NFT Community Spotlight: Actually People

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We all know that there’s inherent good in Web3 community building — people from around the world are coming together and connecting. But what if there was a community that was intentionally developed around social impact, a community on the greater good?

Enter Actually People, an innovative Web3 community focused on using the platform to create social impact. Their website explains the mission best: “‍We are not building a digital world to escape reality but to inspire us to tangibly build a better real-world.”

The Team Behind Actually People NFT

Still in its startup phase, Actually People has already gathered an impressive collection of team members. Founder Laura Francois has plenty of experience leading strategy at various social impact organizations. She is also incredibly authentic, enthusiastic, and warm, a perfect figurehead for a community whose mission is to remind humans that “we’re all actually people”

In addition to Laura, the Actually People team currently includes co-founders Frankie Le Nguyen, a venture capitalist, and Jake Harwood, a former senior software engineer at Sonos. Their marketing, brand, development, and design team, includes talent from a range of agencies and projects, in both Web2 and Web3.

Projects On and Off-Chain

Actually People has yet to release their first collection, but has still been working hard to unite their community and fulfill their mission of doing good. In addition to working with charity ARTHELPS, which uses art to change and unite the world, they have raised money to feed and clothe Ukrainians by selling spots on their NFT Allow-List. They are also planning for the funds from their future collection to be used to build an arts center in Mosul, Iraq.

The collection has sourced unique artistic talent: Ukrainian children, whose creations will be “remixed” and incorporated into the NFTs. This art was made during a visit by Actually People to Stuttgart Germany, where Ukrainian refugees created art in the ARTHELPS studio.

Strong Web3 Community

As you can imagine, AP’s community, which is inherently rallied around doing good, is very active and positive.

Many community members are involved in their own nonprofit organizations and creative projects — the Discord is full of exchanges where community members offers services and expertise to each other. It’s invigorating to see the range of initiatives shared in the Discord: upon scrolling through, I learned about members who are developing mindfulness courses, a Kickstarter campaign for a board game, and a group for Web3 music development.

It is amazing to see this multifaceted community, where members lend their creative energy to Actually People as well as so many other pursuits. AP’s Discord has just rebranded to reflect the name of the first collection, The Creative Ones, which further underscores the goals and shared interests of the community.

NFT Launch:

Just this week, Actually People announced that their first collection, The Creative Ones, drops September 16th (if you’re reading this the day it’s published, today is launch day). When chatting with community leader Ashley Azouri, she emphasized the atmosphere surrounding the launch announcement: “Overall, I would say that there was definitely a surge in the energy and more excitement than ever.”

Just like the rest of the project, the collection is purpose-driven. Azouri listed two main goals of the collection:

1. Provide the community with opportunities to engage with their creative side

2. Rally the support of the community to spread creativity to places it’s needed most

Launch day is stacked up to be an exciting affair, with exciting digital events leading up to the release of the collection. Check out the Discord for the most up-to-date information.

Takeaways

As we wrap up, it’s important to recognize that all of the amazing work Actually People has done precedes their actual collection. Actually Peoples’ community of members believe in the project so strongly that they have jumped on board to add and share value without even knowing what the art will look like. This is a perfect example of how NFTs are about more than just the art itself: unlike physical art or Web2, there’s a tremendous amount of dimension that is added by individual owners.

That being said, we know that Actually People will grow exponentially once their collection is available for current and new fans to rally around. The energy and momentum around the launch announcement has been incredible, and we can’t wait to see The Creative Ones launch and come to life.

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