How to Donate Bitcoin to Charity (and Why it’s Better than Credit Cards)

With how popular crypto has become, some of the world’s biggest nonprofit charitable organizations have begun accepting donations in cryptocurrency, from the Red Cross to the Rainforest Foundation. Ahead, we’ll go into detail about some of the biggest advantages of donating cryptocurrency to charity, how to actually make your donation with crypto, which charities accept it and some important tax benefits to be aware of.

In this article

• Why donate crypto
• How to donate crypto to charity and nonprofits
• Nonprofits that accept crypto donations
• Is my crypto donation tax-deductible?
• Which cryptocurrencies can I donate?
• As a nonprofit/charity, how can we accept crypto donations?

Why donate crypto?

One of the crypto industry’s grandest ambitions is to create a more equitable financial world through the low-cost transfer of value across borders, helping lift the unbanked out of poverty and bring more people into the global economy. It’s in that same spirit of giving that has seen charitable groups around the world helping those in need receive millions in crypto donations over the years.

More of your donation goes to the cause, not payment processing

Sure you can always donate with a credit or debit card, but there’s a compelling case to be made that donating crypto is a better choice on both sides of the transaction. Typical processing fees for nonprofits can be 3.5% or higher on donations made with credit cards. On a $500 donation, that means $17.50 eaten up in credit card fees alone. If made in Bitcoin instead, the very same donation would only carry a transaction fee of around $5 (based on an 1% transaction fee typical of BitPay transactions). The less money an organization pays in fees, the more it keeps to support its mission.

Crypto donations remain private (if you want them to be)

Donating crypto is also an excellent way to keep your donation anonymous. A recent Give.org survey found that most Americans across age groups are concerned over their data privacy. Crypto’s private nature makes it an ideal method for donating to a charitable cause while keeping your identity private and secure.

Crypto donations are tax deductible and are exempt from capital gains taxes

Crypto donations are also tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law, which means you can benefit from a tax break while supporting your favorite charity. Additionally, your crypto donations are exempt from capital gains taxes. If you decide to sell crypto and then donate all or a portion of your proceeds, you will be expected to pay taxes on your earnings.

How to donate crypto

You’ll typically have three main ways to donate your cryptocurrency to a nonprofit or charitable organization:

• Donate to organizations that use a crypto payment processor like BitPay
• Donate crypto directly to an organization’s wallet using a P2P transaction
• Donate through a donor-advised fund
  
  

Donate through a payment processor like BitPay

Many organizations find it easier to enlist the help of a crypto payment processor to accept donations. A crypto payment processor like BitPay creates a wallet for the organization and oversees the transactions of the wallet. Once a donation is made in crypto, BitPay gives the nonprofit organization the donation in a cash equivalent payment. This is beneficial to nonprofits that want to accept crypto, but not deal with the process of setting up a wallet, cashing out crypto and price volatility. If you'd like to donate crypto to charity, and your preferred organization uses a crypto payment processor like BitPay, the process will typically look like this:

1. Choose your preferred cryptocurrency and the amount you wish to donate.
2. Fill out your Donor information.
3. Tap the "Donate with BitPay" button.
4. A QR code invoice will be generated. Scan the QR code or input the wallet address into your crypto wallet to complete the transaction.

Make a P2P crypto donation to the organization's wallet

If you know that your preferred nonprofit uses a “hands-on” approach to crypto donations, meaning they have their own crypto wallet, then you can send crypto like you would for any other wallet payment.

1. Open the BitPay Wallet app (or your preferred crypto wallet).
2. Choose the wallet/cryptocurrency you would like to use to fund your donation.
3. Click “Send”.
4. Enter the wallet address of the nonprofit organization (or scan the receiver's QR code in in-person).
5. Enter the amount of cryptocurrency you want to donate.
6. Confirm payment details and slide to send.
   
   

Donate crypto via donor-advised funds

For those who prefer a more institutional approach to crypto donations, legacy financial services providers like Vanguard and Fidelity offer what are known as donor-advised funds. Through these funds, which are themselves registered as 501(c)(3) public charities, donors contribute an amount of cryptocurrency they’ve held for at least a year. The fund liquidates the contributed crypto and deposits the proceeds into the donor-advised fund as cash. The donor can then recommend how the funds are to be invested and ultimately granted to a charitable organization.

