WeTrust Spring, a fundraising platform for nonprofits, announced that it will match every Ethereum donation dollar-for-dollar through November 27. The campaign marks Giving Tuesday and includes 14 cha
WeTrust Spring, a fundraising platform for nonprofits, announced that it will match every Ethereum donation dollar-for-dollar through November 27. The campaign marks Giving Tuesday and includes 14 charity partners accepting crypto contributions.
George Li, Patrick Long, and Hoang Nguyen founded the platform in 2016, and it launched earlier this month. WeTrust Spring lets nonprofits and social entrepreneurs accept Ether. Vitalik Buterin and Emin Gün Sirer joined as advisors. The company aims to create "decentralised financial services and create a more inclusive financial system which allows capital to reach those in need."
The matching program covers donations up to $100,000. Nonprofits fundraising on the platform include African Advocacy Network, Bridge Global Foundation, Cavalier Rescue, Code for America, Cultural Heritage Imaging, Equity in Access, Fight for the Future, Lava Mae, Learning Equality, Open Library, Rainforest Trust, Surgeons of Hope, Ubuntu Foundation, and VietSeeds Foundation.
Progress varies across the campaigns. Rainforest Trust has collected 2.442 Ether of its 5,000-Ether goal to preserve 500,000 acres of rainforest. Code for America, working to break the cycle of poverty and incarceration, has raised 1.063 Ether toward its 2,000-Ether target. African Advocacy Network, funding a second attorney to support asylum seekers, has received 0.233 Ether of its 220-Ether goal. Open Library, creating a global web-based library, has accumulated 2.860 Ether of its 50-Ether ask.
Li announced the program and explained the thinking behind it. "The explosion of cryptocurrency has resulted in rapid growth in crypto donations, and one of the untold stories about the crypto community is that we want to help catalyse positive change," he said. "It's an honour to help our partner organisations continue doing the amazing work they already do."
Crypto donations to charities have grown as the market expands. Around $200 billion worth of crypto from 40 million holders has gone to nonprofits. An anonymous benefactor created the Pineapple Fund, which has distributed roughly $55 million to various causes.
Michael Karpeles, the lead maintainer of Open Library (the world's largest online, open-source, nonprofit digital public library), sees opportunity in ETH donations. "Open Library is all about exploring how we can make the Library work for the people. We see ETH donations as an opportunity to improve inclusivity and democratize our bookshelves," he said.
