Charity: Water Launches Bitcoin Water Trust with A Promise to HODL
I’m a big fan of charity: water, one of the most innovative nonprofits in the US tackling water crisis worldwide. charity: water has revolutionized giving and the nonprofit space in so many ways. They were the first nonprofit to donate 100% of the funds raised from the public towards water projects. They raised money separately for their overheads. They also promoted radical transparency, donors could give with trust knowing 100% of their donations will be invested and the where and how of it. They were also the first to use great design and positive visual storytelling to move people to give. They’ve been first to use a wide range of technologies from VR to Instagram, data and sensors which made them the darling of Silicon Valley donors. Most tech founders felt comfortable giving to charity: water due to their big use of technology. So I’m not surprised that charity: water has launched one of the most unique charitable project in the bitcoin space. Once again being one of the first in leveraging crypto for good.
The Bitcoin Water Trust & HODL
Scott Harrison, Founder and CEO of charity: water announced, The Bitcoin Water Trust at the Bitcoin Miami Conference earlier this month. The goal of the trust is to raise 100 bitcoins and to HODL for at least next 5 years, till 2025. HODL stands for hold on for dear life and is a term commonly used by crypto holders. People are bullish that the crypto they are holding today will deeply appreciate in value in the future and should resist the temptation of selling it now and HODL to enjoy the future appreciation of the currency.
Scott Harrison is appealing to the crypto community by leveraging the HODL game and also his promise to spend the money in bitcoin (and not to convert in fiat) when it’s time for the fund to be used. Charity: water also clearly states on their website the tax benefit of donating. Many crypto holders don’t realize that nonprofits can provide that kind of tax exemption. Since selling bitcoin is considered capital gains, donating to a nonprofit makes the contribution tax exempt.
A Different Take on Bitcoin Donation
Most nonprofits immediately convert their crypto donations into their local currencies as they want to use money now for their projects. Charity:water is taking a different approach. Like the crypto community they are placing a bet on the future appreciation of bitcoin thus exponentially growing their fund to reach more people.
Scott Harrison on Pomp’s podcast,
In 2014 we got a donation of 569 bitcoins from Tony Hawk which we converted to $4.4 million and helped 100,000 people get access to clean water. If we would have waited and not converted, 569 bitcoins today would be between $25–35 million and would have helped bring clean water to 600,000–900,000 people
The Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss will personally match the first 50 BTC received by the trust thus raising the total donations to 150 bitcoin. Gemini will also provide the cold storage for securely storing the bitcoin donations
With the Bitcoin Water Trust, charity: water aims to make an exponential dent on the water crisis and tap on a new class of donors. For more information visit, https://www.charitywater.org/bitcoin#
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