Nonprofits that accept crypto donations

BitPay has more than a dozen partnerships with charities and nonprofits that accept direct crypto payments through the BitPay app. Consult the nonprofits section of our Merchant Directory for a complete list, but some of the charities that support direct crypto payments through BitPay include:

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a research-intensive medical school. For more than 60 years, our diverse faculty and staff have set the standard for excellence in medical and graduate education and patient-centered clinical care, and have made major contributions to scientific research enhancing human health in our communities and beyond.

Amazon Watch

For over 25 years, Amazon Watch has worked to protect the Amazon rainforest and defend the rights, lives, and territories of Indigenous peoples.

American Cancer Society, Inc

Dedicated to helping people who face cancer. Learn about cancer research, patient services, early detection, treatment and education at cancer.org.

American Lung Association

The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease, through research, education and advocacy.

American National Red Cross

Every 8 minutes the American Red Cross responds to an emergency. Support the Red Cross. Join us today by making a donation.

Carnegie Mellon University

CMU is a global research university known for its world-class, interdisciplinary programs: arts, business, computing, engineering, humanities, policy and science.

Cate School

The Cate School is a unique school for boarding and day students. Tailored for youths in 9th-12th grade, choose the Cate School for a superior education.

Code.org

Code.org® is an education innovation nonprofit dedicated to the vision that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn computer science as part of their core K-12 education.

Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, Inc.

We are a non-profit, volunteer-fueled organization dedicated to finding cures for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and improving the quality of life of children and adults affected by these diseases.

Dayton Art Institute

The Dayton Art Institute is committed to enriching the community by creating meaningful experiences with art that are available to all.

DePaul University

Teaching and learning are our priorities at DePaul. That might seem obvious, but we're the largest private university whose faculty members' priority is teaching. We're also the nation's largest Catholic university — and we're committed to an educational experience that weaves together mind, place, people and heart.

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Donate to the Electronic Frontier Foundation and support our mission to defend civil liberties and human rights online. You can help EFF’s attorneys, activists, and technologists protect privacy, free expression, and digital creativity at a time when the world needs it most. Join us today!

Foregen

Foregen is the world’s first and only organization using regenerative medicine to regrow the foreskin for circumcised men.

ForKids, Inc.

ForKids serves families and children experiencing homelessness across  Greater Hampton Roads and operates the Regional Housing Crisis Hotline. We offer help with emergency shelter, housing, education and critical services.

Georgia Tech Foundation

The Georgia Tech Foundation is dedicated to making a positive impact on the Georgia Tech community, now and for future generations.

Gustavus Adolphus College

Gustavus Adolphus College is a church-related, residential liberal arts college firmly rooted in its Swedish and Lutheran heritage.

Hidaya Foundation

Since 1999, Hidaya Foundation has been serving the poor and in need around the world through social welfare, educational, health care, self employment, and environmental projects.

Humane Society of Tampa Bay

The Humane Society of Tampa Bay, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, provides shelter for homeless & at risk animals, adoptions, hospital and TNVR services for the general public; operates independently from the Humane Society of the United States. And we, along with our animals, would love to have you as a partner on this journey.

iDonate Charitable Foundation

Advanced digital fundraising solution that enables Donor-First Optimization for enterprise nonprofits to reach, convert and retain more of today’s donors.

Liberty Counsel

Liberty Counsel is a Christian ministry that proclaims, advocates, supports, advances, and defends the good news that God in the person of Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins and offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who accept him as Lord and Savior.

Lipscomb University

Lipscomb University is a faith-based, liberal arts college dedicated to challenging students academically, spiritually and as global community citizens.

Montefiore Medical Center

Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine, is a premier academic medical center and nationally recognized leader in patient care, research and community service located in the Bronx, New York.

Mozilla Foundation

Mozilla is a global nonprofit dedicated to keeping the Internet a global public resource that is open and accessible to all.

National Zakat Foundation

Distributing Zakat transformatively within the UK. Discover the National Zakat Foundation's charity work and calculate and pay your Zakat with us.

