Today most nonprofits only accept donations by check, credit card or bank transfer, but those methods don't work for everyone. It’s essentially like running a cash-only business model, which means a lot of potential donors and donations are being left on the table.

In the last several years cryptocurrencies have become increasingly popular. The crypto currency sector experienced record market performance with 187.5% market cap growth and huge returns in 2021. Charities that accept crypto donations can benefit from the boom, too.

Crypto owners have proven to be extremely generous. Crypto philanthropy data from one outlet showed more than 1,500% growth in digital currency charitable donations. Over $69 million of crypto was contributed to charities in 2021 compared to just $4 million the prior year. The average crypto donation amount was over $10,000, a spike of more than 200% year over year, and 82x larger than the $128 average cash donation.

A study by Fidelity Charitable found that 45% of crypto investors gave more than $1,000 to charity in a single year compared with only 33% of all investors. Fidelity Charitable also reportedly received $274 million worth of cryptocurrency donations in 2021 as of November.

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Millennials and Gen Z now make up over half of the US population, roughly 166 million people. Nine out of 10 millennials consider giving to charity an important part of their life. They doubled-down on that value and backed it up by being the most generous generation since the start of the pandemic. Three-quarters of millennials (currently between the ages of 25 and 34) reported donating to a nonprofit or providing some sort of financial aid, the largest proportion of any generation. Gen Z (between the ages 18 and 24) comes in at a close second with more than two-thirds making a charitable contribution or gift since the emergence of COVID-19.

Combined with findings by Pew Research that roughly a third of American millennials and Gen Z’s already invest in, trade or use cryptocurrency – more than any other generation – is just one more reason why accepting cryptocurrency donations presents significant opportunities for nonprofits to acquire new donors and tap into incremental revenue streams. An entire pool of supporters who want to donate cryptocurrency to charities are being missed by organizations that don’t have a crypto donation fundraising strategy in place.

The option of donating cryptocurrency in addition to cash provides donors with the ability to have a greater impact and reap potential tax benefits. Crypto donations aren’t subject to capital gains tax and can be deducted at the full appraised value. Donors should always be sure to check with a tax advisor and the IRS for complete details.

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The majority of charities aren’t able to accept cryptocurrency donations due to a complex process and digit wallet requirements. Instead, Forbes points to using a third-party processor or donor-advised fund as a viable solution for charities.

The Generous platform makes it easy for people to donate crypto and for nonprofits to accept crypto donations. Many of the most popular cryptocurrencies on the market today can be processed on the secure online donations platform powered by Generous.

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Donors can #JoinGenerous and easily make crypto donations of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, US Dollar Coin, and Dogecoin to any nonprofit of their choice nationwide.

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