Nouns DAO

Introduction

What is Nouns Shelter?

Nouns Shelter is a Web 3 animal welfare. We were funded by Nouns Dao last December with the passing of Prop 462. We aim to rescue and shelter stray animals in the name of nouns. When there is no protection, there is a Nouns Shelter.

We invite you to watch the following video recap of our 1st stage:

Summary of Adjustments in Version 2

• The project duration is reduced from 12 months to 6 months.
• The content production and independent operation of the Wooyee IP are canceled, and it will only be used as the mascot of Nouns Shelter in social media, video content, and merchandise charity sales.
• The Nouns Shelter platform will no longer occupy the project budget. In this stage, the website will only showcase the campaigns of Nouns Shelter. Sharon and other potential volunteers will independently develop and operate the platform voluntarily.
• Mini Shelter Movements canceled the Eastern European plan at this stage due to high uncertainty and risk. The number of TNVR campaigns has been reduced.
• The design files for the Mini Shelter have been published.
• The project funding requirement was reduced from 423,570 USDC to 150,000 USDC.

TL;DR

In the second stage of the Nouns Shelter project, Mini Shelter Movements and TNVR (Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return) campaigns for stray animals will be carried out across China and Southeast Asia under the Nouns community’s banner. The project duration is 6 months, during which:

• Offline volunteer events will be conducted in 5 cities, each event including Mini Shelter movements, animal adoption, and showcasing Nouns’ charitable projects and branding.
• 800 Nouns Mini Shelters and food will be provided to stray cats and dogs in the local community.
• 400 stray cats and dogs will be sterilized and rescued.
• Approximately 800 volunteers will be involved, promoting the Nouns community to them and helping interested local organizations or individuals join Nouns.

Project Funding Request: $150,000

1st Stage Achievements

What have we aready done during the 1st stage?

• Mini Shelter Movement: We have built over 300 Mini Shelters, providing refuge for approximately 600 cats in the first month across Shanghai, Beijing, and Changsha. These Mini Shelters are built with recycled PVC foam boards and are produced using a traditional method called mortise and tenon structure. Volunteers maintain all the Mini Shelters daily, and each one is equipped with 10kg of cat food when volunteers receive it. (We are currently collaborating with the animal food brands 麦富迪 and 优基. This partnership enables us to purchase supplies at prices lower than the market selling price.) After months of usage, our Mini Shelters are still in perfect condition and have reached a very satisfactory level. If not damaged or stolen, they can be used permanently and help more and more strays. We have published our design files, and we invite everyone to use them to create your own Mini Shelters to help stray animals in your community.
• Animal Rescue Support: We donated 2,000 kg of food to a local animal shelter, ensuring sustenance for over 200 stray dogs throughout the winter in partnered locations.
• NFT Edition Testing: We started to explore web3 technology during ETHDenver and created an NFT mint for Mini Shelter Movement Changsha. When someone minted our NFT, we created a custom mini shelter named after them and shared videos and pictures of the cats using the shelter through their wallet.
• TNVR Program: TNVR (trap-neuter-vaccinate-return) is the most effective and humane way of stabilizing and decreasing stray cat /dog populations. Our TNVR program has neutered and spayed 100 stray animals in Beijing, including cats living in our Mini Shelters.
• Strategic Partners: We have established partnerships with the largest stray animal rescue organizations in Beijing (Beijing Adoption Day),Shanghai (Shanghai Adoption Day) and Changsha (Changsha Adoption Day), extending the influence of Nouns Shelter in major cities through Nouns Shelter campaigns.
• Community Engagement: Our Mini Shelter Movement events rally 250 volunteers who actively maintain the mini shelters and engage in evaluating and discussing Nouns’ shelter activities within the community.
• Social Media Outreach: We’ve established various social media platforms both locally in China（Red & Weibo）and internationally（Twitter & Instagram) to share our journey and connect with supporters.
• International Collaboration: We engage in active communication with international animal welfare organizations in Philippines (PAWS) and Vietnam (Vietnam Cat Welfare), to gain insights into the current situation of stray animals in different countries and to explore potential avenues for future cooperation. Our Mini Shelter Movement received positive feedback from Dr. Peter Li, Associate Professor of East Asian Politics, University of Houston-Downtown, China Policy Specialist at Humane Society International. Dr. Li expressed interest in our initiative and discussed potential collaborative opportunities in the future.

We are confident that by carrying out independent projects for the public good, the use of funds is incredibly reasonable and transparent. All expenditures for the first stage can be viewed here. This is the core and authentic purpose of our future at Nouns Shelter. If you would like to access further information, please feel free to visit update1 , update2 and update3.

Planning

Now we’re back and ready to take action! With our passion and plans, we want to inform all Nouners that we are committed to continuing the operation of the Nouns Shelter and are in the process of officially registering it as a non-profit organization.

We have developed a comprehensive set of plans for Nouns Shelter:

1.Establishing Regional Branches

Over the next 6 months, the Nouns Shelter project will enter its second stage. During this stage, we will broaden our reach to markets beyond China, targeting Southeast Asia. We will establish Nouns Shelter branches, recruiting local volunteers and experienced animal protection experts to manage and operate our communities. In this stage, approximately 800 volunteers will be involved, our goal is to engage local communities/individuals and encourage them to join the Nouns DAO community through the Nouns Shelter initiative.

