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We’re Not Stuck. We’re Just… Marinating.

 

If you’ve asked me lately how Givart is going, you might’ve noticed I don’t say “busy” or “flat out” or even the classic Kiwi default of “yeah, not too bad”.
I say we’re marinating.
Not stalled. Not abandoned. Just sitting there, soaking in the flavours, waiting for the right moment to sizzle.
And honestly? That’s been one of the hardest parts of building a brand‑new non‑profit in 2025.

The “Prove It Before We Help You Prove It” Problem

Early on, we tried to do the sensible thing and engage a media company. You know — people with contacts, experience, and the ability to make things happen.
They were lovely. Professional. And very clear:
“Come back to us when you’ve got numbers.”
Which is fair. Completely fair.
But here’s the catch‑22:
– To get numbers, we need exposure.
– To get exposure, we need numbers.
The Givart platform is live. It works. It’s secure. It does exactly what we said it would do.
But without a visible community of Givartists yet, we’re still considered unproven.
So instead of shortcuts, we’re choosing the long road.

Trust Is Broken (and We Get Why)

Let’s be honest — the internet has ruined it for everyone.
Scams. Fake charities. Influencers with “causes”. Platforms that promise the world and quietly disappear.
So when something new shows up and says:
“Hey, we’re trying to connect people who want to do good with people who want to fund it — transparently.”
The natural response isn’t excitement.
It’s suspicion.
And honestly? That’s not irrational. That’s learned behaviour.
Givart is:
– New
– Different
– Blockchain‑adjacent (which alone makes some people back away slowly)
Trust isn’t something you launch with. It’s something you earn over time.
And time is the one thing you can’t fast‑track.

Security vs. Convenience (The Awkward Trade‑Off)

We also made a very deliberate call early on: security first.
Because if we’re going to do this properly — globally, transparently, and compliantly — we can’t cut corners.
That means:
– Strong AML/CFT controls
– Identity verification
– Clear accountability
Which, let’s be real, isn’t exactly a dopamine hit when you’re just trying to sign up and get started.
People are understandably cautious about handing over personal details online.
But without that process, we can’t:
– Guarantee authenticity
– Protect patrons
– Protect Givartists
– Protect the integrity of the platform
So yes — onboarding can feel intimidating.
But the alternative is building something fragile.
And fragile things don’t last.

Four Months In… and It Feels Quiet

We’re about four months into this journey now.
No viral moment.
No overnight explosion.
No “how did you grow so fast?” podcast invites.
Just steady building.
Learning.
Refining.
Explaining the idea for the hundredth time.
That silence can mess with your head.
But silence doesn’t mean nothing is happening.
It often means foundations are being poured.

Why We’re Still Here

Despite all of this — I still believe, deeply, that this idea needs to exist.
Not because it’s perfect.
Not because it’s easy.
But because there are people out there who want to do good — and people who want to support it — and the gap between them is wider than it should be.
Givart is our attempt to close that gap.
Slowly.
Properly.
Without shortcuts.
So for now, we feed the social media machine.
From the Givart account.
From my own account (@just_a_fulla).
We show up.
We explain.
We repeat ourselves.

Because momentum doesn’t arrive first.
Consistency does.

Final Thought

If you’re reading this and wondering whether Givart is “working”…
It is.
Just not loudly yet.
We’re marinating.
And when the heat turns up — we’ll be ready.


 

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From Acts of Giving to Acts of Earning – Become a Givartist



Your Kindness Can Now Generate Income, No matter Where You Are – Recruiting Givartist Today!
 
Are you living in a place hit by war, natural disaster, or poverty? Perhaps you just want to do more for your local community?
 
Do you want a way to earn income—without needing money to get started, without job interviews, and without needing anything more than your phone, your story, and your heart?
 
Givart has just launched, and we need people like you.
 
We’re looking for the very first wave of Givartists to help us bring the platform to life. You’ll be creating not just art, but impact – and earning while you do it.
 
 
What’s a Givartist?
 
