UNICEF France, part of the larger UNICEF organization that is one of the largest humanitarian organizations in the world, now accepts nine different cryptocurrencies via their website, including Dash.
Their webpage asks visitors to “Make a Donation In Cryptomonnaie”, details that “cryptocurrencies and their revolutionary approach are an opportunity to raise funds differently”, and expands on additional reasons why they are accepting cryptocurrencies.
“The technology blockchain can be used to make the world better. After the success of Operation Game Chaingers, UNICEF France goes further and offers virtual currency holders the opportunity to help the world’s children by making a donation in cryptocurrency.”
“Game Chaingers” is a reference to a special program that UNICEF France ran with BETC advertising agency from February 2 to March 31, 2018 where consumers donated idle graphic card processing power to mine Ethereum and donated it to UNICEF France. UNICEF Australia also implemented a similar campaign called “The Hopepage” to allow consumers to donate unused computing power.
Advantages of decentralized donations
There are a few advantages of accepting cryptocurrency denominated donations for a charitable cause. First, accepting cryptocurrencies eliminates expensive banking and exchange fees that come with accepting payments from across a country and the world. Second, cryptocurrencies allow individuals to donate idle computer processing power to generate money for an organization rather than directly donating money, which expands an organization’s donation pool. Third, cryptocurrencies allow an organization to accept donations outside of undue government influence and censorship, which is very important for many organizations that are pursuing goals counter to the ruling government.
Wikileaks, the organization responsible for providing a platform for whistle blowers on government programs, discovered the vengefulness of the United States government when they pressured popular payment processors to ban Wikileaks from their platforms. The US government’s goal was to severely limit Wikileaks’ funding in an attempt to have them close down. However, Wikileaks soon started to accept Bitcoin to circumvent this economic blockade, which allowed the organization to continue serving consumers despite government disagreements. FreeRoss, which is trying to clear Ross Ulbricht’s name and free him from a double life sentence without parole plus 40 years in jail for allegedly running the Silk Road website, has also been able to accept cryptocurrencies to demonstrate their displeasure with the state apparatus. Cryptocurrencies allow these organizations and others to operate independently of government fiat money hegemony, which is a hedge against an always present risk of government crackdowns.
Dash is even more conducive for donations
Dash is well suited for donations for many reasons emanating from its unique DAO structure. Dash offers organizations extremely fast confirmations for very low costs and great security, which places Dash ahead of its peers in this field. This is important for charity organizations that often need to optimize their productivity while also minimizing costs, which faster, cheaper, and more secure transactions can enable. Dash offers independence from government fiat while also granting the option of additional privacy through PrivateSend, which can be important for both the organization and donors to the organization that wish to enhance their anonymous status. However, another significant feature of Dash is its usability around the world, including over 3,000 merchants globally with over 1,500 of them located in Venezuela.
Dash’s ability to be directly used to buy goods and services in areas such as Venezuela makes Dash very favorable for charity organizations. This allows them to directly use (no need to exchange) their Dash donations to buy goods and services for individuals in need of food, clothing, and other essential goods and services. Dash is having such an impact on individuals in need in Venezuela that a NGO recently began accepting donations in Dash to help feed hungry Venezuelan children. Dash and the Dash community have demonstrated an altruism and willingness to help others that are in need by directly donating to various causes, making Dash a very useful tool to enable better charity operations, and granting individuals their monetary and financial independence.
