The Children’s Heart Unit Fund successfully received nearly $48,000 in a variety of donations made through cryptocurrency
A UK-based charity for children with cardiac ailments named the Children’s Heart Unit Fund recently announced that it had received nearly $48,000 in donations made through cryptocurrency.
The director of fundraising and operations at the CHUF, Charlotte Campbell, revealed that the charity first considered accepting crypto donations after it was suggested by Dan Bainbridge, one of their donors.
Bainbridge also gave $10,000 to the Basic Attention Token (BAT) as a donation. BAT is based on the Ethereum blockchain and aims to improve the efficiency of digital advertising. It works towards this goal by using the token to obtain several advertising and attention-based services on the platform.
The CHUF revealed in a press release that the donations had been made through The Giving Block; a service that enables non-governmental organisations to accept cryptocurrency donations.
When the UK enforced lockdown measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in April, the charity’s regular fundraising activities were affected as well. The charity first made its appeal for funds online in April.
Campbell revealed that the charity had received a one-time Bitcoin donation from Bainbridge in 2017 — but this marks the first time that the CHUF has made a public appeal for donations in cryptocurrency.
When asked about his support for the charity, Bainbridge revealed that he had undergone a heart operation as a baby.
“I had always thought that if I have any success, I’d like to give back,” he explained.
Bainbridge is the founder of a venture capital fund that focuses on cryptocurrencies, called BigBird. He also revealed that he helped connect the CHUF with Giving Block’s platform.
The CHUF disclosed that apart from Bainbridge, another large donation was made by a donor who preferred to remain anonymous.
Co-founder of the Giving Block, Alex Wilson, said that while donations through cryptocurrency are becoming a trend, it is still rare to see donations of such an amount from individual givers.
“We are delighted that this money will be used to help Heart Families in the UK,” Wilson said.
Campbell believes that the charity’s decision to open up to donations in cryptocurrency has given them access to an entirely new audience; one which they have never been able to reach out to in the past.
The CHUF uses these donations to provide meals for the families of their patients, purchase new medical equipment and obtain toys for the children. The charity continues to accept donations in BAT, Bitcoin, Ether, Zcash, LiteCoin and the Gemini Dollar.