Cheryl Griffin, creator of AlphaBetty Doodles, the first family-focussed NFT project, shares her journey into NFTs.
I still can’t quite believe that the AlphaBetty Doodles NFT project has turned over £3 million. I’m a mother of two who didn’t think I was good enough to illustrate the children’s books I had written…and yet I’ve been able to donate tens of thousands of pounds to children’s causes after the initial sale of my ‘Betties’ on the AlphaBetty Doodles NFT project.
My journey starts over a decade ago. I carried children’s stories in my head for 10 years, telling them to my kids and hoping I would one day put them down on paper. After self-publishing the first book, I was encouraged to do my own illustrations for the second – AlphaBetty Doodles. AlphaBetty is a colourful book character who leads children through a series of adventures to help them learn the alphabet. I find it hard to believe but it’s the illustrations of this character, as the first family focussed NFTs, which have attracted the attention of celebrities, professional athletes and high-profile social media influencers worldwide.
The majority of the money we’ve raised has gone back into the project or been donated to causes close to our hearts – so I’m by no means a millionaire – and to be clear, that is not the intention. However, the enthusiasm with which people have engaged with our brand has been overwhelming.
NFTs can be family focussed
The NFT space is thrilling. But it is like learning a new language and the positioning can sometimes feel exclusive. We worked hard to use ‘plain-English in the presentation of the project, and I think this approach is attractive to first-time holders, who make up a large proportion of our community.
But it’s not just giving access to the grown-ups out there; we know that a large majority of AlphaBetty holders involved in our 3,500 strong community are parents who wanted to be able to share their NFT experience with their children. Not only can they share the excitement of holding an original, unique piece of digital art, but they can educate their family on the space itself – without exposing them to some of the more adult content which is typical of NFTs.
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People want to give back
The other major attraction is our philanthropic mission. Our aim is to use the AlphaBetty brand to raise funds for educational projects. The first £50,000 which we made from the initial sale of the ‘Betties’ was donated to children’s causes close to my heart – including the under-funded primary school that my children attended in Brighton.
We have also partnered with Gamers Outreach, a fantastic charity that I am proud to donate regularly to, helping to provide enrichment and relief for hospitalised children: And our community is equally thrilled to be contributing to something meaningful through their blockchain experience.
In summary, the success of the AlphaBetty Doodles project demonstrates that NFTs don’t need to be exclusively for grownups, while the community element of the NFT space lends itself perfectly to philanthropic purposes.
