Nearly half of the nonprofits on Forbes’ most recent list of America’s Top 100 Charities have something in common: they are ready to take your cryptocurrency donations.
Recently, Forbes put out their list of America’s Top 100 Charities of 2022. These organizations received a combined $58 billion in private donations in their most recently reported fiscal years, which is one-eighth of all charitable giving in the United States.
An analysis of these top 100 charities revealed an interesting trend: an overwhelming number of them welcome donations of non-cash assets such as stocks, whether through direct giving or planned giving efforts. And just under half (49%) now accept cryptocurrency donations, mostly by embedding a simple form on their website that allows them to take bitcoin, ethereum and other crypto assets popular with investors.
Why Do the Biggest Charities in the U.S. Accept Non-Cash Assets?
Top charities like Feeding America and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital leave no stone unturned in their efforts to generate charitable donations for their missions. Their impressive fundraising results are the product of years of donor cultivation, sustained brand recognition, and an ability to spot and utilize fundraising trends that actually drive results.
Here’s why many of America’s best charities take non-cash assets so seriously as part of a long-term growth strategy, and why other nonprofits should follow their lead:
1. Taxes, taxes, taxes
Non-cash donors are eligible for big tax benefits that their cash-giving peers are missing out on. That’s because the IRS treats stocks and crypto as “property” for tax purposes. This distinction is important, because it means that appreciated non-cash assets held for at least one year are not subject to capital gains tax when donated to a registered charity.
This perk doesn’t just benefit donors, it’s great for nonprofits’ bottom lines too. By donating stock or crypto directly to a charity (instead of cashing out first), donors will have up to 20% more available to give to your cause that would have otherwise gone to the IRS.
2. Eye-popping average gift sizes
The average size of a crypto or stock donation might make you do a double-take. Compared to the average online cash donation, which was $204 in 2021, crypto and stock charitable gifts are astronomically larger.
Even if the average crypto gift size decreases from about $10,000 as mainstream crypto adoption grows, it will likely take years or even decades for it to come down to the level of cash gifts—if that ever happens.
3. Donors that will want to thank you
A recent study found that about 90% of wealth in the U.S. is held in non-cash assets but donations made with these assets account for only 15% of total charitable giving volume. Cash might seem like the easiest thing to accept, but any nonprofit that’s serious about taking their fundraising to the next level must realize that they have more to earn by expanding their donors’ giving options.
By providing more ways for donors to give, charities are making it easier for donors to give how they prefer to give, whether that is influenced by convenience or tax-incentives.
How America’s Top 100 Charities Fundraise Crypto Effectively
Nonprofits that take time to build a successful crypto fundraising program are making the smart decision to future-proof and recession-proof their organizations for the long-term.
As nonprofits of all shapes and sizes start to ask for donations from the crypto community, remember that having a way to accept crypto is only the first step. The next step is to begin actively fundraising—and this is the part that separates some organizations from others in their success.
While most of the top charities have large fundraising teams and resources they can dedicate to digital and crypto fundraising, there are many small and mid-size organizations that can raise more than their annual revenue with crypto donations alone.
What’s the Key to Getting Crypto Donations?
There’s no trick or hack that suddenly unlocks a windfall of bitcoin donations. For large and small nonprofits, the answer is simple: choosing a crypto fundraising solution that provides all the right tools, education and support.
Of the top charities in the U.S. on Forbes’ list that currently accept crypto donations, nearly three-quarters (73%) of them use The Giving Block as their crypto fundraising solution.
Based on feedback from thousands of nonprofit clients, some of the top reasons why nonprofits use The Giving Block for their crypto fundraising needs include:
1. Ease of Use
The Giving Block helps donors make large crypto gifts in just 5 clicks. The donor experience is simple and the nonprofit receives a no-hassle cash deposit along with donor data in a clean dashboard setting.
2. Security and Familiarity
The Giving Block is the leading platform for crypto donors, too! Having your potential donors familiar with the top crypto donation platform can make all the difference in securing your crypto gift.
3. Added Features: Stock Donations, Peer to Peer Fundraising & More
The Giving Block now helps nonprofits receive stock gifts with the same easy interface and dashboard resources used for crypto donations—without the manual process of sending forms and paperwork back and forth between you and your donors.
Plus, features like our peer-to-peer fundraising platform make it easy for your supporters to ask their communities to contribute to your mission.
Remember that crypto fundraising is a long-term growth strategy for the nonprofit sector. Getting your team’s first crypto donation will feel great, but getting your twentieth, fiftieth or hundredth will feel even better.
What can we set up now to help the organization in the future? Cryptocurrency donations is one of those things that we’re hoping people will thank us for decades from now.
How Can My Nonprofit Emulate the Crypto Fundraising Success of America’s Top Charity Organizations?
While your team may not have the same fundraising team size or resources as the organizations on Forbes’ list, you can access all the tools and services they use to process crypto donations and learn about this growing crypto donor demographic.
We’ve spoken with many smaller nonprofits that are hesitant to accept crypto donations because they are:
- Unsure how to receive or manage crypto donations.
- Unable to devote more time or staffing to a new revenue source.
- Uncertain they’ll receive support from the crypto community.
Smaller nonprofits can enjoy the unique benefits from crypto donors that larger charities get. In fact, crypto fundraising may be more impactful for nonprofits with more modest revenue goals.
Working with The Giving Block has helped organizations like the Built With Bitcoin Foundation gain further trust among donors. In its first year using The Giving Block’s solution, Built With Bitcoin was able to raise more in 2021 than in the previous four years of its establishment.
There is a clear distinction with the opportunities that The Giving Block provides.
Ready to Explore Crypto Fundraising?
Weather you’re one of the 100 charities on Forbes’ list or a brand-new registered nonprofit, charities of any size can work with The Giving Block to take advantage of our expansive suite of product offerings, including:
- Tools to make processing non-cash donations a simple process that won’t consume your team’s limited bandwidth.
- Resources for your team to leverage, share, and rely on that inform you on topics from donor education to major donation processing.
- Visibility on The Giving Block’s website, ensuring that current and potential crypto donors will be able to find your organization’s mission.
Getting started with a new fundraising stream can be challenging, confusing, and overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be—and it can be fun and rewarding too! Our experts can help put your team on the path to crypto fundraising success.
To learn more about what crypto philanthropy can do for your nonprofit, speak with a member of The Giving Block’s team about accepting crypto donations.
