Bitcoin 100: Developed Specifically for Non-Profits

[Rassah]

From a marketing standpoint, I've been having a very difficult time redefining the 100 aspect of Bitcoin 100. At the onset, it made perfect sense, but no longer.

Can we brainstorm to the nth degree to come up with what the 100 could mean so that years down the road it wouldn't once again lose its meaning?

I've just been telling people that it's 100 people/members pledging to donate a combines $1,000. It's not 100 people any more, though...

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[Phinnaeus Gage]

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=280195.msg2994818#msg2994818

Somebody in the Newbie section asking about the Bitcoin100 to help the charity they are setting up.

Quoting here:

Hi

I've been helping a friend set up a new website to help victims of domestic violence to talk about their stories anonymously. A lot of victims are isolated, afraid to talk about the abuse and violence for fear of being blamed, that their children will be taken away, that they may not be taken seriously, or many many other reasons. This site aims to help people share stories and build a supportive community and improve understanding for professionals of the issues that victims face. The website is http://everydaydva.org.

I didn't really find too many answers on the bitcoin100.org about how the scheme works... so here are some questions. Sorry if there are answers on the forum but I find it fairly difficult to understand the scheme.

It is not a registered charity, but a bank account for the organisation is being set up. It is also based in the UK. Does this count as eligible? What other conditions are there? If bitcoin can help the organisation it would be amazing and could change the lives of the many silent and suffering victims of domestic violence, it would be totally amazing

Thanks

Alex

Discuss?

Damn, I wish it wasn't so new and was registered as an NPO there in the UK. Otherwise, on the overall surface it seems legit.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

From a marketing standpoint, I've been having a very difficult time redefining the 100 aspect of Bitcoin 100. At the onset, it made perfect sense, but no longer.

Can we brainstorm to the nth degree to come up with what the 100 could mean so that years down the road it wouldn't once again lose its meaning?

I've just been telling people that it's 100 people/members pledging to donate a combines $1,000. It's not 100 people any more, though...

Actually, the 100 was more in reference to the donating 100BTC aspect regardless if there were 42 or 314 members.

[Rassah]

From a marketing standpoint, I've been having a very difficult time redefining the 100 aspect of Bitcoin 100. At the onset, it made perfect sense, but no longer.

Can we brainstorm to the nth degree to come up with what the 100 could mean so that years down the road it wouldn't once again lose its meaning?

I've just been telling people that it's 100 people/members pledging to donate a combines $1,000. It's not 100 people any more, though...

Actually, the 100 was more in reference to the donating 100BTC aspect regardless if there were 42 or 314 members.

I thought it was "100 people donating 1 bitcoin each / 100 people donating 100 bitcoins total?"

[Peter Lambert]

I guess you could say that the Bitcoin100 is at least 100 people committing to donate bitcoin.

[tom.hashemi]

Or you could make the aim to get 100 charities using Bitcoin every year?

(I think the 2014 aim of having every charity using Bitcoin might be a little ambitious!)

[TitanBTC]

....

From a marketing standpoint, I've been having a very difficult time redefining the 100 aspect of Bitcoin 100. At the onset, it made perfect sense, but no longer.

Can we brainstorm to the nth degree to come up with what the 100 could mean so that years down the road it wouldn't once again lose its meaning?

The most powerful marketing tool you have is a good story.  There nothing wrong with "outgrowing" a name when it means you were more successful than expected.  Here's a quick example of what I'm talking about.

"Bitcoin100 started off with humble beginnings.  We set out to raise what, at the time, seemed like a daunting amount of 100 Bitcoins.  As the project picked up steam though, we learned that the community behind bitcoins is much more generous than we would have ever imagined.  We've smashed our original goal of raising 100 BTC and to date, we've donated more than "X" dollars to charities in need.  There's no slow down in sight, either.  Bitcoin100 is a powerful evidence of how bitcoins are the currency for a new generation, a generation that wants to fundamentally change the world."

The goal is obviously to effectively communicate that bitcoin, and the Bitcoin100, is bigger than the technology that runs the protocol.  It's growing faster than even its core members (That's you Phinnaeus) can predict.  Everyday people are excited by big, growing movements and are liable to donate just to be a part of the Bitcoin100 movement if you can portray a sense of "organic" and "bigger than we ever expected".  

