To make it easier for donors to give and simpler for nonprofits to accept crypto. That’s it, really. 

Crypto for Charity was built by FreeWill–and our company mission has always been similarly simple. We’ve built a brand and business around non-cash gifts; we can help include a charity in your will, direct retirement funds to causes you love, or donate appreciated stock directly to nonprofits. Crypto giving is the natural next step, and we’re tipping it to be one of the biggest moments for philanthropy yet. 

We focus on non-cash gifts because that’s where wealth in the US is stored. Nonprofit technology has often helped at the fringes but failed to generate transformational giving; think text to give, mass email outreach, flashy websites. In each, charities hit donors in the same place as always: enter your credit card here. It’s overdone and out of date. 

Crypto also presents a rare chance to challenge the historical inequities that meant older, wealthier nonprofits enjoy great spoils while newer causes or local groups fight for every penny. We see crypto philanthropy as a moment to rebalance the board and distribute wealth in all new ways–especially as global adoption takes off and distributed blockchain technologies remove even more barriers.

And there’s already a great precedent: The Pineapple Fund. 

In 2017, an anonymous Reddit user named Pine promised to give away 5057 Bitcoin. 

Bitcoin has changed my life, and I have far more money than I can ever spend. My aims, goals, and motivations in life have nothing to do with having XX million or being the mega rich. So I'm doing something else: donating the majority of my bitcoins to charitable causes. I'm calling it 🍍 The Pineapple Fund.

The application process was open to all, and Pine directed funds to organizations spanning the Software Freedom Conservancy, with its mission to ensure the right to repair, improve and reinstall software, to the Tennessee River Gorge Trust fighting for conservation, and Pencils of Promise to support their work educating children around the world. 

 These funds transformed nonprofits and the communities they serve. 

“The Pineapple Fund’s outstanding generosity exemplifies how the growth of cryptocurrency can be leveraged for profound social change” - MAPS Founder and Executive Director Rick Doblin, Ph.D. 

Over the next few months, we’ll start to release our own data on where gifts are going and the forms they take. We’ve also introduced Cause Funds, giving nonprofits of all sizes the chance to engage new supporters and join the crypto community. 

It’s such an exciting time for philanthropy, and we’re thrilled to be on the adventure with you all.