With COVID19 devastating fundraising programs across the country, many non-profit organizations are taking a serious look at how they’re going to meet their revenue targets this year. Expanding existing programs can be difficult with supplier shutdowns, and ineffective given how increasing unemployment is affecting donors. If there’s one move you make this year: get a bitcoin donation program.

Bitcoin — a digital currency that’s like digital gold — made its debut in 2009, and since then, its adoption has spread across the globe. More than 400 million transactions have been made to date. The number of Canadians who currently own bitcoin was at 5.2% in 2018 (and is likely higher today). However, when considering people with incomes over $70,000, that number jumps to 7%.

The bitcoin community is very philanthropic, with 90% having given previously to a Canadian charity in Canadian dollars, and 23% able to make a donation of $5000+ if they feel personally aligned with the charity’s mission. Despite this, a recent report surveyed 163 charities from the top 100 lists of Moneysense and Charity Intelligence, and found that only 4% accept crypto donations.

The data articulates the gap between the volume of Canadian crypto holders who are able and willing to donate, and the number of Canadian charities who have recognized this new financial offering and are equipped to benefit from it. Crypto donors also said that if a charity is forward thinking enough to accept a cryptocurrency donation, it is likely equally forward thinking in the way it operates.

Pathways to Education was Canada’s first charity to adopt a bitcoin donation program in 2013. “Innovation has always been an important part of Pathways to Education as we work to help youth living in low-income communities to achieve their full potential” says Jason Shim, Director of Digital Strategy. “A natural extension of this innovation was the adoption of a bitcoin donation program.”

Here’s why now is the best time to implement a bitcoin donation program.

Convincing your leadership team has never been easier.

Because of the disruption caused by COVID, organizations are desperate for new revenue sources, and bitcoin donations are a low cost revenue driver for the organization, making it an easier sell to your executive. Common concerns around adopting a program can be easily mitigated. For example, concerns around price volatility can be avoided by instantly selling the cryptocurrency through automated third party providers, while concerns around the source of the money can be addressed by only giving the address out to known donors and immediately returning funds from unknown sources.

Anyone can implement a program — it’s that simple.

There are many ways to implement a bitcoin donation program. For those who are new to crypto or just want to try it out, there are plug-and-play options like Bitpay that enable you to accept donations without ever touching cryptocurrency. For those who want a more robust program, you can be up and running in a week or two with support from a consultant.

There’s a world of new donors out there.

As we know in the fundraising world, it’s not just money that matters — it’s the donors. Not only will a bitcoin donation program be a revenue driver, but the donations won’t cannibalise your other initiatives. The money will be coming from a whole new set of donors, many of whom would fall into the major gift category at most organizations. “Over the years, we have heard from a number of donors who value education and found us when searching online for charities that accept bitcoin” says Shim.

While adding bitcoin to your fundraising mix has short term revenue gains, it also is a critical part of setting up your organization to be sustainable in the long term. Shim says, “it has helped us future-proof our organization by allowing us to explore, scope out, and quickly implement, for this and future projects and platforms that we adopt.”

So while you consider changes to your fundraising mix and re-evaluate revenue goals with COVID, take a serious look at how bitcoin could upgrade your donor file, your fundraising, and your organization.

Anne Connelly is passionate about harnessing blockchain and cryptocurrencies to transform the lives of people in developing countries. Anne has been an active part of the global blockchain community since 2012, and set up one of Canada’s first bitcoin donation programs as Director of Fundraising at Dignitas International. She previously worked with Doctors Without Borders as a field worker in Central Africa, and a fundraiser in Toronto and Dublin. She currently serves on their board of directors. Anne has been honoured with the AFP New Fundraising Professional Award, named one of CBC’s 12 Young Leaders Changing Canada, and one of the Fifty Most Inspirational Women in Technology in Canada. You can reach her at anneconnelly.ca