The "100" MEANS growth beyond our imagination.

[Rassah]

I was contacted by a friend regarding this charity http://ibme.info/

Here was the short pitch:

Please meet my good friend Jessie Morey. She's the awesome director of a nonprofit that teaches meditation skills to teens to improve emotion-regulation and self-esteem, among other things. It's called Inward Bound Mindfulness Education.

It basically sounds like the new field of "mindfullness" education that is being discussed for use in schools, that teaches kids how to think, focus/concentrate, manage emotions, and understand others (this was briefly covered in my MBA curriculum, too btw). I would support it, since "learning how to manage your own thoughts and emotions" is a valued skill, but I'm concerned some here may associate this with "hippy stuff." Anyway, let me know what you guys thing, and whether we should pursue them to add Bitcoin as a donation option.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

I was contacted by a friend regarding this charity http://ibme.info/

Here was the short pitch:

Please meet my good friend Jessie Morey. She's the awesome director of a nonprofit that teaches meditation skills to teens to improve emotion-regulation and self-esteem, among other things. It's called Inward Bound Mindfulness Education.

It basically sounds like the new field of "mindfullness" education that is being discussed for use in schools, that teaches kids how to think, focus/concentrate, manage emotions, and understand others (this was briefly covered in my MBA curriculum, too btw). I would support it, since "learning how to manage your own thoughts and emotions" is a valued skill, but I'm concerned some here may associate this with "hippy stuff." Anyway, let me know what you guys thing, and whether we should pursue them to add Bitcoin as a donation option.

Think New Age, oppose to Hippy. That said, how many times did Satoshi Nakamoto use the word "Karma"?

[Phinnaeus Gage]

....

From a marketing standpoint, I've been having a very difficult time redefining the 100 aspect of Bitcoin 100. At the onset, it made perfect sense, but no longer.

Can we brainstorm to the nth degree to come up with what the 100 could mean so that years down the road it wouldn't once again lose its meaning?

The most powerful marketing tool you have is a good story.  There nothing wrong with "outgrowing" a name when it means you were more successful than expected.  Here's a quick example of what I'm talking about.

"Bitcoin100 started off with humble beginnings.  We set out to raise what, at the time, seemed like a daunting amount of 100 Bitcoins.  As the project picked up steam though, we learned that the community behind bitcoins is much more generous than we would have ever imagined.  We've smashed our original goal of raising 100 BTC and to date, we've donated more than "X" dollars to charities in need.  There's no slow down in sight, either.  Bitcoin100 is a powerful evidence of how bitcoins are the currency for a new generation, a generation that wants to fundamentally change the world."

The goal is obviously to effectively communicate that bitcoin, and the Bitcoin100, is bigger than the technology that runs the protocol.  It's growing faster than even its core members (That's you Phinnaeus) can predict.  Everyday people are excited by big, growing movements and are liable to donate just to be a part of the Bitcoin100 movement if you can portray a sense of "organic" and "bigger than we ever expected".  

The "100" MEANS growth beyond our imagination.

Damn, that's well-written, albeit I was thinkin' more in line of 100% (e.g.) as in all NPOs now are able to retain 100% of all funds donated, never having to pay a processing fee ever again.

If somebody on the other side of the globe donates $1,000 to a non-profit, the entire sum is deposited into their banking institute if/when they convert. But if the NPO desires to use the funds to purchase online products and services they are already buying, they would do such from a master list where they would not be paying 100% retail, but only 90% or less of what others pay.

An example of that last part would be if the NPO needs folding chairs and they normally sell for $30 each, the NPO is able to obtain them for no more than $27 each. And, what if Bitcoin 100 provided the affiliate link, enabling us to earn only a 1% fee?

The chair company is really not out 10%, due to margins and creative tax filings. The NPO retains 100% of all donations regardless of what they do with them, with the exception of converting the bitcoins for less than what was donated. The NPO has at least 10% more purchasing power.

