One of the appealing factors in using bitcoin for transactions is the lower fees associated with it, compared to other forms of payment like credit cards or online transfers. This is why ChangeTip has been using the cryptocurrency for donations and has recently teamed up with charitable institution Direct Relief in running a fundraising campaign for prenatal care.
ChangeTip was founded by Nick Sullivan with the goal of a creating truly global economy by reducing economic disparity through the efficient and open transfer of funds. This can be done through bitcoin, which minimizes transactions costs for micropayments and donations.
Bitcoin Donations for Prenatal Care
Direct Relief is a charity known for ensuring that the funds donated are efficiently used by the charities involved. It was deemed 100% efficient by Forbes, as it has been able to route donated medicines and supplies to local healthcare providers in more than 140 countries, including the United States.
Their partnership with ChangeTip will bring forth an eight-day campaign hat aims to help prevent deaths from pregnancy and childbirth complications, which occurs in a developing country once every two minutes. A bottle of prenatal vitamins costing $5 or 0.02 bitcoin can be enough to provide one safe pregnancy and childbirth.
Since bitcoin doesn’t involve fees associated with identity verification or foreign exchange conversion, the donations can mostly be channeled into these charitable efforts instead of being lost to intermediaries. “Bitcoin can make a big difference because it is also able to move the money fast and directly to wherever it needs to be effected,” said ChangeTip CEO Nick Sullivan.
ChangeTip has already been involved in sending relief funds to earthquake-hit Nepal, thanks to its partnership with Red Cross. Users will have three ways to donate. One is by tweeting messages like, “@ChangeTip, give @DirectRelief $5 in support of #onesafepregnancy.” Second, Reddit users can leave a tip by posting at /u/ChangeTip, “give /u/Direct_Relief $5 in support of #onesafepregnancy.”