A Givartist is someone who carries out an act of giving and captures the story behind it. That story becomes a work of art – an image that speaks volumes, backed by video footage or other documentation to show the act was real and meaningful.
 
You don’t need art supplies. You don’t need connections.
You just need:
A smartphone
A heart to help
A bit of time
That’s it.
 
This Is for You If:
 
You’re struggling to find stable work
 Your community has been affected by conflict, climate disasters, or economic hardship
 You want to help others—but also need to help yourself
 You have time to give, and stories to tell
 You want to create a future for yourself that’s rooted in purpose
 
How It Works:
 
Do something kind or helpful – even small acts count.
 Film or document the act, including a selfie– just enough to show it’s real. A 20–60 second clip is perfect.
 Take one powerful photo – this becomes the piece of ‘givart’.
 Upload it to Givart – and start building your profile (FREE!)
 Get support from Patrons around the world who want to fund your next act.
 
Your acts can be printed, shared, or minted into NFTs.
You’ll be credited as the artist—and you’ll be helping your community at the same time.
 
 
Why Start Now?
 
We’ve just launched – and we need the first wave of Givartists to help fill the platform. 
🚀Be part of something from the beginning. Early Givartists will be highlighted, followed, and featured. 
The world is watching – and wants to support people doing good in hard places.
 
 
No Money Needed to Begin
 
You don’t need to buy anything to get started.
You don’t even need to leave your neighbourhood.
Your first few acts can simply be your time and kindness.
Once uploaded, they can start building your income and reputation.
 
The More You Share, the More You Grow
 
If you’re good at social media, this is your moment. The more you share your acts as a givartist, the more people will see them —and the more patrons you’ll attract to fund your next act.
 
It’s not just a job. It’s a movement.
It’s not just art. It’s proof the world still cares.
 
Join the Movement. Change Lives—Starting With Yours.
 
Whether you’re in a remote village, a refugee camp, a struggling town or you simply see a need for compassion, this is a real way to earn and uplift at the same time.
 
Help us build something new.
Be part of the story from Day One.
Turn kindness into income.
 
Sign up now at Givart.org and become a founding Givartist.
 
You don’t have to wait for the world to change.
You can be that change—with just your phone.
 
 

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The Future of Givart: NFTs Minted Directly on Our Platform



Givart NFTs Are Now Minted In-House – Here’s What That Actually Means
 
You asked for it, and we made it happen — Givart now mints NFTs in-house!
 Whether you’re an NFT veteran or have no idea what that even means, this blog is for you.
 Let’s break it down.
 
 
So… What Is an NFT?
 
NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. But here’s the no-jargon version:
 Imagine you’ve created a beautiful act of giving and turned it into digital art — a moment, a memory, a story. Normally, that image is just a file sitting on a website.
 
But when it’s minted as an NFT, it becomes a unique digital collectible — one that’s officially owned by someone (you, a Patron, a supporter) and recorded forever on the blockchain.
 
It’s kind of like signing your art and locking it in a glass case with a certificate that says: “This is real. This is unique. And this person owns it.”
 
 
What Does “In-House Minting” Mean?
 
Before now, if you wanted to mint a Givart piece as an NFT, it had to be done off-platform using other services. That meant extra steps, extra clicks, and less control.
 
Now? We’ve built a 3-step NFT minting engine directly into the Givart platform. That means smoother minting, lower costs, and a better experience for our community.
 
Here’s how it works:
 
The 3 Steps of Givart Minting
 
1. Uploading the Image to the Blockchain
 
First, we upload the artwork (the Act of Giving you chose to mint) to a blockchain-based storage system called IPFS — kind of like the cloud, but decentralized.
 
At this stage, the image becomes what’s called an IPFS File. It’s stored on the blockchain, but not yet an NFT. Think of this as saving the art into a vault, but not locking it to a specific owner.
 
We use a trusted third-party service called Pinata to make this happen — and yes, that costs us a little something each month to keep it humming. Totally worth it.
 