The above paragraph is what I envision for the next level of Bitcoin 100, acting as a portal, of sorts.

I'm not sure if you all are aware of it or not, but Tony's sister of BitPay has started up a Bitcoin-base charity: http://www.coindesk.com/bitgive-and-songs-of-love-charities-accept-donations-in-bitcoin/

I also think it's just about time to start thinking about Bitcoin 100 becoming a 501c3 organization. Does anybody know what it cost to do such or what it curtails?

[SeansOutpost]

Yes,

Having just had to go thru this process with Sean's Outpost, I can give some fairly recent information.

There is essentially three parts.

First, choosing the state to form the organization in and registering as a Non-Profit in that state. Total cost for this is cheap, less than $100

Second, Filing with the IRS for an EIN for the Organization (FREE WOOHOO!)

Third, Petitioning the IRS for charitable status (501c3) This is going to cost a little less than $900. It would be around $400, but Bitcoin100 has received more than $10,000 in donations for the past year, and it is likely we will receive more than $10k in the year to come.

The third part is the tricky part, there are a lot of questions that have to be answered and there is a fairly high rate of legitimate organizations being denied on the first pass over technicalities. Just in the bitcoin community, look to fr33aid. They were bounced back the first time and had to reapply.

There are service firms that ALL they do is process 501c3 applications for people. The cost is usually around $600, but they guarantee your status being granted. I have a personal issue that the process is so crap that these firms are even in existence, but...they do serve a purpose.

Hope that helps some.

Jason

[Rassah]

Think New Age, oppose to Hippy. That said, how many times did Satoshi Nakamoto use the word "Karma"?

It's actually not new age at all. Think psychology and psychiatry, mixed with Spock from Star Trek. Not so much "Everybody feel good!" as "I understand myself, and i am in complete control." There's a new movement to apply things we have learned in psychology as a curriculum to teach kids things we pretty much always improvised through before. Such as to make sound decisions and control their emotions under stress, read and understand other's emotions and expressions to better communicate (or manipulate), manage your emotions or feelings so as not to feel depressed when you are fighting through difficulty, etc. I'm not entirely sure if that's what this charity promotes, but I think it's a very useful skill that will make kids who have gone through the program rather considerable opponents in business compared to those who go on their gut, and freak out in hysterics when things don't go right. Honestly, based on what they covered and taught in a part of that MBA class I took, that possible future generation somewhat scares and intimidates me 

[Rassah]

100 is binary for 4. So, maybe Bitcoin100 could be the Bitcoin 4: myself, Bruno, Edd, and Jason? Though we would have to not let anyone else join  
Just kidding..

Bitcoin100 didn't raise more than $10k. I think we raised something like $5k in donations. Maybe more, but not $10k. Bitcoin rise in value has just been very good to us.

Personally, I wouldn't want to bother with the 501c status. On the one hand it *might* get us more donations from people wanting to donate for tax deduction purposes. On the other hand, that would mean more costs, more fees, more paperwork for donations and IRS filings, and I think generally goes against what I think is the spirit of Bitcoin and this group, which is that it transcends governments. People from all over the world are donating bitcoins. And we do our job without relying on any bank or official organization "allowing" us to send money to charities. Why should we limit ourselves to a specific country, and force all our records and filings into a specific currency? Plus, I would have to keep record of every Bitcoin we receive in it's USD price at the time we got it, in order to file proper tax revenue filings. Sure, it's also extra work I'd really rather not bog myself down with, especially since I don't think it's needed, but really, my main objection is the one above.

[SeansOutpost]

100 is binary for 4. So, maybe Bitcoin100 could be the Bitcoin 4: myself, Bruno, Edd, and Jason? Though we would have to not let anyone else join 
Just kissing..

Bitcoin100 didn't raise more than $10k. I think we raised something like $5k in donations. Maybe more, but not $10k. Bitcoin raise in value has just been very good to us.

