Charities Put a Bitcoin Twist on Giving Tuesday

Drawing inspiration from one crypto's more heartwarming stories, the Pineapple Fund - wherein a pseudonymous bitcoiner donated some $55 million towards 60 charities during the 2017 bull market - options for crypto-based donations abound.

Launched in 2012 by 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation, GivingTuesday received early attention from Mashable, Facebook and Microsoft and raised some $400 million in the U.S. last year, according to the GivingTuesday foundation.

The Giving Block, a non-profit founded in 2018, is spearheading this year's rendition of crypto Giving Tuesday with #BitcoinTuesday.

The D.C.-based group is leaning on crypto's favorable tax status.

"In times of crisis, to reach those lofty ambitions, we need to be friendly not only to traditional financing mechanisms, but to the crypto community who's been very innovative," said Ettore Rossetti, global digital lead of Save the Children in a phone interview.

Founded in 1919, Save the Children has accepted crypto donations since 2013.

Founded in 2013, BitGive uses bitcoin's blockchain and works with smart contract provider RSK. Its GiveTrack project follows donated money, showing who it benefits.

CryptoGivingTuesday, a community coalition spun out of the GivingTuesday organization, is another destination for donations.

Through its service, donations can be made in multiple cryptos to NGOs and non-profits including bitcoin, ether, litecoin, dash, the lightning network, binance coin, bitcoin cash and XRP.GivingTuesday takes a decentralized approach to its campaigns.

Communities often adopt GivingTuesday's branding to promote a campaign in their niche, Rosenbaum said.