Baton Rouge Charities Look to Embrace Cryptocurrency Donations
Some time soon, parents and working-class philanthropists living in Baton Rouge may well see a large uptick of local charities offering up ways to donate whatever they can using decentralized currencies.
For more than one reason, this move promises greater levels of aid. Offering as many ways to give as possible encourages more donations, which goes on to empower charities to do more good. All across the United States many of the largest national charitable organizations, including the Salvation Army, already allow generous philanthropists the option to give a portion of their crypto balance away, for the good of their communities.
In Baton Rouge specifically, it’s already possible for locals to donate whatever spare coin balance they have to the Baton Rouge arm of Catholic Charities USA. There is a trend here, and it’s a safe bet to assume this novel but high-tech way to give will only grow in momentum as parents and families get more comfortable with owning their own coins. The city is open to the idea of crypto, and this is an opportunity for local charities If you live near any of the Bitcoin ATMs dotted around the city, you’ll know Baton Rouge is no stranger to decentralized currencies.
Businesses in the area are offering their products and services in exchange for the most stable coins and crypto entrepreneurs in the city have started making use of crypto technology as a way to invest in youth athletes. Progress on crypto adoption for Baton Rouge city residents isn’t as fast as social media posts may suggest, but it’s not completely stagnant either. Unlike a few years back, many of the largest, most well-known coins have stabilized a great deal, boosting confidence and encouraging more to set up accounts on exchanges like Binance.
Looking at the Ethereum price trend right now, it’s clear the landscape isn’t what it once was. Educational initiatives and increased interest from communities has gained some level of traction and this environment opens up new avenues for residents to support local causes using their crypto holdings.
Is donating with Ethereum or other coins better than donating with regular money? Yes and no. Any kind of donation is welcome, even offerings that aren’t in the form of money, decentralized or otherwise, are helpful to charities. This depends on the non-profit organization’s goals of course. A donation of very specialized items, like medical CPR kits, won’t be helpful to a charity focused on protecting national parks or preserving historic Baton Rouge landmarks. Organizations aiming to help school children read or get enough nutrition would better be able to use non-money aid. They will already have the logistics around collecting and moving old children’s books, blankets and canned food to where it needs to go to ensure vulnerable families can get to it.
Donations made in cash, and now crypto, can be put towards less immediately tangible forms of aid. Things like paying for school tuition or legal aid. In some less obvious ways, giving a percentage of a crypto wallet instead of a wad of cash can be extra beneficial to a charity. Less obvious perks to donating using crypto, the impact of the donation can be more direct, because transferring the funds is fast. This streamlines the giving process a great deal.
When time is short and financial aid is needed without delay, your crypto contribution can get exactly where it needs to go in record time. Parents in Baton Rouge who are willing to make a donation don’t have all the time in the world to give. Donating $100 worth of Bitcoin from a wallet, directly to an organization’s fund pool, is convenient for donors. The transfer can happen in only a handful of minutes, between picking up the kids from school or getting ready to go for a grocery run. Wherever you are, you can donate and make a real difference.
Crypto donations offer tax benefits In other parts of the US; crypto donations have become sophisticated. Using a platform like the Giving Block, which offers ways for people to donate to American charities using NFTs or crypto coins, you can give and lower your tax burden at the same time. Through the platform, you can make a donation and get an automatic tax receipt.
According to the IRS crypto assets, or virtual currencies like Ethereum, are seen as property assets as far as tax is concerned. So, as long as you give to a charity that qualifies to give tax deductions, you can give and lower your tax a bit in the same way you would with a traditional cash donation. As always, if you aren’t sure about tax obligations or which forms you might need to fill out, reach out to a tax adviser. They can help answer any questions you will have.
When you donate using crypto, you can see where that donation goes. If you’re curious to know exactly where your local charity is putting the funds you so generously donated, giving in crypto makes sense. The clever and complicated math powering how cryptocurrencies works, provides you with a transparent way to track each and every transaction made. You can more easily keep an eye on your contribution, and feel good when your donation reaches the community that needs it. Embracing a new way of giving.
As it stands, not many charities that only help local initiatives in Baton Rouge have jumped aboard this new way of doing things just yet. Now, this does not mean parents and people in the city can’t donate using their crypto wallet. Instead of waiting around for them to find out the benefits for themselves, you can consider reaching out to them and suggesting they look into crypto donation payment options. Otherwise, you can take a look at lists of national charities and consider giving to their worthwhile causes.