Personally, I wouldn't want to bother with the 501c status. On the one hand it *might* get us more donations from people wanting to donate for tax deduction purposes. On the other hand, that would mean most costs, more fees, for paperwork for donations and IRS filings, and I think generally goes against what I think is the spirit of Bitcoin and this group, which is that it transcends governments. People from all over the world are donating bitcoins. And we do our job without relying on any bank or official organization "allowing" us to send money to charities. Why should we limit ourselves to a specific country, and force all out records and filings into a specific currency? Plus, I would have to keep record of every Bitcoin we receive in it's USD price at the time we got it, in order to file proper tax revenue filings. Sure, it's also extra work I'd really rather not bog myself down with, especially since I don't think it's needed, but really, my main objection is the one above.

I'm with Rassah on this. I think the benefits to "officially organizing" this don't outweigh the cons. It is a LOT more paperwork overhead.

[Rassah]

Frankie, my MBA classmate who also somewhat got into Bitcoin, is the one who has been making contacts with charities recently, after we met at the Alumni gala this past Friday, and I told him about Bitcoin100. So far, these are the charities he has e-mailed. We need to figure out if we should pursue these to get them to accept bitcoin or not:

Dmitry,

Please meet my good friend Jessie Morey. She's the awesome director of a nonprofit that teaches meditation skills to teens to improve emotion-regulation and self-esteem, among other things. It's called Inward Bound Mindfulness Education.

I told Jessie a bit about BitCoin100 and your work to connect donors and charities. She's quite tech-savvy -- she was one of the pioneers of wiki sites as a student at Dartmouth -- but IBME is not yet accepting BitCoins on its donations page. I'm sure she'll be interested in hearing your story. I know they can make a big difference with $1,000.

Enthusiastically,

Frankie

Dmitry,

Please meet my good friend Tami. She's the director of the North Carolina-based Abundance Foundation, a non-profit that focuses on hands-on sustainability education. They hold events to promote local foods, renewable fuels and sustainable agriculture, among other things. Tami is quite forward-thinking as far as tech goes-- she and her husband once ran a successful open source software company called Tarus. However, Abundance does not yet accept BitCoins as donations.

Tami is awesome and I know she could do a lot of good with $1,000.

Enthusiastically,

Frankie

Dmitry,

Please meet my friend Amy. She's the founder of the Primate Education Network, a young nonprofit dedicated to supporting teachers to save endangered monkeys, apes, chimps and the like around the world. PEN creates classroom training tools and resources to increase compassion and protection for primates in their natural habitats. Amy has spent much of her career working in Africa with great apes (gorillas?) and did a stint at the National Zoo. She's awesome and I know $1,000 would make a big difference to her.

Enthusiastically,

Frankie

Dmitry,

I contacted my friend Phil, the Executive Director of Greenpeace, about getting Greenpeace hooked up with BitCoin100. I worked for Phil in my first job out of college, back in 2001 when he had a small solar-focused startup called PowerShift. He suggested Gala Goodwin is the right person to connect with at Greenpeace. She's cc'ed.

Gala,

Nice to meet you! I'm not sure if Phil told you anything, but please meet my friend Dmitry. He's the founder of BitCoin100; we went to business school together. Dmitry's BitCoin100 project connects donors with charities who agree to accept BitCoins as a currency for donations; as incentive, BitCoin100 rewards them with $1,000 worth. I know Greenpeace could do some great work with that money.

Enthusiastically,

Frankie

Note, I did not expect this, though it's welcome. We'll have to decide on whether these qualify, and get some feedback from our donors to see if they have any objections (I suspect some might). Also, I corrected him in that Bruno is the founder, and I just sort of took over.

[Rassah]

Ooh, and another one!

Dmitry,

Please meet my friend Edan-- he's on the board of a nonprofit called ByteBack that is dedicated to providing computer training to low income residents of Washington D.C. to improve their economic opportunities. Also cc'ed is ByteBack's development director, Cristina Moscoso.

Cristina,

My friend Dmitry runs a project called BitCoin100 that connects donors with charities that agree to accept BitCoins as a currency on their donations page. As an incentive, BitCoin100 donates $1,000 worth to the selected charity. Check out their site and let Dmitry know if you have any questions.

Good luck,

Frankie

I'll have to wait till I get home to review all of these. Bruno, since I know you're never busy with anything  feel free to check these out and let me know what you think, too.

