Monero (XMR) non-profit website service

[LuxMoneroj]

Community is one of the most important features of the cryptocurrency movement it seems. "Bitcoin culture" has engendered real world meet-ups, collaborative artwork, entrepreneurial start-ups, academic research, online forums, and so on. It is cross-cultural 'mycelium,' truly. As it relates to Monero, L. L. Zamenhof synthesized Esperanto with the intentions of bridging the ethnic differences of a then highly divided Europe. To my mind, it is a symbiotic language of peace, much like mathematics. Both domains of linguistics and math strive to find similarities and harmonic structures in our collective noösphere.

With that said, I wanted to ask other people here for their opinions on this.

How do you feel about a website (U.S.) that would make donations to the non-profit of your choice using Monero? The service is essentially an XMR -> fiat conversion and donation manager. The transaction receipt will be automatically forwarded to the email provided at the time of donation.

Benefits: One can select from a list of dozens of non-profits/charities and donate to multiple ones simultaneously, without the hassle of filling out online forms and information. It also offers a way to donate semi-anonymously via our service proxy. A community hall of fame (similar to the one for XMR development donations) will be set up visibly on the website to commemorate those inclined to give.

Why Monero: The newly proposed International Flag of Planet Earth utilizes Borromean "Ring Structures" - similar in topology to our linkable ring sigs. Aside from helping people (our idealized, digital local-to-global priority), allowing Monero integration with non-profits helps further legitimize the currency outside of the anonymous libertarian slant, heralding its other promise as E-cash. Most tangibly, it will provide much needed exposure for the fledgling currency. Additionally, it appears that in due time many of our prescient investors/miners will be able to contribute a small portion of their growing profits without much effect on their bottom line.

Gold in, gold out: One of our team members is in touch with a few bitcoin media publishers who would likely run an article or two to highlight our efforts, should we make progress with this.

Fee structure: The goal of this utility is not to generate income, but a small <1 XMR fee structure would help maintenance & any overhead costs. It could also be specified that should any revenue actually exceed the basic costs, those funds will be donated to core developers with full transparency. Thanks, View Keys!

Your input: What are the advantages and disadvantages of this idea? How could it best be implemented? Strengths/weakness going forward?

This is all highly provisional. If anyone wants on board, we could use extra skill-sets.

Edit 1:
-> Example draft of front page graphics. A professional designer will be hired. Ideally, there will be drop down menus for the non-profit and research selection (optional). Then the Monero logo in the middle of the page will transform into a customizable value box and/or QR code to submit desired payment.

Graphics credit to Rob @ http://cryptsites.com/

https://i.imgur.com/MhNiBPv.png

[celestio]

I think that would be a great idea. Donating to non-profit charities with Monero would be liberating(Especially since Monero has a viewkey so things such as this would work perfectly).

[generalizethis]

How would IP's be handled? Would the site be TOR and/or I2P friendly? Would charities friendly or directly-run by dissidents be included?

[LuxMoneroj]

I think that would be a great idea. Donating to non-profit charities with Monero would be liberating(Especially since Monero has a viewkey so things such as this would work perfectly).

Thanks for the feedback. There are still many details to be worked out, but I think there is traction here.

How would IP's be handled? Would the site be TOR and/or I2P friendly? Would charities friendly or directly-run by dissidents be included?

It seems the laws required of actual non-profits are much more clear than the laws surrounding donations. The main issues with contributions seem to involve tax-specific details and influence through political campaigning. Anonymous donations are allowed and not reported to the IRS if they are under $5k usually.

As for TOR & I2P implementation, that may come at a later date. For now it seems that utilizing XMR to donate through our service would provide sufficient anonymity.

Again, the goal is not so much anonymity here, but assuaging the "veil of anonymity" and social taboo that has befallen so-called anon coins by cognitive bias default. It's simply (another) way to allow the Monero economy to engage compassionate giving.

[LuxMoneroj]

Update: added front page, draft mock-up graphic. If anyone could suggest established web developers, that would be much appreciated. It would be optimal to employ our community members who need the work.

Also, please list any suggestions or features you would like to see realized.

[QuantumQrack]

I would need the real names of everybody involved in the project, along with their phone numbers and also the location of business--or if that is not available, the location of the person who is leading this project.  I would also need, for every charity that is involved, a contact and phone number (at the charity) to verify that they are working with you, and at least acknowledge that relationship.

There are WAY too many scams out there who masquerade as charities.  I am not saying you are a scam, but this type of information I have asked for will go a long way in engendering trust with the cryptocurrency community.

An extra bonus would be to have somebody in this community with a high trust rating to vouch for you. :-)

[LuxMoneroj]

I would need the real names of everybody involved in the project, along with their phone numbers and also the location of business--or if that is not available, the location of the person who is leading this project.

I understand the issue of transparency. I agree with you that scams are a dime a dozen™. The website and business will be tied to a legal entity and be compliant as possible with current legislation. Given Legal Zoom's ease of documentation, it shouldn't be difficult or time consuming.

I would also need, for every charity that is involved, a contact and phone number (at the charity) to verify that they are working with you, and at least acknowledge that relationship.

This is the purpose of the transaction receipts & payment ID. Your USD equivalent donation will be time-stamped and emailed to you for verification, forwarded from their own correspondence.