 
2. Creating the Voucher
 
Once the image is safely stored, we create a voucher — a kind of digital receipt that says:
 
 “Hey Patron! This art is now blockchain-ready. If you want to mint it into an NFT, here’s your ticket.” 
 
This gives you the power to mint it whenever you want. No pressure. No rush. It’s yours when you’re ready.
 
 
3. Minting the NFT
 
When you’re ready to make it official, hit “Mint NFT” and follow the prompts.
 
At this point:
 
Your connected crypto wallet (right now we support MetaMask) will pop up.
 You’ll approve the minting and pay a small transaction fee (called gas).
 
You’ll need about $25 USD worth of crypto in your wallet to cover this. That’s usually enough to handle the gas fees and leave a little change behind.
 
 
Once it’s confirmed — boom!  The NFT is yours. It gets minted directly to your wallet, and that moment of giving is officially etched into digital history.
 
 
Why This Matters
 
Minting Givart NFTs in-house means:
 Faster transactions
 Lower costs (compared to most external marketplaces)
 More secure ownership
 Better user experience — especially for people new to crypto
 
 But more importantly, it means you’re part of something meaningful.
 
Every Givart NFT represents an act of generosity, a story worth preserving, and a connection between people doing good in the world. By minting it, you’re helping us build a more generous internet — one piece of art at a time.
 
 
What’s Next?
 
Right now, we support MetaMask, but we’re adding more wallet options soon.
 Until then, if you’ve got crypto and a heart for giving, your Givart is ready to be minted.
 
Let’s make history — together.

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Art, Security, and Authenticity: How Givart Protects Every Image



Protecting Givart Images: What We Tried, What We Learned, and Where We’ve Landed

When we started Givart, one of our biggest challenges was figuring out how to protect the artwork that represents each act of giving. We wanted to honour both the Givartists who create and the Patrons who support them. But art on the internet is tricky: screenshots, right-click saving, and even AI upscalers mean that any image put online is vulnerable.

So here’s a look behind the scenes at how we tackled the problem.

The First Experiments: Watermarks and Steganography

We experimented with heavy watermarking — not just logos in the corner, but advanced techniques like steganography (hiding information in the “1s and 0s” of an image). These made images nearly impossible to recover, even with AI. The upside was strong protection. The downside? Processing was expensive, storage was complicated, and the end result wasn’t very pretty for anyone browsing our gallery.

We quickly realised that if every Givart piece looked like a security-stamped document, no one would feel drawn to it. Art should inspire, not be hidden behind digital barbed wire.

The Balance: Showing Enough, Protecting the Rest

From there, we tried lighter watermarking and even the idea of placing a kind of “digital glass” over images in pop-up windows. But again, anything on a screen can ultimately be copied. What we really needed was a balance between attraction and protection.

That’s when we landed on a simple principle:

1. Thumbnails are visible in the gallery for browsing.
2. Low-resolution previews appear when someone clicks to view more. These look good on screen but are useless for making quality prints.
3. The original high-resolution image never goes public. It’s stored securely in Givart’s system and is only called upon when a Patron chooses to mint an NFT or order an official print through Gelato.

This approach keeps the site visually appealing, discourages theft, and still guarantees the uniqueness of every original Givart piece.

Why This Matters

The heart of Givart is about singularity and meaning. One act of giving = one unique piece of art in the world. By controlling how images are displayed and reproduced, we protect that uniqueness. Patrons know their piece can’t just be duplicated endlessly, and Givartists know their creations are safeguarded.

Where We’re Headed

We may still experiment with subtle branding, like placing a small Givart logo in the corner of images, but we’ve learned that less is more. A discreet mark plus our behind-the-scenes controls (lossy compression, stripped metadata, and secure storage) are enough to protect while keeping the art experience alive.
At the end of the day, Givart is about authenticity. Without it, art online is just another file. With it, every act of giving becomes something unique, traceable, and truly collectible.

