Bitcoin is revolutionising charitable giving as we speak. The answer is yes.
The media loves talking about the use cases of Bitcoin that are less glorifying and more horrifying. So I am going to take this space on Newsbtc, to talk about the use cases of Bitcoin that are more glorifying and less horrifying. More specifically about how the Bitcoin and the Dogecoins are starting to become a stronger force in charitable giving.
Charitable Giving — Be it Plastic or Digital Money
Spending money is a psychological and behavioural pattern. The economists and the psychologists should be the ones who understand this best, but the marketeers understand the concept better. The banks around the world created the plastic money and financial instruments with cool names like — credit cards and debit cards, not because they are the logical evolutionary advancements of fiat currency, but because psychologically we humans are more willing to part from money, when it doesn’t look like or feel like real money (a.k.a paper bills and metal coins).
Enter the Bitcoin, that exists in the minds and the electrons
Bitcoin enters this game at a whole new level. It is a digital currency (
not money), we spoke about why
it is not money earlier on NewsBTC. Having cleared that Bitcoin can be considered a property or a currency (in my opinion, as the
IRS seems to disagree), but not money, we have set the conversation pointed to one thing — How easy is it to part away with Bitcoin for charitable giving? The number of charitable organizations that have started to accept Bitcoin donations, are growing by the day. As I write and as you read, there is probably an NGO or ONG discussing whether they should accept bitcoin or not.
There are charitable organisations that have made their decisions quite correctly on time and I would like to list some of them here. If I were to list all of them here, this article would become a book. For the sake of brevity I am listing just 5 of them, to give the readers an idea of the burgeoning successes of Bitcoin for Charitable Giving.
Successful Charitable Campaigns from the Recent Past.
The Water Project raised over $11,000 (target was $10,000) from Bitcoin donations. The proceeds of which are now used to provide for clean, safe water in developing countries. Save the Children, with the help of Bitcoin community raised over $4850 in one day. The proceeds were directed to save the children who were affected by Philippines Typhoon Haiyan. Dogecoin became the official supporter of African Space Campaign.
There is more happening everyday. Reddit now has a pulse on it and it can help the altruists among us to stay updated on Bitcoin charitable projects.
Tax Deductions for Bitcoin Charitable Giving.
Charitable giving is an altruistic exercise. Somewhere in human economic evolution we have started expecting tax returns for the money given to charitable purposes. In the current established norms of charitable giving, this is only pardonable. To the delight of the tax returns expectants and the appraisal enthusiasts among us, there is a great article by Janet Novack of Forbes, who has charted an article for the sole purpose of guiding the reader to get a Big Tax Deduction on the donations made with Bitcoin. I am going to end this piece pointing two of my fingers in two directions.
