Topic: Bitcoin 100: Developed Specifically for Non-Profits - page 83. (Read 262769 times)

I've read may of your posts and I get the impression that you are a Christian - and it shows (in the best sense of the word) - sorry for being annoying.

No problem what-so-ever, dancupid. Your position is well respected.

~Bruno~

I doubt there are many people outside of America who don't laugh and then feel slightly nauseous and then feel empathic embarrassment when the hear their name -  but if they need to make right wing middle Americans feel patriotic in order for them to give to charity then that's what they need to do. But the rest of the world laughs at this kind of thing - and for the record I don't want any of my bitcoins going to them.

You're thinking about the movie "Team America" whereas Operation USA (www.opusa.org) is an international relief agency that helps communities abroad and at home overcome the effects of disasters, disease and endemic poverty by providing privately-funded relief, reconstruction and development aid. They also have several long-term projects promoting education and health services worldwide.

Don't worry! Others may have also made that same mistake. Hope that clears this up for you. Thank you kindly for supporting Bitcoin100, dansupid.

~Bruno~

I'm not American and the name of this charity sounds like everything I hate in the universe.
Didn't they make a movie about this with puppets? (they blew up Paris and Kim Jong Il sang a song about being 'so ronery')

Sorry. Forgot to mention I release my idea under the WTFPL, so you are basically free to do that yourself without any obligations what so ever.

Note to Rassah in reference to the spreadsheet: I have personally donated two more coins. One by proxy, in the name of Atlas, as promised, and another that was first donated by FlipPro of which I returned to him out of my wallet and opt to keep that coin in the current pool. FlipPro made a pledge, then erroneously deposit 1 BTC into the wallet, thinking it was part of that NORML pledge thread currently taking place in Off Topic. I'm doing my best to not cross that fine line between what Bitcoin100 supporters expect from it, yet making sure there's not a missed opportunity for Bitcoin as a whole, as BitcoinPorn has so kindly pointed out.


You (the reader) know what I like about this post? Derek jumping right on it and addressing questions and concerns, coupled with adding comments and suggestions, as if this were his project, of which it is. It's all of ours! I truly appreciate Derek taking the initiative and doing such, and we would both welcome others to feel comfortable doing the same thing. Yes, it's been done before within this thread, but not quite at this level. Bravo! So, if another person sees a question and they're able to confidently answer it, do such. Don't worry if the answer turns out to be incorrect. We're all adults here, and we know how to back pedal and apologize, correct the answer, then move on. Don't we? Thank you again, Derek, for all your efforts. (thought I saw an i not dotted in the letter, but I was mistaken)

BTW, I just doubled check to see if any of those posts prior to yours needed addressing, and it looks like its all covered, except for my personal thanks to StewartJ.

Thank you kindly, StewartJ, for your generous pledge. As Dered stated, I've gotten around to updating the list in the OP. We're glad you like what you've seen so far. We feel there's a lot a good things yet to come out from this Bitcoin100 endeavor. Welcome aboard, and stay tuned.


That is interesting, Rassah. But as you've stated, worse case scenario, the St. Jude letter would surely prove to be a good practice run. I, personally enjoyed the creating process that took place during its construction. Not only was a lot learned, but we now have a strong letter to present to future charitable organizations. Can you imagine all the rejections we'll still get yet, later down the road, when Bitcoin becomes mainstream, those same organizations, who've first rejected Bitcoin, are requesting that same donation option to be put in place onto their respective donation pages?


(first the funny) How the heck did the plane you were in ever get off the ground? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7q3j69-SHM

I've added your Operation USA suggestion to the list over on the Project Development thread. Great suggestion! I also enjoyed reading about your unique experience in regards that fine organization. From their site, I found this, which should prove an enjoyable read: http://www.opusa.org/about/staff/richard-m-walden/


Thank you kindly for your fine suggestion and comments, Transisto. I will also be putting ImmInst on the list over at the Project Development site.

~Bruno~

I propose ImmInst as a candidate for Bitcoin donations.


Here is their donate page : http://www.imminst.org/donate/

Operation USA is a much better option than Red Cross. Their overhead is miniscule, and it is one of the largest relief NGO. Richard Walden, the director, gave me four duffel bags of medication to bring with me to a hospital in rural Nicaragua...like, had me come in to one of their warehouses and walked around with me loading up bags with things he knew to be in short supply there. I'd like to see the red cross provide direct relief like that, without worrying about taking credit or how it is getting there. It blew my mind, and was immensely appreciated by the recipients.

