NFT Artist pplpleasr and Fortune donate 214 ETH for new Ethereum-powered Philanthropic Fund

FORTUNE and digital artist pplpleasr have announced the FORTUNE Journalism PleasrFund, a decentralized donor-advised fund run entirely on the Ethereum blockchain through Endaoment. 

The PleasrFund is dedicated to advancing independent investigative journalism and programs that foster interest in sound reporting and journalistic integrity. 

Donations in Ethereum

The fund was initially seeded by a contribution of 214.55 ETH, approximately $165,000 when the contribution was made, representing half of the proceeds from FORTUNE and pplpleasr’s series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This fund will serve the public interest, further accountability, and transparency through journalism, and contribute to critical thinking and well-informed debate. 

In an auction ending on August 9, 2021, FORTUNE and pplpleasr sold a limited series of NFTs based on pplpleasr’s artwork for FORTUNE’s digital “Crypto at a Turning Point” package and print magazine cover of the August/September 2021, “Crypto vs. Wall Street.” 

A series of 256 minted NFTs of the cover were sold for a fixed price of 1 ETH each, and three special-edition NFTs based on the cover were auctioned off for 23.1, 45, and 105 ETH, respectively. 

“The FORTUNE Journalism PleasrFund is a natural next step for us as one of the first mainstream outlets to cover decentralized finance and cryptocurrency, and a media company is driven by the purpose of making business better for stakeholders,” stated FORTUNE CEO Alan Murray in a statement.

The initial beneficiaries of the fund are Report for America/The GroundTruth Project, Inc., Institute for Nonprofit News, Committee to Protect Journalists, Inc., and Reporters Without Borders, all of which were selected by FORTUNE and pplpleasr in cooperation with Endaoment. 

What’s Endaoment?

As the first fully on-chain 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Endaoment provides more than 1.5 million organizations with the infrastructure to process over 150 different cryptocurrencies as donations. The scope of Endaoment’s reach has helped introduce the nonprofit community to the world of crypto. 

The FORTUNE Journalism PleasrFund requires that all recipient organizations adhere to Endaoment’s funding policy and be U.S.-based 501(c)(3) organizations. 

The organizations will receive an initial disbursement of $165,000 from FORTUNE and pplpleasr, and individuals are invited to contribute to the FORTUNE Journalism PleasrFund either through cryptocurrencies or via PayPal. 

Access to the donation page for additional contributions, and to the transparent donation tracker, can be found here. All funds will be distributed to recipient organizations in a timely manner, with monthly recurring grants should the fund have a balance in excess of $25,000 after all initial grants are made.

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