Nonprofits are always on the lookout for ways to increase funding, whether it’s through the use of more effective technology or participation in viral campaigns like the Ice Bucket Challenge. Being on the cutting edge of the digital landscape can pay off by increasing the effectiveness of operations, but it can also raise the profile of a nonprofit in the public eye. For instance, bitcoin is a newsworthy phenomenon, and many nonprofits are starting to accept digital currency.
An organization in Sacramento, California, just become the first bitcoin-based charity to receive nonprofit status, according to the Sacramento Business Journal. For more than a year, BitGive Foundation has operated as a volunteer-run organization that raises money for public health and environmental causes by accepting bitcoin donations or physical currencies that are then converted to bitcoin.
Last year, BitGive raised money for Save the Children in the Philippines Typhoon Haiyan Children’s Relief Fund and is now participating in an initiative to raise $10,000 for The Water Project.
The newly-minted charity’s goal is to raise $100,000 annually to run the organization and hire staff. According to its website, the organization hopes to amass a multi-million dollar investment fund to support BitGive and to make financial contributions to organizations working in public health and for environmental causes.
Many believe the use of bitcoin by charities could help bring the cryptocurrency to mainstream use. In an article for Cryptobiz Magazine, BitGive founder and CEO Connie Gallippi wrote that using bitcoin opens the door of giving because it allows contributors to send their funds anywhere and is also cost-effective to process. According to Gallippi, less interference from banks and governments means that the funding can go directly to the cause.
While many people may still be skeptical of bitcoin, it is taking off in the nonprofit sector, and its adoption may be increasing in the coming years.