2.Animal Welfare Programs

We believe that each animal welfare project will enhance the visibility of the Nouns brand among the public. During this stage, offline volunteer events will be conducted in 5 cities in China and 2 countries in Southeast Asia. The events will include several key activities: volunteer recruitment, stray animal rescue, volunteer training, mini shelter and animal food collection, stray animal sterilization and vaccination, on-site adoption, volunteer community communication, and the daily maintenance and regular feedback of mini shelters. Through these phases, we will showcase Nouns’ charitable image and branding.

• Mini Shelter Movement

The Mini Shelter Movement aims to offer protection and shelter to street cats and dogs, ensuring their survival in harsh weather. By building partnerships with local animal welfare organizations to recruit volunteers in each city, we will host Mini Shelter volunteer events in 5 cities in China at this stage. The cities confirmed so far are Urumqi, Beijing, and Harbin, where winter temperatures can drop to minus 20-40 degrees Celsius. The mini shelters will be placed in local communities and used to help volunteers care for stray animals that have not been adopted or have failed to be adopted. As permanent installations, our mini shelters provide a valuable long-term opportunity to continuously showcase the Nouns brand.

• TNVR Program

In this stage, we plan to conduct TNVR (Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return) campaigns in Southeast Asia across 2 countries. We are partnering with a local animal shelter in Vietnam to carry out a TNVR program for 200 stray cats and dogs.We will carry out a TNVR program for 200 stray cats and dogs in another Southeast Asian country. The specific country and city are currently under Discussions.Our volunteers will take care of the animals until they recover from surgery and document the process through videos and photos.

3.Content operation

Socail media promotion and event collaborations

In the initial stage, we lacked the funds to allocate the project budget to social media operations, and due to the change in our cooperation with local institutions, we couldn’t use the free celebrity publicity resources, resulting in weak social media growth. In the second stage, we plan to recruit volunteers to manage our social media and increase our influence with minimal operating expenses. We will also collaborate with various Nouns communities, including Quack, Nouns Esports, Nouns Cares, Nouns CN, Nouns Amigos and others, to co-create charity content and events.

Let’s meet our mascot “Wooyee”

Coral and Sharon, former co-workers and friends, developed a deep bond through their care for Wooyee, a stray orange cat adopted by their company. Wooyee inspired their passion for saving stray animals. Unfortunately, due to stringent stray animal policies in China, Wooyee disappeared, leaving a lasting impact on both of them. In memory of Wooyee, we decided to create a mascot based on his appearance and personality. Wooyee will be used as the mascot of Nouns Shelter in social media, video content, and merchandise charity sales.

Nouns Shelter platform

A website will be developed and showcase the campaigns of Nouns Shelter. Sharon and other potential volunteers will independently develop and operate the platform voluntarily.

Team

Coral Ding: Partnership Development & Event Operation Coral has over 7 years of experience in large-scale event planning and management. Since 2016, she has volunteered at an animal welfare organization in Shanghai, China, worked with other volunteers to rescue abandoned and sick stray cats and organized animal adoption events with local companies. Following the concept of “adopt instead of buying”, she hopes that more stray animals will find forever homes.

Sharon Liu: Product Design & Content Creation Sharon has a diverse professional background, including roles as a director and product operation manager in China. She has volunteered with an animal protection organization for years. Sharon is about to graduate with a master’s diploma in Design and Development from University College Cork, Ireland. She has extensive experience in the design, development, and operation of digital products, particularly in emerging industries, and is a specialist in content production and strategy.

Local execution team

• China: Kiki Zhang Kiki, an event planner and director based in Beijing, joined Nouns Shelter during its initial stage. She has been instrumental in organizing offline volunteer activities in China. With a strong passion for charity work, Kiki will continue to oversee on-site management, filming, and execution of events in China.
• SEA: Selena Selena, based in Vietnam, has a strong interest in animal welfare. She will join us to support executing volunteer activities throughout Southeast Asia.

Budget

Budget for the next 6 months：150,000 USDC

Key Deliverables

• Host Mini Shelter Movement events in at 5 cities in China: 800 Nouns Mini Shelter Homes placed in high stray animal density locations (each shelter paired with a 10kg bag of pet food).
• Conduct TNVR campaigns in Southeast Asia across 2 countries: 400 stray dogs and cats will be sterilized.
• At least 5 high-quality videos and capture project photos: All content will be shared on Nouns Shelter’s social media after the campaigns are hosted.
• Provide monthly updates: Monthly updates will keep the community informed of the progress and showcase Nouns content created from the campaign.

Our Vision: An International NGO

We are working with legal advisors to register our NGO in the United States as a 501c organization. This will allow us to collaborate with more companies and accept commercial donations. Upon completing the registration, which takes 12 to 24 months in general, we will actively pursue partnerships and donations from commercial entities, enhancing our ability to support our mission and expand our global impact.

We believe that after the second stage of our project, more animal-related organizations and individuals will spontaneously come to the Nouns community to build under our help and inspire. Nouns Shelter will have a bigger blueprint as an international NGO in the future.