Side note, I made it through US and Nicaragua customs with 8000 aspirin and a myriad of tampons, bandages, antibiotics, and surgical equipment, no questions asked.

www.opusa.org

Anyone wishing for their philanthropy to actually make it to those in need should take note.

I wouldn't recommend Red Cross. Few people I know who worked with it say it's a majorly scammy rip-off. Way too high overhead expenses.

FYI, this past semester in one of my classes we had group projects where we had to organize some sort of a group to manage a project of our choosing. One of our class groups organized a bar crawl for charity (people go bar to bar around down town, and part of the proceeds, plus whatever is donated or earned from selling raffle tickets, goes to the charity). That group's first charity of choice was St. Jude's, since they have a major research hospital right here in our city. St. Jude turned them down, because they wanted to know where donations were coming from, and they did not want to be associated with money coming from alcohol sales. In short, St. Jude is not short on funds, and is very very picky. With Bitcoin having such shady publicity, I wouldn't hold your breath. Sorry. Still, at least it's a good practice run.

@Edd, that link looks great. Thank you very much for adding it here.

@StewartJ, Welcome aboard!  Anyone can pledge at any time as our campaign will continue until Bitcoin is popular enough that Charities take it upon themselves to allow bitcoin donations. Between now and then we should see the Bitcoin100 website come online which can continue to spread the notion of giving to charity with bitcoins.

I am sure as soon as Bruno sees your pledge he will kindly add you to the list. We still need ~5 to reach our 100 member goal.

Yes, I will gladly share any responses I receive here as it should prove valuable in helping us make edits to future writings.

We have a thread about what charities we are aiming to contact first. It is open to all suggestions as well as any insight like what you have provided about PR considerations. I know DWB is on there so far and the others, if not, are excellent additions imho.

I had not given too much thought about which particular orgs would have the biggest PR benefit but I don't see where such a discussion could hurt. That kind of press would be highly impressive.

Thank you for your kind words and for joining in!

  Regards,
   Derek

P.S. No word back from St. Jude as of Dec. 26th @ 9:50PM EST, -5 GMT. It is not suprising though as a lot of places are closed up through New Years here in the U.S.  I have also made a few minor edits to our writing, to include the sentence about bit-pay fees and keyword linking 'processors' to the page Edd posted.  I will share it in the morning time here, about 12 hours from now. I want another chance to glance over it with my coffee. 

Very impressed with this whole project and I am so sorry I just got wind of it now.  

Can I still pledge to the Bitcoin100? If so, please put me down for 1 BTC for however many charities will participate. I would also be happy to donate my time in any other way that would be helpful.

Congratulations on the St Jude Letter. It reads very well and seems a solid and well-thought out effort. Will the response to the St Jude letter be published on this thread?

Also, just out of curiosity, has consideration been given to donate to charities that would give the biggest PR impact for Bitcoins?

I am thinking of Red Cross, Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, etc.  

Imagine a press release stating that one of these well-known charities now accepts bitcoins.  Would be very impressive in terms of Bitcoin adoption.

Keep the up the good work!
Stew

I've updated the eWallets and Merchant Services category at The Bitcoin List with every payment processor I could find. If I overlooked any, I'll be happy to add them immediately.

WOW! I didn't expect that! I like it! BTW, any word yet from St. Jude since your last post? 

I think the whole sentence, "The normally required fees will be generously eliminated by Bit-Pay for Charities leaving you with the complete original donation." could use a bit of tlc.

I suggest, "The normally required fees of some bitcoin payment processors will be generously dismissed by utilizing Bit-Pay for Charities. Leaving available to you the complete, original donation."

No response to the email as of Dec. 26 @ 2:29PM EST; -5 GMT
edit; fixed the spacing issue for Bitcoin100

  Cheers,
   Derek

I knew I would find an error!  

Seriously, well done! I highlighted in red 'Bitcoin 100' as one word for the consistency of the letter, albeit Bitcoin100 may become Bitcoin 100 at a later date.

The only other thing highlight in red is the word 'eliminated'. It's not so much a concern, but offered up as asking if a better term is available. Again, not trying to be hypercritical, but simply trying to make this the best letter possible for the task at hand. The word currently used is very good, but wondering if a better word/term/phrase is available. Again, correct me if I'm mistaken (any reader).

