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A Bonita Springs, Florida-based web design company Atilus has announced the creation of an endowed scholarship fund with the first donation of bitcoin made to the Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU).
Company Preisdent and CEO Zachary Katkin along with Operations Director Harry Casimir (both alumni at FGCU) have called it the Atilus Bitcoin Scholarship Fund, and have pledged to donate $25,000 — $12,500 of the gift established the endowment.
The company paid the initial deposit using the bitcoin digital currency in a move considered the first of its kind at the institution.
The scholarship will be awarded to juniors/seniors at the school who maintain a grade point average of at minimum 2.75. These students must show leadership in student organizations and clubs, have enrolled in an approved internship by first day of classes, and show they legitimately need the money.
“Harry and I started our company at FGCU and we both received an education centered on technology,” said Katkin. “Atilus owes a lot to the university and we thought the idea of giving back using the future of money – bitcoin – would be the perfect union of philanthropy, technology and our alma mater. Giving back is one thing, but giving back in a meaningful way that furthers the discipline in which one was educated – and helps advance the institution of which many of us at Atilus are the products – is even better!”
“We have found there are many ways to give back and stay connected to the university,” said Casimir. “One way is to make a multi-year gift, which is what we did, and which quickly adds up.”
Members of the bitcoin community can view the deposit made by Atilus here [link to blockchain.info], and are free to make donations to contribute to the fund.
“We are proud to accept this generous and innovative donation that will enable future generations of students to gain educations,” said Christopher Simoneau, executive director of the FGCU Foundation. “It is especially rewarding that the gift comes from successful alumni who launched their business while they were still students at FGCU.”
This isn’t the first donation of its kind, though.
Earlier this year, Blockchain.info CEO Nicolas Cary donated $10,000 in bitcoin to the university he attended (University of Puget Sound).
zkatkin 
Evan 
Hi Eric, Thanks for the great write up. One thing I wanted to note – although the donation wasn’t the first University to accept bitcoin, it’s our understanding it is the first public University in the United States to accept bitcoin. It was a cool experience working with FGCU officials in accomplishing this.
Very cool idea, Zach. Have you received any word on if FGCU Foundation is turning it into fiat or paying the students using bitcoin? Something I haven’t really thought of really: Can they invest the BTC and pay the students with the interest similar to other scholarships?
I’m sure it wasn’t technically difficult to send them the money, what were your arguments (if any were needed) to persuade them to accept?
I’d love to see FGCU accept tuition payments in bitcoin, but there are some hurdles there. Primarily I see the tracking of payment being so attached to USD, processes like the cancellation from courses for nonpayment need to be adjusted.
Hey Evan, Thanks for the awesome questions. I see it looks like you’re a fellow Eagle! Currently the foundation is holding btc. We tried to specifically dictate their investment and use policy (to get the to hold the btc) but they wouldn’t commit to that. However, according to the blockchain – it hasn’t moved from their current wallet.
In going through the process we did wonder if they could invest the btc and pay students in interest just like other scholarships – however that meant changing their investment policy, and I think this illustrates the new-ness of the btc market. There really aren’t any “investment markets” to invest one’s btc. Currently the biggest investment opportunities seem to be very specific (and large) venture opportunities, individual business opportunities (where people will work for btc) or just betting on the price of btc. I’m not surprised by our inability to get them to commit to that, but am happy they’ve kept the coins thus far – and they’ve made nearly 50% since the initial transfer.
Agreed on tuition. That was actually my first idea. However, in FGCU’s case in particular, since it is a State institution – I was told by officials that that would take a lot of politicking and would take a State-Wide and Nation-Wide discussions with political figures and other institutions they rely.
Finally, on convincing them. It wasn’t as hard as I initially thought – although it did take longer in terms of time, and our company’s commitment to the process than I thought it would. Ultimately it’s a thing of value, which the University is always looking to accept from donors or alumni so they were very open to it. We also had a great resource in the new Major Gifts Director who immediately loved the idea. It’s come down to a process of educating officials at FGCU about bitcoin, what it is, how it works, and calming some of the fears they have because of negative press. But, once it was done – they were amazed at how it works, how easy it is, and how inexpensive it is. In relation to this – we are working on some additional items relating to this so hopefully you hear a lot more about this in the coming weeks and months.