As one South Philly native looks to continue raising money for a local community center, he is now turning to the world of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) to help achieve his goal.
Brandon Washington, an educator and board member of the South of South Neighborhood Association, helped establish 1901, a collaborative workspace at SOSNA’s office at 1901 Washington Ave., that serves the technological needs of his neighborhood. Looking to raise more funds for the hub, Washington will now be auctioning off NFTs he created using the drawings of his 4-year-old daughter, Ava.
“As a result of the technological climate existing today, there is a robust opportunity for individuals to ascend from poverty,” Washington said in a press release. “However, without the necessary resources and direction, one may miss such opportunities, and I hope to provide that. Being a graphic designer myself, I believe there’s an opportunity here to raise money through the sale of NFTs.”
Washington said he came up with the idea for the auction when he came across the story of an 8-year-old girl selling NFTs for millions of dollars, which drove him to include his daughter in his latest fundraising initiative. He has since created an Instagram page, called “AvasAmazingArt,” that showcases five pieces of Ava’s work that will eventually be auctioned off.
1901 currently features access to high-speed internet, computers and resources that provide education on how to use those tools. Since being established, Washington has helped raise over $8,000 for the hub, and with the help of this NFT auction, will now be looking to achieve his new fundraising goal of $50,000. The money will go toward acquiring better resources for the space and developing a program that teaches individuals how to make their own NFTs.
“We live in a time when people are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for pixels,” Washington said. “You can create a design with practically any digital device with a screen. Now, practically everyone has the opportunity to create a stream of incoming while utilizing their creativity, and I wish to help people do that using this community center.”
The first NFT will be available for purchase in June, with another one being auctioned off each month after that.
