With NFT project ‘Bulldog Buddies,’ ex-Krop student aims to help dog shelters, charities
Back in 2016, I wrote about Krop High School student Dylan Hopen who co-founded Sports Nation Foundation with Joshua Rub. The group encouraged kids to be more involved in sports while raising awareness and funds for breast cancer research.
Fast forward to now and Hopen will graduate this year from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He continued organizing fundraisers through his years in school and has now started something perfect for Miami’s hot crypto community.
It’s called Bulldog Buddies, and it’s an NFT (nonfungible token) project “to create a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to propose experiences and partnerships,” Hopen said.
“More importantly, we want to donate a portion of the mint revenue towards dog shelters and rescues, along with proposing creative ways to partner with other organizations and charities around the world. So far, we have officially partnered with the National Breast Cancer Foundation as well as the Humane Society of Miami,” he said.
“I’ve been following the growth of NFTs for over a year now and it was always incredibly exciting to me.
“I loved seeing how the smart contract technology was being used outside of merely storing digital assets, but building communities where your NFT doubles as a pass to all kinds of utility. Being such a huge fan of both NFTs and Bulldogs, I decided to put together an exceptional team of the NFT world’s influential players and start a new DAO project,” he said.
Hopen is working to “creatively connect the bridge between web2 organizations and the web3 world with multidimensional partnerships.”
“We want to help organizations utilize NFT technology to strengthen their business model and modernize their brand while simultaneously giving our community awesome utility.”
Bulldog Buddies has advisory from influential members of top projects such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and and CryptoPunks, he said.
“On top of having such cool art of cartoony Bulldogs with tens of thousands of trait variations, we strive to create an extraordinary community with action-packed utility. We will be facilitating idea generation and employing a snapshot voting system to democratize the innovative ways Bulldog Buddies grows.”
One advisor is Jeffrey Bondoc, @Jbondwagon on Twitter, who said, “What I love about Bulldog Buddies is the desire to add tangible value to their holders through creative partnerships. This can lead owners to getting perks and benefits from their favorite organizations, getting special access and passes, and so much more.
“The best part is it is all proposed and voted on by holders with advisory from our experienced team. I acknowledge though that at first, these NFTs may be very limited. As an Asian collector, I am looking forward to helping Bulldog Buddies identify overseas partners to also bring value to global holders.”
Hopen wants the Bulldog Buddies community to propose all types of ways to grow together.
“The DAO, combined with the advisors, will be exploring ideas such as exclusive events, discounts for places such as restaurants and bars, collaborations with both fashion and pet brands, culinary and travel experiences, metaverse meet-ups, limited-edition NFT drops, charity fundraisers, and so much more,” Hopen said.
“The beautiful thing is there is no limit to the ideas we can brainstorm together as a community and do extraordinary things for the world.”
Sneak-peeks of Bulldog Buddies NFTs, along with more information, can be found on Twitter @BulldogBuddiesX and you can also email Dylanhopen95@gmail.com
Tropical Audubon celebrates 75 years
Earth Day weekend will be all about the birds at the Tropical Audubon Society 75th anniversary celebration April 22-24.
The group is the local chapter of the National Audubon Society. Members, who are mostly volunteers, have been leading area bird walks, defending wildlife, and protecting natural resources, Biscayne Bay and the Everglades since 1947.
The community is invited to party at one or more of the celebration events. Except for the bird walk they will be held at the historic Doc Thomas House, 5530 Sunset Dr.
The Bubbly & Bites Birthday Bash is 6:30-8 p.m., April 22; the Bill Baggs Bird Walk is 8:15-11 a.m., April 23; the Birdstock Conservation Concert is 7-10 p.m., April 23; and the Members Migration with a folk concert and book talk is 3-6 p.m., April 24.
Everglades National Park Superintendent Pedro Ramos will introduce Everglades Foundation board member and author James Kushlan, who will lead a talk showcasing 75 years of Everglades history.
Ron Magill, founder of the Ron Magill Conservation Endowment at the Zoo Miami Foundation, will present an award to Wildlife Rescue of Dade County founder Lloyd Brown. The two will also share insights about the Bald Eagle Nest Cam that has captivated the community. Tickets are at www.tropicalaudubon.org
Write to ChristinaMMayo@gmail.com with news for this column.
This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 9:00 AM.