The world could use a few wins right now.
Fundraising to support the unprecedented global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has never been more important, with organizations critical to the response in need of urgent help.
But with much of the world on lockdown, traditional fundraising is not always viable.
We have spoken at length in the past about the future of fundraising, looking closely at both charities and sports clubs.
And now blockchain-enabled, agile fundraising is no longer an abstract concept.
We have been heartened to see international efforts utilizing this technology to both fundraise and deliver help to those most in need.
And the speed at which the crypto community has been able to mobilize has been nothing short of staggering.
As far back as January, when COVID-19 was not yet the international crisis it has since become, the charity arm of leading exchange Binance pledged 10 million yuan (around US$1.5 million) to help fight the outbreak in Wuhan, while also working locally to recruit volunteers, purchase materials and sort transportation.
Binance has since made further pledges as part of the #CryptoAgainstCOVID social media movement.
Meanwhile, the Italian Red Cross and the Colli Albani Committee last month began raising donations in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
“We believe that an innovative fundraising tool like bitcoin can help us find the necessary economic resources that are very difficult to obtain in this historical moment,” Bruno Pietrosanti, president of the Colli Albani Committee, said at the time.
Faster fundraising
Blockchain technology is not a silver bullet for the fundraising sector.
In a tweet back in January, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, more commonly known as CZ, acknowledged that delivering aid in the form of cryptocurrencies to beneficiaries in Wuhan was “not realistic”.
But this technology can help us build platforms and ecosystems which are more flexible and trusted when it comes raising money for good causes, while also better engaging younger givers.
This was the thinking behind products such as Easy5050, which leverages the Peerplays blockchain to modernize the classic fundraiser 50/50 draw format.
Dapps such as Easy5050 are far more conducive to fundraising under adverse conditions such as those we currently are experiencing, particularly versus traditional approaches which often require physical donation collections.
By decentralizing the fundraising process, we can achieve the type of trustless cooperation that is essential when reacting to unforeseen circumstances that may impact traditional channels.
And this goes beyond just fundraising.
It is exciting to see a blockchain sector that has reached a level of maturity where it can make a material contribution to the fight against COVID-19.
This extends beyond fundraising efforts into a number of spheres; just look at the collaboration between the World Health Organization, IBM and Oracle, who are working together on an open-data hub that utilizes blockchain technology to check data relating to the pandemic.
Our entire community has talked for several years now about how this technology can make the world a better place.
Now, more than ever, is the time to put this into action.