NearFundMe

Seamless campaign creation
Personalized Campaign Posts
Seamless campaign donation
Approval page

Inspiration

The inspiration for NearFundMe came from real-world experiences that highlighted the urgent need for accessible, decentralized crowdfunding.

One of our team members came across a heartbreaking tweet from someone struggling to afford emergency medical treatment. Despite the willingness of many people to help, the lack of a seamless, trustless way to donate directly created friction in the fundraising process.
Another instance was the 2025 Potomac River mid-air collision, where American Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter collided over Washington, D.C., killing 67 people. In the aftermath, families faced immediate financial burdens—from funeral expenses to legal fees—yet traditional crowdfunding platforms had lengthy approval processes, high fees, and centralized restrictions, delaying much-needed support.

These experiences underscored the need for a frictionless, decentralized, and AI-powered solution—one where anyone could start and contribute to a crowdfunding campaign instantly, using just a tweet and natural language. Thus, NearFundMe was born. 🚀

What it does

NearFundMe is a next-generation crowdfunding dApp that revolutionizes fundraising by enabling users to effortlessly create and engage with crowdfunding campaigns on Twitter—all through natural language 🐦. Built on the NEAR ecosystem, it ensures full user ownership of the AI agent 🔐.

Harnessing the power of LLMs, our platform intelligently generates and supports crowdfunding campaigns directly from Twitter—simply by mentioning it. 🚀

How It Works

Find a Cause – Look for a tweet where someone is seeking help or highlighting a problem they’re facing.
Mention @NearFundMe – Reply to the tweet, tagging @NearFundMe in the comment section.
Generate a Crowdfunding Campaign – Our platform will automatically generate a link for you to approve the deployment of a crowdfunding contract tailored to that tweet.
Create a Personalized Campaign – A dedicated fundraising post will be created to amplify the cause.
Donate via Twitter – Users can support the campaign by replying to the original tweet, mentioning @NearFundMe along with the amount in NEAR they wish to donate.
Fund Claiming – Only the original author of the tweet can claim the raised funds when the time is right.

The NearFundMe smart contract is deployed to beta_nearfundme.testnet

How We Built It

NearFundMe is built on a robust technical foundation designed to streamline decentralized crowdfunding while ensuring user security and simplicity.

Application Stack

Frontend – The user interface is simple, intuitive, and currently operates directly on Twitter. Transaction confirmation pages are built with Next.js.
Backend – The core logic runs through the Vanilla App’s Twitter interface, powered by a multi-tool agent built on Near.ai and deployed to the Near.ai registry. It leverages NEAR.ai-provided X/Twitter triggers to process incoming tweets efficiently.

The agent utilizes three primary tools:

create_campaign – Helps users generate personalized crowdfunding campaigns.
donate – Facilitates donations to existing campaigns.
claim – Allows campaign owners to withdraw raised funds.

Advantages of NearFundMe Over Traditional Crowdfunding Alternatives

Instant Crowdfunding via Social Media

Traditional crowdfunding platforms require users to set up a campaign on their site and complete lengthy forms. NearFundMe allows users to start and contribute to campaigns directly on Twitter/X with a simple mention, eliminating the need for complex setups.

Decentralized & Trustless

Traditional platforms often act as intermediaries, controlling fund distribution and taking a cut. NearFundMe is fully decentralized, meaning no central entity controls donations or withdrawals—funds go directly to the intended recipient.

AI-Powered Campaign Creation

Instead of manually writing campaign descriptions and goals, NearFundMe uses LLMs (Large Language Models) to generate crowdfunding campaigns from tweets, allowing for quick and easy setup without any effort from the user.

Lower Fees & No Middlemen

Traditional crowdfunding platforms charge service and processing fees, often 5-8% of donations. NearFundMe operates on the NEAR blockchain, ensuring lower fees and direct transactions, meaning beneficiaries receive more of the funds.

Transparent & Verifiable Transactions

Every transaction on NearFundMe is recorded on-chain, offering full transparency. Unlike traditional platforms, where fund allocation may not always be clear, NearFundMe provides a verifiable transaction history on the blockchain.

Crypto & Multi-Chain Support

While traditional platforms primarily accept fiat donations, NearFundMe operates on the NEAR blockchain and allows users to donate in crypto assets, with future support for both EVM and non-EVM blockchains.

No Geographic Restrictions

Traditional platforms often have geographic restrictions and may require users to link to specific payment systems or bank accounts. NearFundMe is borderless, allowing anyone, anywhere, to create and receive funds instantly.

Censorship Resistance

Traditional crowdfunding platforms can block, freeze, or remove campaigns based on various factors. NearFundMe operates without a central authority, making it censorship-resistant—ensuring that campaigns and funds are not interrupted by external forces.

Direct & Secure Fund Claims

Only the original author of the tweet or verified recipient can claim the funds, ensuring security and legitimacy. This prevents fraud and ensures that donations go to the intended person.

Seamless Community Engagement

Since NearFundMe operates natively on Twitter/X, supporters can engage and amplify campaigns instantly through retweets, mentions, and replies. This creates viral momentum, speeding up the fundraising process.

NearFundMe offers a faster, more transparent, and decentralized approach to crowdfunding, bypassing the need for intermediaries and unnecessary complexities, making it more accessible and secure for users. 🚀

Challenges We Ran Into

Building NearFundMe came with several challenges, particularly due to our initial unfamiliarity with the Near.ai hub:

Testnet Integration – We struggled to connect the agent directly to the testnet. To bypass this, we implemented browser-based transaction approval links for users. "Picture here"
Twitter Trigger Issues – Setting up Near.ai’s Twitter triggers to respond to tweets proved difficult. After extensive trial and error, we successfully got it working.

Accomplishments We're Proud Of

We successfully developed a working prototype of NearFundMe, demonstrating its ability to:

✅ Generate tweets based on natural language.
✅ Enable donations to campaigns through natural language commands.
✅ Allow campaign owners to claim funds seamlessly.