The ultimate goal is 99% automation on the backend. So "proving" that an organization is working with us is a time sink and redundant. All the code will do is work with their current donation process by converting XMR contributions to a real world donation, sync'd with relevant personal and business information.

There are WAY too many scams out there who masquerade as charities.  I am not saying you are a scam, but this type of information I have asked for will go a long way in engendering trust with the cryptocurrency community.

You're right. One of the reasons I made this post is to gauge community interest. If it is something that we all believe is worthwhile, then I can move forward with transparency. The first step is making sure the interest is there.

One of the motivations here is the concept of micropayments. Currently it's finding application mainly through ChangeTip - via BandCamp, Reddit, Twitter, etc. I like the P2P aspect despite their centralization. Charles and Victoria, two of the ChangeTip community managers, are really nice people. That's transparency. So when something like the Nepalese earthquake unfolds, I would have liked to seen the "compassion blueprint" of the Monero community emphasized just as much as the bitcoin one.

I suppose it's also important to note that kindness for the sake of kindness can be done entirely anonymously. That's part of the message here. The "dark web" debacle casts a shadow on individual privacy and autonomy. So to further drive your point home, some charitable giving funneled through transparency could do wonders on multiple levels.

[GingerAle]

I would need the real names of everybody involved in the project, along with their phone numbers and also the location of business--or if that is not available, the location of the person who is leading this project.  I would also need, for every charity that is involved, a contact and phone number (at the charity) to verify that they are working with you, and at least acknowledge that relationship.

There are WAY too many scams out there who masquerade as charities.  I am not saying you are a scam, but this type of information I have asked for will go a long way in engendering trust with the cryptocurrency community.

An extra bonus would be to have somebody in this community with a high trust rating to vouch for you. :-)

Yeah, this matches my concerns and requirements as well.

Beyond that, I think its a good idea. I don't know if the Monero community has the numbers for effectively leverage micropayments, but large anonymous donors are.... really anonymous...

[LuxMoneroj]

but large anonymous donors are.... really anonymous...

Imagine that! 

Form 990 / Schedule B for the IRS would have our business identity listed, but the XMR origination would be an untraceable group signature.

Ring signatures were invented by Rivest, Shamir, & Tauman. Rivest also invented "Three Ballot" - a voting protocol to obscure identity, with some success (though gross implementation became an issue).

https://i.imgur.com/zaRNYXw.png?1

[binaryFate]

It's a simple and nice idea. We (as probably many other people) thought about it when doing xmr.to, even though it was just a generic XMR -> fiat idea, not necessarily targeted towards non-profit. (users would just give an IBAN number for destination).
The issue was the legal side, since users sending to whatever is deemed illegal (in some country, mostly US I presume) is putting the sender in troubles he's legally responsible for.
The idea might work if you only offer sending to a subset of non-profits (or check stuff are ok legally before wiring USD to destination), and cover yourself properly on the legal side. Don't underestimate the legal side. Cool crypto projects become a different story once you involve fiat, most of all USD.

It would be good for Monero, and suits well the inspiring idea that has been driving it from the start.

[LuxMoneroj]

It's a simple and nice idea. We (as probably many other people) thought about it when doing xmr.to, even though it was just a generic XMR -> fiat idea, not necessarily targeted towards non-profit. (users would just give an IBAN number for destination).
The issue was the legal side, since users sending to whatever is deemed illegal (in some country, mostly US I presume) is putting the sender in troubles he's legally responsible for.
The idea might work if you only offer sending to a subset of non-profits (or check stuff are ok legally before wiring USD to destination), and cover yourself properly on the legal side. Don't underestimate the legal side. Cool crypto projects become a different story once you involve fiat, most of all USD.

It would be good for Monero, and suits well the inspiring idea that has been driving it from the start.

Thanks for the feedback.

XMR.to is brilliant. What is the usage data like currently for that service?

Honestly, as GingerAle pointed out, it is probably a bit early in Monero's economy to offer a non-profit exclusive service like this to expect significant volume. And like you mentioned, it is likely a legal græy area as well, although I cannot find any immediate problems with being a donation intermediary specifically.

With that said, I think having a preemptive plan gives credence to the direction of the currency - as well as the values of the community.

Someone shared business development goals earlier that I thought were very enterprising. In my opinion, it's only a matter of time before the "humanitarian" section kicks in as well. MAPS (the multidisciplinary association for psychedelic studies), for example, has reportedly received over $40,000 in BTC for their studies on PTSD and mental illnesses. Given the post-Ulbricht scenario cryptocurrencies find themselves in, learning to give back will help elevate the cognitive liberty cause and find some distance from the Wall St. data-mined darling that bitcoin is quickly becoming.


https://i.imgur.com/InOxeck.png




 

[kazuki49]

This is a brilliant idea, and a showcase of Monero's transparency features and how its better than Zerocash and complete "in the dark" blockchains.

paraphrasing David, privacy is good but optionally transparency is better.

[Nxtblg]

Again, the goal is not so much anonymity here, but assuaging the "veil of anonymity" and social taboo that has befallen so-called anon coins by cognitive bias default. It's simply (another) way to allow the Monero economy to engage compassionate giving.

A good idea. The natural client base for this service are people who prefer to donate anonymously because they'd feel like braggarts if they donated under their name.