New York Cares

New York Cares is the largest volunteer network in NYC offering thousands of volunteer opportunities with nonprofits and schools in all five boroughs.

Ocean Research & Conservation Association

ORCA is dedicated to the protection and restoration of aquatic ecosystems and the species they sustain through the development of innovative technologies, science based conservation action, and community education and outreach.

Olivet Nazarene University

Ranked as one of Newsweek' Top Regional Universities, ONU offers 69  distinct undergraduate degrees, concentrated into 53 majors within 22 broad fields of study.

ONE FOR ISRAEL

We are Jews and Arabs, together serving Messiah Jesus, sharing the Gospel  with Israel, making disciples, training leaders, and blessing our  communities in the name of Yeshua.

Presbyterian Church in America Foundation, Inc.

The mission of the PCA Foundation is to provide charitable financial services to Christians, enabling them to carry out their stewardship responsibilities and charitable desires to financially support the Kingdom of Jesus Christ through the Presbyterian Church in America and other Christian ministries.

Project Veritas

James O’Keefe established Project Veritas in 2011 as a non-profit journalism enterprise to continue his undercover reporting work. Today, Project Veritas investigates and exposes corruption, dishonesty, self-dealing, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions to achieve a more ethical and transparent society.

Roanoke College

Roanoke is a place where we help students figure out what they are truly capable of. We teach our students to outdo themselves because the world needs people who want more than business as usual. More than a place, it’s an ideal. Roanoke encourages hard work, imagination, initiative, problem solving, and responsibility to community. When you invest in Roanoke, you enable these ideals to take root and thrive in our students, our faculty, the region and beyond.

San Francisco General Hospital Foundation

San Francisco General Hospital Foundation stands behind those delivering on the promise of health care for all: the frontline workers at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.

Sea-Watch e.V.

Sea-Watch e.V. is a non-profit organization that conducts civil search and rescue operations in the Central Med. In the presence of the humanitarian crisis, Sea Watch provides emergency relief capacities, demands and pushes for rescue operations by the European institutions and stands up publicly for legal escape routes.

The Against Malaria Foundation

People from all over the world raising money to help combat malaria.

The Ayn Rand Institute

AynRand.org is the official website of the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI), the source for information on the life, writings and work of novelist-philosopher.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in two iconic sites in New York City—The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online.

Thorn

We are dedicated to ending child sex trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children. And we won’t stop until every child, can just be a kid.

United Way of National Capital Area

The United Way of the National Capital Area improves the health, education
and economic opportunity of every person in our community. Join the movement!

US FUND FOR UNICEF

Find information on UNICEF’s humanitarian aid efforts for children in crisis. Learn more about how you can help keep children safe today!

WaterStone

WaterStone serves as a conduit between givers and Kingdom causes, crafting personalized giving plans that honor God by blessing ministries and the people they serve.

Wounded Warrior Project, Inc.

Wounded Warrior Project is a nonprofit organization that helps veterans and
active duty service members. Learn more about our programs or how you can
support wounded warriors.

These options are just a few of the hundreds of global charities that accept crypto donations.

Is my crypto donation tax-deductible?

Yes! The IRS classifies crypto donations as property, which makes them fully tax deductible and exempt from capital gains tax. Selling your crypto before donating it usually means a capital gains tax hit of around 15-20%. Donating directly is considered a nontaxable event, allowing both you and the receiving charity to avoid this costly levy.

Which coins can I donate/accept?

Charities aren’t usually in the business of turning down donations, so virtually any coin you can name is probably accepted by one charitable group or another. BitPay supports charity giving with the following cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Litecoin (LTC), XRP (XRP), ApeCoin (APE), Dai (DAI), Binance USD (BUSD), USD Coin (USDC), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), Pax Dollar (USDP), Gemini Dollar (GUSD) and Euro Coin (EUROC). The coins supported by each individual organization may vary.

I run a nonprofit/charity organization, how can we accept crypto donations?

Are you part of a nonprofit that wants to accept crypto? BitPay makes it easy to set up your organization to start taking crypto donations. You can begin by contacting our sales team to get the process started.