Donations in Bitcoin

As we follow Bitcoin’s expansion, we see that a lot of retailers are now accepting Bitcoin as a payment method. Some non-profit organisations have also decided to make a change and say yes to donations in bitcoins. Bitcoin’s philanthropic activity has also increased significantly. Some small groups like Sean’s Outpost, the Women’s Annex Foundation, and some opened-source software organisations accept bitcoins as well as other cryptocurrencies.

This summer, the Wikimedia Foundation, the operator of Wikipedia, decided to accept donations in bitcoins. Lisa Gruwell, chief revenue officer of Wikimedia, wrote in a blog: ‘Members of our community have asked the Foundation to start accepting bitcoin. These requests, coupled with recent guidance from the US Internal Revenue Service, encouraged the Foundation to once again review our capacity to accept bitcoin.’ . Working with Coinbase, a bitcoin wallet and payment processor, they will immediate change the bitcoins into US dollars.

Another company which has adopted the digital currency in its operations is United Way Worldwide. These donations will be used by United Way’s Innovation Fund to help change the social sector with projects focused on technology, relationships, and efficiency to power the group’s worldwide movement.  The biggest non-profit US organisation in the world, UWW is raises $5 billion annually with more than 2.8 million volunteers, 9.7 million donors, and community initiatives and partnerships with such companies and organisations as the National Football League (NFL), Exxon Mobile, and General Electric.

Greenpeace has announced that it will accept donations in bitcoins only in their United States operation. It will have BitPay as its bitcoin partner, a company that processes bitcoin payments, converting digital money to local, fiat currency. Greenpeace has offices in 40 countries and aims to educate the public on issues like commercial whaling, deforestation, genetic engineering, and more.

The Apache Software Foundation has decided to accept bitcoin donations from September this year. Upayavira, Vice President of Fundraising at the ASF, had this to say in a blog:  ‘Accepting Bitcoin allows donors to The Apache Software Foundation the benefit of digital currency exchanges, no matter where they reside…. As a United States 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization, we welcome donations of all amounts from our global community of users, developers, and enthusiasts.’ .

To help fund a project that is sending two students to India this fall, a project that will focus on empowering women, Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver announced that it will now be accepting bitcoin donations. The decision was made after the project received a $6000 donation in bitcoins. The University has become the first post-secondary school to support Bitcoin in Canada and it might also implement tuition payments with bitcoin. The University also includes a Bitcoin Club, focused on adoption of the technology. Other universities accepting bitcoins on campus in canteens and bookstores include the University of Cumbria in England’s Lake District, the University of Nicosia in Cyprus, and King’s College in New York.

Bitcoin is gaining more and more traction, in all directions. Stay tuned for details.