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Keeping It Safe: Our Policy on Minors at Givart



At Givart, we’ve always dreamed of creating a space where everyone — kids, teens, adults — could join in the spirit of giving. We believe young people bring a fresh spark, big hearts, and incredible creativity to the table. Truth is, we really, really tried to find a way to let minors (under 18) have their own accounts on Givart.

But after months of digging, consulting, and looking at the fine print, we had to face the hard reality: international law, child protection frameworks, and online safety requirements make it too risky — for the youth themselves, and for the trust we’re trying to build globally.
 

The Legal Stuff (in plain English)
 
Different countries have different rules about online platforms and minors. Some require strict parental consent, others demand age-verification systems, and many have privacy laws designed to shield kids from being tracked or exploited.
 
When you add in cross-border issues — because Givart is global, not just Kiwi — the picture gets even trickier. If we let a 14-year-old from New Zealand sign up, what happens when their act of giving is funded by someone in Europe, or minted as an NFT in the US? Each region has its own child-protection standards. If we got even one of those wrong, it could put youth at risk and put Givart in breach of serious international obligations.
 
We decided we’d rather be safe than sorry — and keep our credibility as a platform that puts people first.

 
But Here’s the Good News: Youth Co-Creation!
 
Just because we can’t offer independent logins for minors doesn’t mean young people are shut out. Far from it. Givart is built for collaboration.
 
We encourage youth to co-create alongside their parents or guardians. Here’s how it works:
 Parents hold the account (and the legal responsibilities).
 
Young people bring their ideas, energy, and perspective — whether that’s helping dream up Acts of Giving, taking the photo, or snapping the moment of kindness as it happens.
 
Together, they can upload, share, and celebrate the art of giving. 
It’s not about cutting kids out. It’s about making sure they’re protected while still giving them space to shine.
 
 
Why This Matters to Us
 
We know young people care about the world — maybe more than any other generation. They want to act, create, and inspire. At Givart, we want to back that energy.
 
By making youth participation a family effort, we’re keeping everyone safe while still letting the next generation shape what giving looks like. In our eyes, that’s a win-win.
 
 
Final Word
 
We’ll always keep looking for ways to open the doors wider, but for now, youth on Givart means working side-by-side with whānau. That’s pretty Kiwi, really — we do things together, we look after our tamariki, and we make sure the next generation is supported, not left to go it alone.
 
So if you’re a young creative with a big heart, grab Mum, Dad, or your guardian, and come join us. We can’t wait to see what you co-creat.

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Givart – From Thought Journal to Global Vision



It started as a question—one jotted down in a thought journal more than a decade ago while studying the negative effects of globalism in Rome:
How can we encourage and sustain the act of giving on a global scale?
At the heart of this question lay a flaw in the human condition—the greater the social or geographic distance between us and someone in need, the less we seem to care. It was this uncomfortable truth that sparked the idea for Givart.

A Philosophical Beginning
The early concept of Givart lived quietly in a notebook, a product of deep reflection on globalism, empathy, and the disconnection created by modern life. What if, the idea asked, we could make the act of giving easier, more rewarding, and sustainable—even fun?
The answer: Givart—a platform where acts of kindness are captured in a single image, then shared with the world for others to fund, collect, and celebrate. In doing so, it reconnects people with their humanity—across continents and cultures.

The Big Idea
Imagine someone helping clean up a beach, or delivering aid to a family in a war-torn zone. They snap a photo of the act and upload it to Givart. Someone on the other side of the world, moved by that image, funds it. That image becomes a digital or physical piece of art—part of a permanent record of human compassion.
Givart isn’t about vague donations. It’s about direct, personal impact—a singular give, funded by a singular patron. Art becomes the bridge. And in that moment, giving becomes an experience shared.

Turning Vision Into Action
What began as a philosophical idea is now a registered charitable trust in New Zealand. We’ve secured the website, trademarked the name, built a team, and contracted a development agency, Silquetech, to bring the Givart platform to life. It’s still early days—but the will to launch this movement into the world is firmly in place.

