It is time for your non-profit to get on board with cryptocurrency fundraising
As cryptocurrency achieves widespread adoption around the world, one of many positive spin-off effects is that more charities are accepting cryptocurrency donations, and more donors are choosing to contribute to important charitable causes by donating cryptocurrency.
The impressive growth in crypto giving can be quantified by the recent projections of The Giving Block, one of the largest facilitators of cryptocurrency donations, which is on pace to process over $100 Million in crypto donations this year and is projecting $1 Billion in donations to flow through their platform in 2022.
The impressive growth in the crypto giving space has led me to believe that it is only a matter of time before cryptocurrency becomes a staple, and eventually the norm, in the charitable giving space. When reading the book Bitcoin and the Future of Fundraising by Anne Connelly and Jason Shim, there was one quote in particular that stood out in regard to the widespread adoption of cryptocurrency donations by non-profits:
"It's not a matter of if you should move ahead, but a strategic decision of when and how" – Connelly and Shim, Bitcoin and the Future of Fundraising
Just like when non-profits first made the shift to accepting donations via credit card, there was resistance, but now, you can’t find a charity that doesn’t. I believe that the same will be true with cryptocurrency in the near future. When it comes to accepting cryptocurrency donations, there are really two options for non-profit organizations – be a leader in the space or play catch-up later.
To help convince you of the importance and value of accepting cryptocurrency donations at your non-profit, I wanted to share some thoughts on some of the key trends in the space.
Large non-profits around the world are embracing cryptocurrency
Massive international non-profits have already begun accepting cryptocurrency donations and have seen great success with their efforts. This includes organizations such as UNICEF, Save the Children, the American Cancer Society, Mental Health America, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, United Way Worldwide, CARE, Feeding America, and even some University endowments.
We have seen some of these massive organizations go all in on cryptocurrency donations by establishing specialized cryptocurrency funds. One of these organizations, the American Cancer Society, recently launched a Cancer Crypto Fund with the goal of raising $1 million to support cancer research. All crypto received through the fund will go directly towards cancer research for “new discoveries and better treatments”.
Another example of one of these funds is the UNICEF Crypto Fund, which supports the development of innovative humanitarian projects around the world. To date, this fund has provided over 1325 ETH (roughly $5,551,750 USD at the time of this writing) in investments to social impact start-ups.
If these massive organizations, with their large PR and legal teams, and extensive fundraising experience, think it is a good idea to accept cryptocurrency donations, then it probably is. It is likely that they put substantial thought into it, had it vetted by their legal teams, had substantial discussion at their Board Meetings, and came to the conclusion that it is a winning policy.
Crypto donations provide exposure to a new global audience
By accepting crypto donations, it enables you to spread your message to a much broader, more global audience. There are few communities that are as globalized as the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem. A quick look at Chainalysis’ Global Crypto Adoption Index shows you how global the reach of crypto is, with every continent but Oceania (and of course Antarctica) having representation in the top 20 list of Crypto-adopting countries.
By adopting cryptocurrency donations, and joining the crypto and blockchain ecosystem, you can open your organization up to new audiences and a new type of donor that is hard to reach via traditional fundraising methods.
Whale donations are on the rise
When it comes to crypto giving, the power is in the community, and accepting crypto donations will open your non-profit up to millions of new potential donors, as highlighted above. However, we have also seen an increasing number of large-scale donations made by so-called crypto whales, or through large organizations such as crypto exchanges. Here are some examples:
Vitalik Buterin, Founder of Ethereum, donated $1 Billion in cryptocurrency to help fight COVID-19 in India.
Beeple, one of the world’s most well known NFT artists, recently sold an NFT for $6 million and donated the proceeds to the Open Earth Foundation.
Médecins Sans Frontières recently received a donation of $3.5 million in what was the world’s largest cryptocurrency donation from an NFT project.
The Giving Block has launched the Crypto Adoption Fund, which will aim to raise $10 million in 2021 to support more than 600 pro-crypto non-profits.
To date, Binance Charity, the charitable arm of the large crypto exchange, has donated over 1,200 Bitcoin ($75,000,000), helping almost one million beneficiaries. They’ve supported a number of important projects including COVID-19 relief, Haiti earthquake relief, ensuring access to menstrual products for women and girls in Africa, and more.
If your organization embraces the value of accepting cryptocurrency donations and joins the community as hundreds of non-profits already have, it gives you the opportunity to be in the running for large donations from leaders and organizations in the space.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain is at the forefront of fundraising innovation
When it comes to crypto fundraising, there is no shortage of innovation in the space. Beyond simply accepting cryptocurrency donations directly, there are plenty of other ways that organizations are capitalizing on the technology to raise funds and engage in social impact projects.
One way that we have seen this is through the use of NFTs for fundraising. For an intro on NFT fundraising, check out my blog post NFTs: The Next Frontier in the Social Impact Space. There have been many high-profile examples of NFTs being sold, with the proceeds being contributed to charitable causes. One example of this, as highlighted above, involves Beeple, a well-known NFT creator, selling his Ocean Front NFT for $6 million and donating the proceeds to The Open Earth Foundation. Another example involves NFT4Good, which recently sold NFT trading cards of Asian Celebrities, with the proceeds of $80,000 going to #HateIsAVirus, an Asian American and Pacific Islander oriented anti-racism non-profit.
We have also seen the creation of social tokens, or cryptocurrencies with a built-in mission to support social impact causes. Elongate, a cryptocurrency built on the Binance Smart Chain, for example, has raised nearly $3.5 million for charities through their protocol. With Elongate, a 10% fee for transacting in the token rewards token holders while a significant sum from each fee is donated to a variety of charitable causes.
These are just a couple of innovative ways that fundraising is taking place in the cryptocurrency space, but they demonstrate the unique opportunities for fundraising in the space. If you start your journey down the cryptocurrency rabbit hole, you will be amazed with the number of use cases for charitable fundraising.
Conclusion
When it comes to accepting cryptocurrency donations, there is certainly truth to the statement that “it’s not if, but when.” The adoption of cryptocurrency as a tool for fundraising has achieved incredible momentum over the past couple of years. That being said, it’s important for your non-profit to get on board with accepting cryptocurrency donations, or risk becoming disengaged from a new and expansive donor base.
Not sure where to get started when it comes to accepting cryptocurrency at your non-profit? Check out the Education section of our Blog for some great resources including:
Do you believe that cryptocurrency giving will become the norm in the fundraising space? Tweet us at @Crypto_Altruism, we’d love to hear from you!
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