In 2019, UNICEF became the first United Nations body to accept Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) donations, opening the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies to charities. Since then, these novel technologies have grown, transforming and improving the traditional donation supply chain process. From its trustlessness, transaction speeds, donation liquidity, economic power redistribution, and administrative cost-savings, blockchain technology is offering long-lasting solutions to the issues curbing charities around the globe.
According to Forbes, the leading charitable organization in the world, United Way Charities, raised over $3.8 billion in 2021 to support over 1,300 charities worldwide. The total market value for private charities could go upward of $200 billion annually, but there is considerable opacity on how most of these charities and donation centers operate. Moreover, most of the donated wealth is not accurately accounted for, which raises questions on how much of the donated wealth actually helps serve the needy.
These accountability issues have seen stakeholder trust diminish over the years, leading to fewer people actually wanting to lead charitable causes or make donations. Notwithstanding, the organizational boundary shifts (for example, UNICEF donating to Iran), the bureaucracy complexities, and poor regulatory designs affect charities, as most of the donated money lies in charities banks/savings instead of helping the poor.
These issues have become the key drivers behind many charities such as UNICEF and Oxfam in Australia adopting blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies to democratize access to crucial resources. Additionally, the transparency of blockchains enhances provenance for charities by enabling donations to be accurately traced dollar-for-dollar in real-time at every stage of the supply chain process. Lastly, crypto and blockchains also ensure fast transaction speeds and low transaction fees, which enables anyone to donate a small amount to charity and see their dollar make a change in real-time.
Tough problems call for tough solutions
Amidst the transparency, trust, and accountability issues charities are facing, blockchain projects are rising up to provide key solutions to them. One of the leading projects in this aspect is Philcoin, an all-in-one decentralized finance platform aiming to create a community of philanthropists around the world and give back to society with every transaction made on the blockchain.
“Through the adoption of Philcoin, we are able to bridge philanthropy and technology to ensure those who need financial aid can receive it instantly. The faster we, as a global movement, can facilitate instant donations and token utility; the faster we can help heal the world,” Philcoin’s CEO Jerry Lopez said.
Aiming to build the world’s first philanthropic token, Philcoin offers more than just a donation channel. Through its “donate-to-earn” model, Philcoin aims to bring transparency and accountability to charities, rewarding those who donate with its native $PHL token. The philanthropic movement establishes a global interactive system where the daily use of IoT “Internet of Things” (social media, television, means of communication) become a rail where people can earn while they use the products and services.
Every dollar donated through Philcoin’s mobile application, PHILApp can be tracked on a public blockchain, which means there is added transparency and accountability.
Philcoin is also targeting to raise $10 million and partner with rental home companies to help house over 2,500 families in Ukraine that has been affected by the ongoing war. The community will play a critical role in making this happen by donating tokens or sponsoring families in need.
Finally, the platform also aims to promote private, free, and secure communication across the globe through its PHILChat platform. The messaging service is secure from server hacking as the company does not collect or keep any user data on any servers. Additionally, PHILChat offers a low data usage platform allowing the low-income areas to freely communicate and save money while doing so. Finally, the chat service allows users to send messages, record voice and video messages, and share photos, videos or any other files instantly even when the internet speed is very low.
