The ongoing conflict in Ukraine continues to leave the world shocked, but it has given rise to new NFT projects designed to raise money for the refugees and people of Ukraine. Often derided as worthless, NFTs are now showing a real purpose by raising much-needed money for charities.
The new non-fungible technology has split opinion in the art world, but its ability to raise money fast and in an open manner on blockchains where everyone can trace where the charitable donations are going is proving important. If you want to know more about what are NFTs, read our guide.
The Ukraine government has plans to launch its own NFT project to raise money and aid for its people. It will be created from art that represents news stories about the Russian invasion. The NFT collection will be "like a museum of the Russian-Ukrainian war," Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine's deputy minister of digital transformation, told The Guardian. "We want to tell the world in NFT format."
Below we've rounded-up the headline-grabbing projects created to raise money for good causes and help the people of Ukraine who are suffering. These campaigns followed a call from the Ukraine government for crypto donations, which to date have exceeded $60 million, helped by the donation of CryptoPunk #5364 worth an estimated $230,000.
Money raised is going towards packed lunches, medicine items and other supplies for the armed forces. Some of the NFTs below are raising money specifically for civilians and refugees.
01. Vandalz for Ukraine
(Image credit: andalz for Ukraine: WhIsBe x Wladimir Klitschko)
The iconic boxer Wladimir Klitschko, brother of Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, is the person behind this NFT collection created to raise money to help the people of Ukraine. Called Vandalz for Ukraine: WhIsBe x Wladimir Klitschko the collection is available on NFT marketplace OpenSea. All the proceeds from the sale of these NFTs will go to Red Cross Ukraine and UNICEF. The cost of these NFTs start at ETH 0.04 (USD 104).
Get top Black Friday deals sent straight to your inbox: Sign up now!
We curate the best offers on creative kit and give our expert recommendations to save you time this Black Friday. Upgrade your setup for less with Creative Bloq.
02. Forza Ikonia
100% of sales for the Stand With Ukraine NFT go to charity (Image credit: Forza Ikonia / Felipe Posada)
Forza Ikonia is raising money for various charities helping in Ukraine, including Doctors Without Borders and Amnesty International. The Kyiv and Gothenburg-based incubator and NFT platform launched the Stand With Ukraine NFT project, which consists of 43,287,512 editions by artist Felipe Posada. The number of editions represents each citizen of Ukraine.
Each edition of Stand With Ukraine is on sale for $10 / £10, and 100% of all sales go towards the platform's selected charities. They can be purchased by credit or debit card, so even if you're new to NFTs it's easy. To date Forza Ikonia has raised over $264,000 and secondary sales also go to charity, which means this NFT will continue to raise funds.
The ArtWaRks Ukraine NFT has been created in Ukraine (Image credit: ArtWaRks_Ukraine)
The ArtWaRks Ukraine NFT project has been put together by a group of Ukrainian IT entrepreneurs, art historians, artists, and media creators with the aim to raise money for charitable aid for civilians and the Ukrainian military. The project is on OpenSea, and prices start at ETH 0.07 ($182 / £140).
There is art from former Minister of Culture and Sports Vladimir Borodyansky, IT entrepreneur Ruslan Nonka, co-founders of the NGO Museum of Contemporary Art Yulia Gnat and Olga Balashova, and many other Ukrainian artists. The art represents eight years of war in Ukraine.
The UkraineDAO project is backed by Nadya Tolokonnikova (Image credit: UkraineDAO)
The UkraineDAO fundraiser has been designed to raise awareness and money for the world's current humanitarian crisis. It is backed by Nadya Tolokonnikova, a member of Russian activist group Pussy Riot, and has raised over $6.7 million to support Ukraine’s military since launch.
The NFT of the Ukraine national flag enabled buyers to own a piece of the digital image. All profits from the NFT sale go to the 'Come Back Alive' campaign set up to aid Ukraine’s defences.
Waone Interesni Kazki is one of Ukraine's most famous artists (Image credit: Waone Interesni Kazki)
Surrealist Waone Interesni Kazki is one of Ukraine's most famous artists and the custodians, A Gallery, of his work are selling NFTs of the artist's most famous paintings to support the people of Ukraine. 50% of the money raised will go towards funding Ukraine's defence and medical supplies via Ukrainian war charities.
The target is to raise $7,000 from NFTs of paintings such as The Seed of a Good Idea, Beta to Alpha Transition and Prisoned Mind. These are 1/1 edition NFTs, and currently each is for sale at around $290 / £220.
The aim of this project is to raise $1 million for Ukraine (Image credit: Holy Water)
Over 500 Ukrainian artists have gathered to submit art to a new NFT collection sold via Holy Water (60% of the marketplace's team live in Kyiv) to raise money for the people of Ukraine. The artists represent some of the biggest galleries in Ukraine, including Port Agency, IZOLYATSIA and Ugallery.
As well as accepting art from professionals the Beeple-like NFT collage will feature art created by children in the bomb shelters. Each NFT will have a starting bid of 0.08 Ethereum ($235 / £170). The aim is to raise at least $1 million.
There are more NFT campaigns appearing daily, and the Ukraine government is set to launch its own NFT collection to raise money. With so much happening the founder of Ukraine's crypto exchange Kuna created a way to donate directly, while the artist pan_danil launched a Twitter space to organise campaigns and donations around.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific financial or investment advice or recommendations for any individual for any investment product. The article is only intended to provide general information and opinions about NFTs. The views reflected in this article are subject to change at any time without notice.
Ian Dean is Editor, Digital Arts & 3D at Creative Bloq, and the former editor of many leading magazines. These titles included ImagineFX, 3D World and video game titles Play and Official PlayStation Magazine. Ian launched Xbox magazine X360 and edited PlayStation World. For Creative Bloq, Ian combines his experiences to bring the latest news on digital art, VFX and video games and tech, and in his spare time he doodles in Procreate, ArtRage, and Rebelle while finding time to play Xbox and PS5.