What Drives Us
We live in a time where compassion is often delayed, rationalised away, or drowned in distraction. Givart exists to reverse that—to make giving immediate, intentional, and beautifully visible. Whether you’re a Givartist who enacts kindness or a Patron who funds it, you become part of something lasting.

What’s Next
Right now, we’re preparing for launch—building awareness, designing the platform, and reaching out to those who believe that giving should be easier, more joyful, and more human. We’re not here to compete with other charities—we’re here to reshape how people think about giving entirely.
Because one act of kindness can become a work of art. And that art can change the world.

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Meet the Givart Crew – The People Behind the Purpose

Every good idea needs a few good people to back it—and Givart’s lucky to have a board packed with heart, brains, banter, and belief in something bigger than themselves.
We thought it was about time you got to know the team behind the scenes. These are the people helping turn a thought journal scribble into a platform for global kindness.

Martyn (Micki) Hall – Founder / Director

The Dreamer / Philosopher

Hey, that’s me. I’m a full-time firefighter in Wellington and the one who dreamed up Givart after years of travel, study, and a fair bit of wondering how we could make giving a more everyday, accessible thing. I’ve worn a few different hats over the years—worked for councils, spent a lot of time in the outdoors, dabbled in philosophy and criminology, and picked up a diploma in fire engineering science along the way. I’ve also been lucky enough to call places like Brazil, Thailand, and Italy home at different points—but Aotearoa’s where the heart is now. I started Givart to help people connect—to each other, to causes they care about, and to that warm buzz you get when you do something good. It’s about turning kindness into something you can see, share, and be proud of.

Graciélli Ghizzi-Hall – Director

The Discerner / Strategist

Graciélli’s originally from Brazil, but Aotearoa’s lucky to have her now. She’s spent over a decade working in international development and education, and she’s all about building strong, compassionate communities—whether it’s here or across the globe. She currently works as a Senior Programme Coordinator with UnionAID, backing grassroots workers' rights in Asia and the Pacific. She’s also worked with the Ministry of Education, UNESCO, and the United Nations Association of NZ. Bi-lingual and able to get the jist of a couple of other languages, mum to a brilliant four-year-old, and married to me for 20+ years (yep—Graciélli’s my better half), she brings big heart and a sharp mind to everything she does. She’s here at Givart to help make sure we walk the talk—and keep our kaupapa tight and inclusive.

Maua Maora – Director

The Mana and the Heart

Maua’s the kind of bloke who just *shows up*—for his community, his whānau, and his mates. A proud Tokelauan and Cook Islander, he’s a full-time firefighter, part-time logistics ninja, and full-on superdad to four teenagers (with the grey hairs to prove it). Over the years, Maua’s done it all—sales, hospitality, train control, project management, logistics, and emergency services. He’s got that rare combo of cool under pressure and total reliability. If something needs doing, he’s already halfway through it. He’s jumped on board Givart because, in his words, it’s “about more than just giving—it’s about people, connection, and stories that matter.” We couldn’t agree more.

Mark Westerby – Director

The Entrepreneur / Networking Guru

Mark’s the kind of creative you want in your corner. He’s been around the traps in film, TV, arts festivals and media for yonks—and he’s got a gift for turning stories into something unforgettable. He runs a company called SuperCut that makes trailers and content for screen projects here and overseas, and he’s worked on films like *Whina*, *Uproar*, and *Dawn Raid*. Basically, if you’ve seen a slick trailer for a local film, there’s a good chance Mark had a hand in it. These days he’s also Head of Attraction at Screen Wellington, helping bring international productions to town. He’s on our board because he knows how to connect dots—people, places, and ideas—and help something meaningful grow wings.

Sneak Peek Behind the Scenes

We had our first official board meeting recently, and lucky for you—we caught it on camera.
Check out the reel here

Why We’re Doing This

Givart isn’t just about giving. It’s about connection. It’s about turning simple, powerful moments into something lasting. And we’ve built a board that gets that—people with different backgrounds, skills, and stories, but all keen to help make something good happen.

Watch this space—we’re only just getting started