launched a project that was equal parts meme and charitable venture: Rainbow Rolls, an NFT collection consisting of anthropomorphic toilet paper rolls. By partnering with the non-profit org RIP Medical Debt, Lapidus hoped to take on one of the country’s most pressing problems.
Thankfully, the project was a hit. With the successful launch of his Rainbow Rolls project, Lapidus was able to raise enough funds to enable the non-profit to clear roughly $7 million worth of medical debt for families across the U.S. He didn’t stop there, either. Through the Rainbow Rolls project, Lapidus was also later able to work with UkraineDAO and Unchainfund to aid in the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
Ameon Cares
Inspired to help others during her recovery from breast cancer, Alina Mehrle started Ameon, a skincare company that helps empower women who face similar circumstances. Today, her journey is coming full circle with the company’s latest venture: Ameon Cares. This new non-profit arm of the company is launching its first project, the Ameon Muse NFT collection on June 1. They’re partnering with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to help raise funds.
So how do NFTs play into this? For every $100 tax-deductible donation made to Ameon Cares, donors will receive one of five Ameon Muse NFTs in return. These NFTs are digital personifications of the values Ameon holds most highly – courage, kindness, curiosity, inclusivity, and creativity. On top of donations raised via the Ameon Cares project, the company has also pledged to donate $10,000 annually to the BCRF into the foreseeable future.
Fighting cancer with art
After a long and storied career creating album covers for the likes of Alice Cooper, Elton John, and the Rolling Stones, rock n’ roll artist Ruby Mazur has taken his artistic talents over to the NFT space. Recently, he made a huge splash selling his first NFT for $1.1 million at the Holle Fine Art Gallery, Hawaii’s very first NFT gallery.
His next project saw him partnering with designer Jim Evans on a 5,050-piece generative art campaign. Each of these pieces was based on a 1-of-1 NFT collaboration between the two — the “Blah, Blah, Blah” piece, which was inspired by his iconic cover art for Rolling Stones’ 1972 single Tumbling Dice. The collection later went on to sell for $1.7 million, raising six figures for the non-profit “ FCancer.” Following his own struggles with cancer, Mazur hopes his next project, an NFT of singer-songwriter Jim Croce, generates even more to support the cause.
