Fidelity Charitable, an independent public American charity, has announced that it received $7 million in bitcoin donations in 2016 from donors across the country.
To enable Fidelity Charitable donors to give more and to support a broader expansion, in November 2015, the charity began accepting bitcoin. Donors were then able to donate more with the non-profit efficiently monetizing the bitcoin for grant-making.
As well as accepting digital currency donations, the charity also raised $3.5 billion in donor-recommended grants to non-profit organizations last year, which saw a 15 percent increase compared to 2015. To celebrate its 25th anniversary the charity also asked donors to recommend a cumulative $25 billion in grants to be reached by the end of 2016. Donors surpassed the goal on December 16, according to a press release.
Pamela Norley, president of Fidelity Charitable, said:
Reaching this milestone of $25 billion in 25 years is the latest reminder of Fidelity Charitable’s responsibility to continually improve our support to our donors who seek to do good.
Bitcoin Accepting Charities
When it comes to donating to charity cash still leads the way. However, with more charities now accepting bitcoin they are providing an alternative avenue for people to donate with the digital currency.
In 2014, Greenpeace announced that it was accepting bitcoin donations to combat credit card fees while the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a charity which rescues people at sea in the British Isles, became the first major charity in the U.K. or Ireland to accept the digital currency.
The American Red Cross is another major charity that accepts donations in the currency.
As more people embrace bitcoin as a form of payment it only seems natural that people will also want to donate to their favorite causes with the currency.
So to keep charities relevant in the technologically-savvy times that we live in, charities are increasingly providing donors with the option to contribute in bitcoin.
Another popular way for people to donate the cryptocurrency to their chosen charities is through Bitcoin Giving Tuesday, which follows the Black Friday sales. This new global movement aims to help bring awareness to charities and individuals about bitcoin while providing a list to donors of all the charities that accept the digital currency.
Even though cash is still king when it comes to donating to charity, the digital currency is certainly picking up the pace and providing donors with another option that may cut out any fees traditional payments may incur.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
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