How Bitcoin donations can transform global aid and reduce your tax bill

If you want to reduce the capital gains tax on your crypto this tax season, you can donate to Save the Children. Crypto donations help this 100-year-old charity provide vital care and services to impoverished and displaced children and their families, and crypto donors also receive favorable tax advantages in several jurisdictions, including the US.

“Save the Children is the largest independent child rights organization in the world,” explains Antonia Roupell, Partnership and Innovation Lead at Save the Children, “We work in over 100 countries.” Save the Children was also the first international NGO to accept a Bitcoin donation as far back as 2013 in response to a typhoon that struck the Philippines.

Fast forward 12 years, and crypto donations are par for the course. Most major US charities accept crypto, and according to a 2024 report by The Giving Block, more than $2 billion has been donated in the last five years. These organizations have realized the need to make donating as simple as possible. Save the Children accepts anonymous donations that can be made without going through cumbersome, antithetical KYC and AML checks. “It takes you less than 30 seconds to donate crypto,” Antonia says.

“There is also a massive tax incentive to donate if you are a US taxpayer because you reduce your capital gains.”

Save the Children doesn’t only accept Bitcoin but has moved with the times to make room for a burgeoning industry of DeFi tokens, meme coins, fan tokens, and more. “As long as your crypto is accepted by Gemini exchange, Save the Children will thank you for it,” Antonia confirms.

Save the Children’s crypto donations campaign HODLhope launched in 2021 and has raised more than $8 million today, predominantly in Bitcoin, Ether, and stables, with some DOGE, SHIB, and other alts in the mix.

“Save the Children also accepts stock and DAF donations. We are agnostic when it comes to what coin you want to donate because we directly convert all donations into a positive impact for children.”

Save the Children Beyond Crypto Donations

With crypto and other donations raised, Save the Children reaches millions of children each year with vital services such as providing safe zones in conflict areas and access to education, healthcare, mental health, and psychosocial support. However, the charity is not just present in crises and emergencies; its economic inclusion work spans the globe.

“From community banking to emergency financial support, a big part of Save the Children’s efforts is focused on empowering families through crash grants, providing parents with money to buy what their family urgently needs. They could be fleeing Ukraine or Sudan or simply in a remote area in Egypt without access to a bank account.

We understand that to reach more families in a more efficient and sustainable way, we need to innovate using the latest technologies. Bitcoin is proving to be a technology that cannot be ignored by humanitarian and human rights workers,” Antonia explains.

Empowering People to Become Self-Sufficient

“In the humanitarian context, it is not about Bitcoin, the asset, the hedge against inflation, or Bitcoin, the store of value. Rather we look at Bitcoin, the technology, Bitcoin, the medium of exchange, Bitcoin, the fully decentralized peer-to-peer value transfer. The people Save the Children supports don’t have bank accounts; they can’t afford to pay high transfer fees or wait for permission from third parties to access funds in an emergency.  In many respects, they understand the value of this technology better than anyone else because it solves major problems.”

Save the Children does not expect the people it serves to have a working knowledge of Bitcoin or keep their funds in Bitcoin. Being able to off-ramp into local cash as seamlessly as possible is essential. “Our role is to bring people what they need faster, more efficiently to enable them to become more financially independent.”

The charity is currently working with Bitcoin Layer 2s and announced a partnership with Fedi in 2024 to test on-chain cash assistance to community wallets using Bitcoin and Lightning. “We are very early, but we will be testing community custody,” she says. “It has huge potential In places where people live in small communities, and there is a high level of trust.” Why Bitcoin?

“One of the reasons is because you already have the liquidity in the market versus other cryptos. It’s open-source and the most secure blockchain. Fedi is interoperable with other applications, so if you want to use mobile money like M-Pesa in Kenya, you can.”

Antonia continues, “Education remains one of the biggest barriers to adoption. At Save the Children providing financial literacy is key, especially in the digital sphere when there are so many scams. Save the Children sees the huge potential for Bitcoin as a force for good and a force for financial inclusion.”

“We can’t solve today’s or tomorrow’s problems with yesterday’s solutions. Yesterday’s solution is an archaic financial system that is not built for financial inclusion and certainly not for people in crisis or emergencies.”

You can donate crypto to Save the Children. Your contribution helps provide essential resources, education, and hope to those who need it most faster and more efficiently. To contact Antonia’s team, email [email protected]. 

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