If any others have an opinion, please express it as well. Once again, thank you, Derek, for all your hard efforts currently put into this. BTW, has St. Jude replied yet? The wait is killing me. 

~Bruno~

But, of course. It was only temporarily discluded to give time to go over the processor links without the added spam.

This is what was sent, with better formatting and proper links added in where appropriate;
Rev. 5

  26th of December 2011


Please include Bitcoin as a funding option


Dear St. Jude Representative,


  I represent a group of benefactors which would like you to consider an alternative method of

accepting donations. We are called the Bitcoin100.


  Our group consists of over 100 members of a community which uses Bitcoin as a method of monetary

exchange worldwide. We wish to support St. Jude by contributing to your noble organization a

generous gift of 100 bitcoins (100 BTC), currently valued at approximately $396.00. Furthermore,

supporters of Bitcoin100 have pledged to continue their support of nonprofit and charitable

organizations, like St. Jude, who have included Bitcoin as one of their donation options. Additional

information pertaining to Bitcoin 100 and its supporters can be researched here and contact

information is available here
 

  As a charitable organization, St. Jude can easily accept Bitcoin as a donation option. Your
 
accounting departing will not require retraining to accept these funds if they don't want to, because
 
they can be converted to U. S. dollars for you at no cost. We recommend a payment processing
 
service like Bit-Pay who will convert bitcoins donated to St. Jude into US dollars, ready for deposit into
 
your bank account. Bit-Pay offers nonprofit organizations this service with absolutely zero fees, unlike
 
other typical processing systems (Further reading about the services for nonprofits provided by Bit-Pay
 
available here). Once St. Jude implements a 'Donate with Bitcoin' option--conveniently located among the
 
other formidable donation options on your website--we pledge to send the current pool of 100 bitcoins
 
(100 BTC), nearly $400, to your newly listed Bitcoin donation address.



  Bitcoin will benefit St. Jude because of its ability to accept donations from around the globe via

any convenient Internet access almost instantly. The normally required fees will be generously

eliminated by Bit-Pay for Charities leaving you with the complete original donation. Choosing Bitcoin as
 
an additional donation option will allow St. Jude to utilize 100% of funds gifted, thereby benefiting

more children in need.


  Thank you kindly for your valuable time and consideration of accepting Bitcoin as a viable option

to help fund your admirable cause. I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to explain this in

greater detail and assist you in setting up this payment method on your website. Please contact me

by email @ [redacted] or by phone in the eastern U.S. @ [redacted]

 

  Warm Regards,
   Derek Herndon
   Bitcoin100 Supporter

A special thanks to zhoutong is warranted for his generous donation, thereby beginning to honor his more than kind pledge. Thank you again, zhoutong.


Thank you for bringing attention to the HIF, Giszmo.

In essence, your ideas is what Bitcoin100 consists of, albeit having a different structure and doling out funds process.


Thank you for your efforts, mcorlett. Any others that need to be added to the list would be truly appreciative.


Although a great page, it may not accomplish what we would like, for it may offer up confusion to the intended reader of the introductory letter.


Would you be so kind, Derek, as to provide us a copy of the letter sent so that we can have the opportunity to continue to tweak it, albeit ever so slightly, for future mailings. This is by no means meant as a double checking request, but merely as a continuation of the openness of this open source endeavor. Please forgive me if you happen to view this request in a different light.

I, too, get sidetracked when conducting research. Somebody needs to clean up this internet thing. Too much information is currently available, contributing to the confusion of its users.  

~Bruno~

There are some payment processors mixed in with shopping cart interfaces listed on the wiki available at https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Category:Shopping_Cart_Interfaces.

I'll keep this brief so I don't break up the current discussions too much.
Our first letter has been emailed to St. Jude. It is very close to the last one that you posted, Bruno.

@Zhou Tong, thank you very much for your generous donation!
@Bruno, I adjusted 2 or 3 words to make bit-Pay our recommendation and not the only one available. Are we going to make a thread or wiki entry with current payment processors?
@giszmo, thats an interesting idea. Would you mind sharing it on the Bitcoin Charity List Thread as well?
@mcorlett, Excellent. I tried hunting for a few last night via google searches, etc., for 'bitcoin payment processors'. But got sidetracked reading up on all the stuff I found. Little of which was beneficial to what we were looking for. =)

  Cheers,
    Derek