Crypto for a cause

Ah, yes, the modern-day investor grappling with meme stocks, recession talk, saving for retirement, and navigating the confusing and ever-changing world of crypto. With Giving Tuesday (November 29) and the end of the year fast approaching, now’s the time to take stock of your finances, check in on those emergency funds, max out those tax-advantaged accounts, and make a plan for how you can give back.

Not only can supporting nonprofits give you that warm, fuzzy feeling of knowing you’re helping people in need, but you can also get a tax deduction for doing so. Donating crypto and stock can be especially advantageous, even in challenging economic times. Like cash donations, crypto and stock offer a tax deduction that helps investors and traders offset capital gains.

The Giving Block is the platform to turn to for donating crypto and stocks. They work with thousands of leading nonprofits worldwide, equipping them to accept ether, bitcoin, and a wide variety of other stocks and cryptocurrencies. The Giving Block’s donation platform makes it easy to find a cause that speaks to you, letting you securely donate cryptocurrency or stocks in just a few clicks.

Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of crypto have been donated to nonprofits over the last year. Read on to learn how crypto fundraising has helped 3 nonprofits—and how you, too, can donate crypto to make a charitable impact.

Save the Children

Operating programs in 100+ countries, Save the Children is committed to giving all children a chance at a healthy future. In 2013, it became the first global NGO to accept cryptocurrency donations—and today, it accepts 80+ cryptocurrencies. Ettore Rossetti, head of Web3 at Save the Children, shared how incorporating crypto into the charity’s fundraising efforts has paid off, especially in emergencies.

Guide your giving.

“Crypto donations support our purpose to uphold children’s rights to survival, protection, and education as they face the triple impact of conflict, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic. During humanitarian disasters such as the conflict in Afghanistan last year and the Ukraine war this year, we allowed donors to designate their donations.”

Big ambitions.

“So far, we’ve raised more than $7 million in USD fiat value. Last year, crypto donations represented less than 5% of private donations, so it’s still early. Our short-term goal is to raise $10 million in crypto donations, our medium-term goal is to raise $100 million, and our Mars-shot goal is to raise $1 billion.”

A powerful partnership.

“We exchange our crypto donations via The Giving Block into fiat currency so we can put them into immediate impact. Beyond the technical capability to easily accept crypto donations via our website, The Giving Block automatically receipts donors on our behalf and provides education and marketing, too.”

In it for the long haul.

“Though Save the Children doesn’t hold crypto, we’re thoughtfully considering it for the future. We’re also investing resources into building plans and partnerships for when there’s more liquidity in the market. When it rebounds, we’ll be ready.”

Care

Impacting more than 100 million people worldwide, CARE works to save lives, defeat poverty, and achieve social justice, with an emphasis on empowering women and girls. Alejandra Villalobos, associate vice president for philanthropy at CARE, revealed how crypto donations help the organization carry out humanitarian response efforts and accelerate impact.

Cashing in.

“We began working with crypto donors in early 2020 and launched the CARE Crypto Fund for Humanitarian Aid in 2021, with an initial $10 million target to invest in high-impact solutions. We recognized crypto would likely play a significant role in the future financial system, and crypto philanthropy could be an important part of our nonprofit’s long-term resource development strategy. We wanted to proactively channel some of the extraordinary wealth created in crypto to good causes.”

Help where it’s needed most.

“While crypto donations still represent a small fraction of CARE’s annual contributions, they fund urgent humanitarian response efforts in countries such as Afghanistan and Ukraine. Right now, ETH is our most-donated currency, followed by XTC and BTC. We look forward to increasing the number of crypto donors engaged with CARE and the amount donated to help accelerate progress for people in need.”

Pushing the boundaries.

“CARE is exploring promising applications of crypto beyond just fundraising. Earlier this year, we completed successful pilots using crypto to directly support communities in partnership with Binance’s Blockchain Charity Foundation in Kenya and with Umoja Labs and Celo Foundation in Ecuador. This work has been made possible thanks to the generosity and creativity of the crypto community, and we think it represents a potentially entirely new relationship between giving and impact.”

Doing the work.

“We partnered with The Giving Block because they understand the crypto community and nonprofit fundraising. We remain focused on building long-term relationships and staying calm during this downcycle, welcoming the opportunity to work with those interested in deploying emerging technologies like crypto to help us achieve social impact at scale.”

WaterAid

For more than 40 years, WaterAid has been working to make clean water, decent toilets, and good hygiene a reality for everyone, everywhere. The organization works in more than 30 countries to build water systems, teach communities to maintain them, and partner with governments and institutions to scale solutions, with an ambitious goal to reach 400 million people in the next 10 years. Sarah Kershaw, WaterAid’s digital acquisition lead, shared how crypto donations have helped the organization tackle the water crisis across communities.

The investment-impact connection.

“We always lead with the impact a donation can have. For example, 1 bitcoin can fund water systems (taps, toilets, sinks, drinking water, etc.) for all the students, teachers, and staff in 2 schools in Ethiopia. It’s hugely empowering to realize that your savvy digital investments can save lives.”

Fast donations → fast responses.

“When the pandemic hit, most of our programs had to pivot very quickly to cover activities as diverse as producing social distancing signage, radio broadcasts, and building portable handwashing stations. Crypto helps with that sort of agile response, where speed is of the essence. Having a committed and generous community to support our work helped us reach more than 181 million people with lifesaving health and hygiene messages.”

The right partner.

“WaterAid’s approach to crypto has been evolving since 2018, when we piloted a blockchain fundraising project. Now many of our projects feature blockchain technology for capturing data. The Giving Block offered ‘out-of-the-box’ solutions that demystified so much of it, as well as made it accessible—we didn’t need developers to get it set up, and it helped us feel we could explore the opportunity while minimizing risk and time to launch.”

What’s next?

“At the moment, we use crypto and cash donations in the same way. We’re talking internally about the wider potential uses of crypto and blockchain, too, because there is just so much potential—particularly in an international organization like WaterAid, with multiple fiat currencies and cross-border financial transactions.”