It will also be auctioning off non-fungible tokens to raise funds for 10,000 beneficiaries in Singapore and accepting cryptocurrency as donations
In the last few years, the philanthropy scene has seen drastic changes, especially as Covid-19 limited donations and the mobility of volunteers. Many charities have had to drastically pivot to continue caring for the community and now, in an attempt to stay ahead of the game, The Food Bank Singapore (FBSG) has announced that it will be going phygital by entering the metaverse as it continues to adapt to a new generation of tech-savvy donors.
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On April 21, FBSG will mark its metaverse debut by auctioning off non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to raise funds. These funds will support 10,000 beneficiaries in Singapore by providing them with food and essential items for a year.
The NFTs, which will be auctioned on Opensea from April 21 to April 24, have been drawn by an artist from Smobler Studios, FBSG’s metaverse partner, and will feature FBSG’s mascot KooriMo.
Smobler Studios is in itself a leading metaverse architect that owns Cobbleland in Sandbox which is currently the biggest metaverse out there.
Currently, there are plans to build KooriLand by FBSG along with assets that can be sold in the metaverse to raise funds to support The Food Bank’s mission of ending food insecurity in Singapore.
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“We are piloting this move into the metaverse as a new way of fundraising. It’s an exciting new world that lets us experiment with different concepts and reach out beyond Singapore to a global audience. From our metaverse experiment, we hope to share lessons learnt with fellow non-government organisations so that they too can consider this space for their fundraising efforts,” said Nichol Ng, the co-founder of FBSG.
To aid its move into the metaverse, FBSG will also begin accepting cryptocurrency as donations as the organisation targets a new generation of tech-savvy donors.
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The phygital move is part of FBSG’s 10th anniversary celebration, which began with a panel discussion on the findings of The Hunger Report Part II last month. A plethora of events will be rolled out over the next eight months as well.
These include an SG$12 million fund-raising campaign that will provide 10,000 bank cards for 12 months to those in need. Recipients can use the cards at 1,000 specific food and beverage outlets that FBSG has onboarded under its Feed the City initiative. The cards can also be used at over 60 vending machines that will be dispensing food and daily essentials in Singapore.
FBSG will also be creating a National Feeding Directory which will make information on food aid more accessible to those who need it. The directory will likely unite all charities and programmes in Singapore on one platform which will allow for an increased reach.
“Ignorance isn’t always bliss for a small country like Singapore so it is best to lean in, learn more especially if we want to stay competitive and remain an innovation hub,” said Smobler Studios co-founder Dr Loretta Chen.
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