Get On The Crypto Train
Cryptocurrency wasn’t on many people’s radars just a few years back. Thanks to the explosive growth of Bitcoin, however, a day doesn’t go by without major news involving digital currencies. These decentralized monetary systems have now found their way into the charitable world. In a short time, giving cryptocurrency has gone from novel to mainstream.
This isn’t rhetorical. Crypto Giving Tuesday saw an increase of nearly 600 percent between 2020 and 2021. Major charities such as Save the Children, UNICEF and the American Red Cross accept these donations. Giving cryptocurrency will soon be as normal as donating online. Recognizing how it got this far will help you understand the importance of churches accepting crypto.
An Astronomical Rise in Cryptocurrency Ownership
To understand how cryptocurrency became the best new way to give, you have to start at the beginning. This means identifying exactly why crypto charitable giving has made it this far. To put it simply, ownership of digital coinage has gone through the roof. By the end of 2021, around 16 percent of Americans owned some form of cryptocurrency. This is impressive, but it’s just the beginning.
That’s because experts expect at least 50 million more Americans to buy crypto before 2023. That means around one in five citizens will purchase digital coinage for the first time. While this may seem like an investment — which it certainly is — it’s also much more than that. Giving cryptocurrency is becoming mainstream because people finally recognize it as money.
In addition to many nonprofits, companies like PayPal, Starbucks, and Microsoft now accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. Crypto donations are simply the natural result of digital currency becoming widely accepted — much like we saw with credit cards and online transactions. The trend toward giving cryptocurrency, however, involves much more than just acceptance.
The Benefits Donors Get From Giving Cryptocurrency
While decentralized currencies have gained wide acceptance, the use of other monies is more common. After all, many people find it easier to drop $20 in the offering plate rather than giving a Bitcoin fraction to their ministry. There are many reasons behind this — including the fact that most churches don’t have eWallets — so other benefits for giving cryptocurrency must exist.
These benefits are why many donors have accepted crypto as a contribution method. Because without donor acceptance and buy-in, the ability to accept cryptocurrency donations would have minimal advantages.
Donation Without Taxation
Even folks who aren’t well-versed in taxes typically know that donations are tax-deductible. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean a donor won’t run into certain taxes. For instance, imagine one of your congregants invested in a stock that suddenly increased in value by 300 percent. Knowing their Bible verses about tithing, they decide to give 10 percent of their gains to the church.
Of course, they’ll first need to sell their stock. In doing so, however, capital gains taxes will come due. This means your congregant will lose money and that results in less money for the ministry. If a church member starts giving cryptocurrency, however, they don’t have to sell before donating. They can give crypto directly and this avoids costly capital gains taxes entirely.
Improved Transparency
One of the biggest issues churches run into with donors is a lack of transparency. Even if you think you’re completely upfront with congregants, many still wonder where their money is going. There are several ways to overcome this — including letting folks choose which of your ministries they donate to — but allowing people to start giving cryptocurrency is another smart move.
That’s because all crypto transactions take place on public ledgers. Your donor’s name and information won’t be available for public view — nor will your church’s information — but the transaction that occurs for the donation will be. This is one of the many reasons cryptocurrency is so popular in general. By offering crypto as a donation option, you open a new door for transparent giving.
A Simpler Way of Giving
Putting money in the offering plate requires sitting in a pew every Sunday. Sending a check or cash requires going to the mailbox. Even making a church donation online often requires breaking out a credit card. While these may seem relatively simple, giving cryptocurrency goes a step further. It requires nothing more than copying an eWallet address.
If you don’t understand much about crypto, this may sound confusing. All you need to know, however, is how easy it is to transfer these digital coins. A donor only needs to copy your church’s eWallet address — something you can get for free through DonorWerx CryptoDonations — and paste it into a crypto transaction. This takes mere seconds.
If there’s one thing donors love, it’s simplicity.
Why Nonprofits and Churches Accept Cryptocurrency
When appealing to donors — especially with something as new as giving cryptocurrency — your main focus should be the donors. They’re the most important part of any strategy for increasing donations. Of course, they’re not the only thing that matters. Recognizing why crypto donations are appealing to them is vital, but understanding why organizations accept these donations is also essential.
This will accomplish two things: (1) revealing why crypto donations grew so quickly and (2) explaining why your church should accept them.
Crypto Donors Give More
Giving cryptocurrency appeals to many donors. Fortunately for churches and organizations that accept it, these are typically the most generous types of donors. Among the general public, just 33 percent donated more than $1,000 in 2020. When you look at those who own crypto, however, this number jumped to an impressive 45 percent.
If appealing to more generous donors isn’t reason enough to accept crypto donations, what else could it be?
Helps Donor Segmentation Strategies
One of the most important aspects of increasing giving in churches is a focus on donor segmentation. All your congregants will fall into certain categories and each subset will define the actions of those within them. For instance, younger donors care more about social responsibility. This means messaging that includes green energy language would appeal to them.
Donors who want to start giving cryptocurrency will also fall into donor segments. For instance, the average age of a crypto owner is 38. That means sending emails regarding crypto donations to your elderly or youngest parishioners might not accomplish much. Sending these messages to the average crypto owner (i.e., age 38), however, can greatly increase donations.
Help Your Donors Start Giving Cryptocurrency Today
Previously, many assumed cryptocurrency was nothing more than a fad. Today, countries have offered their own digital coinage and some coins track the U.S. dollar. Regardless of what anyone thinks of Bitcoin and other virtual monies, there’s no denying they’ve achieved mainstream status. Because of this, you must allow congregants to start giving cryptocurrency.
Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be a complex procedure. By accepting CryptoDonations through DonorWerx (Powered by BitDonate), you can open up a whole new world of ministry revenue. Signing up for a crypto wallet takes just a few minutes and after that point, we handle everything else for you. Donors want to start giving cryptocurrency, so give them a way to do so.
Click here to learn more and Get started today.
