Greetings folks,
I'm from a small rural community in New Brunswick, Canada. I'd like to set up a small community scholarship fund for our High School graduates that would pay out in Bitcoin in June. The community is fading, as are many rural communities in the Province but there is also a lot of pride that goes back generations. Most of the families here are not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination but they are good people who work hard and want the best for their children and the community.
Even so, I suspect that just through Facebook, I could set up something simple using QuickBT that would allow people of the community to donate up to $50 to the fund with a target allocation of $1000 (or 1 bitcoin). Then, come June, I could present the award at the Graduation. Not only would this be a fun exercise for the community but it would have the added benefit of getting people involved and familiar with bitcoin without having to go through the hassle of setting up a wallet.
Word would spread, it's a small town and people would talk. To me it's a win/win and fun to boot! And depending on how much is raised, the scholarship could be awarded to multiple students rather than just one. And as far as the Graduates go, the young'uns are ALL familiar and comfortable with the idea of a virtual currency, most of them grew up playing video games and MMO's, so yeah, they get it.
And another benefit would be publicity, for my little town and for bitcoin!
So I'd like your guidance in some aspects of the set-up. Keeping in mind that I want to keep the structure as simple as possible. The first step would be to set up a secure wallet for the donations, I'm thinking Bitcoin Armory? Then set up a group in Facebook that explains the idea and provides instructions on how to use QuickBT to donate. I'd also have to layout how the funds would be awarded so I need to think on that a bit. I hesitate to limit the recipients because it sort of goes against the non-hierarchical spirit of bitcoin, but I'm not sure how far to take it. I also want to make it clear that the fund is available for the public to see at any time through the blockchain and that all transactions can be seen going into and out of the fund and if any funds come out, well, they know where I live so... And for those who want to remain anonymous, they can, or they can post that they've contributed.
Anyway, those are some of my initial thoughts, any feedback or advice on the set-up would be VERY much appreciated!
Cheerio
I had dinner with a good friend tonight and her first question is, "What is this scholarship thing? And what is bitcoin?" Sigh... But I realized that for the majority of regular folks who aren't like me, they really have no idea. And that isn't all that surprising I suppose.