Crowdblock

Crowdblock (Crowdfund + Blockchain)

I run the philanthropy section of my fraternity and part of my responsibilities is raising money via small donations for different charities. These donations are collected via tabling and are usually cash or venmo. There are a few main issues with this way of collecting donations. For one, not everyone has cash or venmo. Then, after they have donated, they have no way of knowing that their donation is actually going to the cause they want it to. If I wanted to, I could easily keep the money with no repercussions. On top of this, the process of getting the donations to the charity is extremely unstreamlined. First I transfer the venmos to my bank account, then I take all of the cash to a bank, then I send it to the charity of choice. Not only does this process take up a lot of time and effort, it is also incredibly insecure and includes many fees from third party companies.

My approach to solve these problems and streamline the donation process is to create a crowdfunding app based on the blockchain. This app will create a QR code which can be easily scanned by donors and allow them to donate from their phone without having to have cash or install a specific app. This project will also give them a guarantee that their donation is going to the charity they want it to. An added benefit of building this project on the blockchain is that it can utilize Quadratic Funding rounds. Quadratic Funding incentivizes donors by rewarding them based on donation size. With Crowdblock, donors who give large amounts in Quadratic Funding rounds will be rewarded with a token that can be spent to help promote a charity of their choice. This allows them to benefit a charity even more, and can help promote a smaller charity that people are passionate about. There are already several crowdfunding apps using blockchain, but Crowdblock will have several key differences. For one, most of these crowdfunding apps are based around donations specifically to Web3 projects, or are even restricted within a single Web3 ecosystem, such as Ethereum. I can take the same methods used in these apps, and apply them to philanthropy in the physical world. Another difference is the methods used for donations. Many of these existing projects are based on Quadratic Funding rounds. These are beneficial for raising large amounts of donations, and they give incentives for donating larger amounts, but can create a barrier to donate for people simply trying to make a one-time individual donation. Crowdblock will allow both individual donations as well as Quadratic Funding rounds.

My project will fix many of the issues present with crowdfunding for charities. My project will make the entire process much easier, safer, and more efficient for donors and people collecting donations. This benefits donors by ensuring their money goes where they want it to without very much effort. This also benefits charities by streamlining the process for them to receive donations as well as advocating for future donations to be sent to them. If everything works in the way outlined in this document, and the project helps raise money for philanthropy, I would consider this project a success.

Built With

• ethers
• javascript
• metamask
• npm
• svelte
• sveltekit