Attract New Donors With Crypto Giving on Classy

We’re thrilled to announce that Classy now offers cryptocurrency as a donation method to fuel more giving. 

The world of cryptocurrency donations is quickly evolving. With Crypto Giving built into the Classy platform, nonprofits can confidently capitalize on another innovative payment technology to attract new donors and drive meaningful impact. 

Top 3 Reasons to Accept Crypto Donations at Your Nonprofit

In 2021, the value of the crypto market soared from $965 billion to as much as $2.6 trillion. Now sitting around $2.1 trillion, it’s clear that the digital currency is here to stay. 

Despite the market’s recent volatility, cryptocurrency offers an incredible opportunity for nonprofits to reach a new group of philanthropists who can help propel the sector forward. 

Knowing that crypto has solidified itself as an important part of our economy, here are three reasons why your nonprofit should consider adding the digital currency to your list of flexible giving options.

1. Donors Want Options

The data from our 2021 Why America Gives report proved that flexible payment options are non-negotiable for many of today’s donors. In fact, the option of multiple payment options was one of the top factors donors say lead to an excellent donor experience. 

It’s also important to note that donors give more when they have choices. Our findings from The State of Modern Philanthropy 2022 report proved that nonprofits using modern payment options on Classy see larger gift sizes on average than those that don’t. Specifically, the average one-time donation was nearly 1.5X more when nonprofits offered ACH, PayPal, and digital wallet payments. 

2. Crypto Presents a Win-Win for Donors and Nonprofits Alike

An estimated 295 million people worldwide now own cryptocurrency, with Bitcoin and Ethereum growing particularly quickly. Now is the opportune time to bring cryptocurrency into your donation experience to attract the millions of philanthropic investors looking for a place to give. 

The key to attracting this new donor audience is to first make them aware that they can donate cryptocurrency directly to the nonprofit of their choosing. Classy is the first to offer this functionality natively within its platform. We intend to make it just as easy to give and accept crypto donations as it is to give and reconcile donations made with PayPal or credit cards.

In addition, crypto donations present a unique win-win opportunity for both donors and nonprofits. Not only do crypto investors receive major tax incentives, but nonprofits receiving these donations avoid tax on the donated asset.  

From 2019 to 2020, crypto donations to donor-advised funds (DAFs) at Fidelity Charitable more than doubled from $13 million to $28 million. The 2021 value of total cryptocurrency donations is over $300 million, and that number is only expected to grow. 

3. Millennial Investors are Hungry to Give

Cryptocurrency donations offer the unique opportunity to attract a younger and more diverse demographic that skews toward philanthropic giving. In fact, young people are 4X more likely to hold cryptocurrency than older generations.

Data shows over 35% of millennial investors own cryptocurrency, and those who don’t are likely to consider investing in it within the next year. Plus, nearly nine in ten Millennials say charitable giving is an important part of their lives. 

Data also shows that young crypto donors are more likely to be nonwhite. According to Pew Center Research, Asian (23%), Hispanic (21%), and Black (18%) adults are more likely than White adults to say they have ever invested in, traded, or used cryptocurrency.

If nonprofits can do their part in marrying Millennials’ interest in digital currency with their charitable values, donation potential will skyrocket. 

Make Crypto Easy With Classy

What Is Classy’s Crypto Giving? 

We’ve teamed up with Coinbase to offer nonprofits a seamless way to accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USD Coin on their Classy donation forms. 

How Does It Work? 

We want to make it just as easy to accept crypto donations as it is to accept and reconcile credit card or PayPal donations. That’s why Classy’s Crypto Giving is built directly into Classy Pay, which means that receipting, payout reporting, and reconciliation will happen directly in-product, similar to Stripe, PayPal, or Venmo. In addition to BTC, ETH, and USDC, we are now able to process BCH, LTC, DOGE, DAI, USDT, APE, and SHIB. 

The crypto donation option will live right on your Classy donation form, giving you the tools you need to acquire new crypto donors without the support of a third-party processor. Enjoy the freedom to turn it on and off at the campaign level, and simply toggle between crypto and flat donations. 

How Do I Ensure Compliance When Accepting Crypto Donations?

Through our partnership with Coinbase, you can receive transactions from both Coinbase and non-Coinbase wallets. However, Coinbase only ensures compliance of the transactions from Coinbase wallets.

If you accept transactions from non-Coinbase wallets, your organization is responsible for compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) standards set forth in the USA Patriot Act. That means if a transaction violates compliance, you’ll be responsible for any penalties or fines, which are typically issued by government agencies such as the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury.

If you do not want to be responsible for the compliance of donations from non-Coinbase wallets, please reach out to your Classy account contact directly and ask them to turn off support for non-Coinbase wallets.

How Do I Activate Crypto on My Donation Forms? 

If you’re already a Classy customer with Classy Pay activated, we’ve broken down the process for activating crypto here.  

For customers who haven’t activated Classy Pay yet, explore our support article for the step-by-step setup process. Once you complete this step, you’ll be ready to activate crypto. 

Finally, if you’re interested in learning more about Classy’s online fundraising platform or booking a demo with our team, don’t hesitate to reach out. 

Let’s Make Crypto Mainstream for Nonprofit Fundraising

Crypto doesn’t need to be complicated. Tap into the growing pool of crypto holders by offering a place to donate their digital currency. With Classy, you can keep the backend process simple while attracting a new audience of donors to help reach your goals.