Spread the Christmas cheer through crypto-philanthropy

The charity crypto campaigns aim to give something back this holiday season and show how effective crypto and NFT donations are for donations.

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The holidays are the perfect time of year to give back, and the rise of cryptocurrencies has created even more opportunities for charity. This was highlighted during the Giving Ceremony on Tuesday 2021, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which raised over $ 2.4 million in crypto from nonprofit fundraising platform The Offering Block.

As crypto philanthropy becomes a new subsector of the crypto economy, some in the industry believe that crypto donations will only keep increasing. Alex Wilson, co-founder of The Giving Block, told Cointelegraph that the organization raised about $ 4 million in crypto last year, noting that more than $ 100 million in crypto donations could be accepted this year .

According to Wilson, this growth is partly due to the fact that crypto donations are more tax efficient than fiat donations. “Anyone who donates before December 31st can receive a deduction for the 2021 tax year. This is a great way to offset some of your profits. Wilson added that more than 1,000 nonprofits are currently accepting crypto donations through The Supplying Block, including St. Jude, Preserve the Young and the United Way. “Over the next year we will have a lot of partnerships and we expect our growth to accelerate. We estimate we’ll be processing nearly $ 1 billion in donations next year and partnering with more than 6,000 nonprofits. “

Cryptocurrency giveaways for the holidays

While a number of nonprofits have started accepting crypto donations, it’s also worth noting that this holiday season is the start of campaigns focused on crypto-philanthropy.

For example, in early December, Upbring Innovation Labs – a Texas-based organization dedicated to advancing technology in the nonprofit sector – founded the Give Major TX Crypto Fund. Ryan Park, Upbring’s vice president of innovation, told Cointelegraph that the fund is a collaborative crypto campaign in partnership with 12 Texas-based nonprofits:

“You could think of this as an ‘equitable fund’. The reason here is to make Texas a better place to live. This is also intended to show nonprofits that they can use new Web 3. technologies for growth. The overall goal is to highlight Texas as a leader in crypto-philanthropy. ”

Park shared that the Give Significant TX Crypto Campaign is partnering with organizations like Austin Animals Alive, Massive Brothers Massive Sisters Lonestar, Catholic Charity of Central Texas, and eight other nonprofits. He added that the Texas Blockchain Council – a 501C (6) organization – is also part of this initiative as the group is involved in promoting blockchain across various industries in Texas.

Kelsey Driscoll, senior strategist on innovation programs at Upbring, told Cointelegraph that the campaign will accept over 40 different cryptocurrencies for donations through December 31, all of which will be supported by The Offering Block. She commented, “Once donations are made, The Offering Block will automatically convert them to US dollars. Driscoll added that the r / Bitcoin subreddit pool equals Bitcoin (BTC) donations when donations are made to a charity supported by The Offering Block.

Pawthereum, a decentralized community project that supports animal shelters, also launched a charity crypto campaign this month. Pawthereum Community Manager John Weathers told Cointelegraph that their 12-day crypto campaign is allowing crypto donations to specific projects that help animals in need. The Pawthereum Project was launched as an offshoot of the Grumpy Cat Coin meme crypto project, which raised $ 70,000 in crypto for the Sterling Animal Museum in Massachusetts.

Most recently, Pawthereum raised $ 25,000 through crypto donations for Muttville Senior Puppy Rescue, a San Francisco-based animal shelter that cares for dogs with special needs. Almost $ 400,000 in cryptocurrency has been raised since the campaign launched on Dec. 14, according to Weathers.

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Unusable tokens or NFTs will also be used for donations this year. With market growth for the sale of NFTs projected to reach $ 17.7 billion by the end of 2021, the sector is set to launch one of the largest crypto charities this season. Called Right Click, Cho !, it was a public auction that took place on the NFT Opensea platform. The auction will run until December 24th, and all proceeds will be donated to Blankets of Hope, a charity that provides warm blankets to the homeless while teaching kindness to children in need.

Mike Fiorito, co-founder of Blankets of Hope, told Cointelegraph that as an avid NFT collector, he knows very well how hospitable the entire NFT community is. As a result, he believes more NFT-focused charity campaigns will emerge. “There are a lot of nice people in the NFT space who create happiness – big or small – and want to give something back,” he said.

Park also noted that the Give Major TX Crypto campaign allows NFT artists to work directly with nonprofits to donate proceeds from minting unusable tokens. “Many artists who make NFT drops want to work with nonprofits, and this is the opportunity. We have two NFT projects that donate their proceeds to our foundation. ”

Are charity crypto campaigns catching up?

While there are currently only a handful of charity crypto campaigns, the perks associated with crypto donations could lead to widespread adoption in the future.

While U.S. donors don’t pay capital gains tax on crypto assets they donate to a registered nonprofit, there are other technological benefits. For example, Pawthereum community leader Nawzad Amiri told Cointelegraph that the transparency of the blockchain network coupled with transaction speed is impressive when it comes to crypto donations versus fiat.

Additionally, statistics from The Supplying Block suggest that crypto donors may be willing to donate more to charity, noting that $ 11,000 is the average crypto donation size per year. Donation data from Giving Usa shows that $ 737 is the average charitable giving for Americans in 2020.

While the benefits may be obvious to some, education seems to be the biggest challenge hindering adoption. For example, although Texas is growing into one of the largest crypto capitals in the United States due to its blockchain-friendly attitude and mining prowess, Park announced that Texas nonprofits have been included in the Give Big TX crypto campaign:

“We have reached around 60 nonprofits and are working with a total of 12. It looks like this is going to be a hit, but there is still a long way to go in enlightening the world about the potential of crypto-philanthropy. ”

Another challenge worth mentioning is that while the NFT may seem like an ideal donation tool, there is uncertainty about tax deductions. Fiorito stated that he is still trying to determine if filing an NFT is considered a tax deductible event. “This is a cloudy area because we are very early in the NFT room,” he commented. Because of this uncertainty, right click, give! Auctions also accepts crypto donations through The Giving Block.

Related: NFT Declines and Biggest Sales in 2021

Challenges aside, it’s clear that crypto-philanthropy has opened up new opportunities for a generation eager to pay off. For example, Park pointed out that many of the nonprofits working on the Give Big TX crypto campaign have over 70 years of funding. According to statistics from The Offering Block, the median age of crypto users is 38, as Wilson added:

“The donors here are people who live and use the Internet 3. or have owned crypto for a long time. An important part of that now is educating these people that this possibility exists. ”