[SeansOutpost]

Frankie, my MBA classmate who also somewhat got into Bitcoin, is the one who has been making contacts with charities recently, after we met at the Alumni gala this past Friday, and I told him about Bitcoin100. So far, these are the charities he has e-mailed. We need to figure out if we should pursue these to get them to accept bitcoin or not:

Dmitry,

Please meet my good friend Jessie Morey. She's the awesome director of a nonprofit that teaches meditation skills to teens to improve emotion-regulation and self-esteem, among other things. It's called Inward Bound Mindfulness Education.

I told Jessie a bit about BitCoin100 and your work to connect donors and charities. She's quite tech-savvy -- she was one of the pioneers of wiki sites as a student at Dartmouth -- but IBME is not yet accepting BitCoins on its donations page. I'm sure she'll be interested in hearing your story. I know they can make a big difference with $1,000.

Enthusiastically,

Frankie

Dmitry,

Please meet my good friend Tami. She's the director of the North Carolina-based Abundance Foundation, a non-profit that focuses on hands-on sustainability education. They hold events to promote local foods, renewable fuels and sustainable agriculture, among other things. Tami is quite forward-thinking as far as tech goes-- she and her husband once ran a successful open source software company called Tarus. However, Abundance does not yet accept BitCoins as donations.

Tami is awesome and I know she could do a lot of good with $1,000.

Enthusiastically,

Frankie

Dmitry,

Please meet my friend Amy. She's the founder of the Primate Education Network, a young nonprofit dedicated to supporting teachers to save endangered monkeys, apes, chimps and the like around the world. PEN creates classroom training tools and resources to increase compassion and protection for primates in their natural habitats. Amy has spent much of her career working in Africa with great apes (gorillas?) and did a stint at the National Zoo. She's awesome and I know $1,000 would make a big difference to her.

Enthusiastically,

Frankie

Dmitry,

I contacted my friend Phil, the Executive Director of Greenpeace, about getting Greenpeace hooked up with BitCoin100. I worked for Phil in my first job out of college, back in 2001 when he had a small solar-focused startup called PowerShift. He suggested Gala Goodwin is the right person to connect with at Greenpeace. She's cc'ed.

Gala,

Nice to meet you! I'm not sure if Phil told you anything, but please meet my friend Dmitry. He's the founder of BitCoin100; we went to business school together. Dmitry's BitCoin100 project connects donors with charities who agree to accept BitCoins as a currency for donations; as incentive, BitCoin100 rewards them with $1,000 worth. I know Greenpeace could do some great work with that money.

Enthusiastically,

Frankie

Note, I did not expect this, though it's welcome. We'll have to decide on whether these qualify, and get some feedback from our donors to see if they have any objections (I suspect some might). Also, I corrected him in that Bruno is the founder, and I just sort of took over.

All of these seem like great places to support. I'm down for the whole lot.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

100 is binary for 4. So, maybe Bitcoin100 could be the Bitcoin 4: myself, Bruno, Edd, and Jason? Though we would have to not let anyone else join 
Just kissing..

Bitcoin100 didn't raise more than $10k. I think we raised something like $5k in donations. Maybe more, but not $10k. Bitcoin raise in value has just been very good to us.

Personally, I wouldn't want to bother with the 501c status. On the one hand it *might* get us more donations from people wanting to donate for tax deduction purposes. On the other hand, that would mean most costs, more fees, for paperwork for donations and IRS filings, and I think generally goes against what I think is the spirit of Bitcoin and this group, which is that it transcends governments. People from all over the world are donating bitcoins. And we do our job without relying on any bank or official organization "allowing" us to send money to charities. Why should we limit ourselves to a specific country, and force all out records and filings into a specific currency? Plus, I would have to keep record of every Bitcoin we receive in it's USD price at the time we got it, in order to file proper tax revenue filings. Sure, it's also extra work I'd really rather not bog myself down with, especially since I don't think it's needed, but really, my main objection is the one above.

I'm with Rassah on this. I think the benefits to "officially organizing" this don't outweigh the cons. It is a LOT more paperwork overhead.

I'll concur!

Now, I'm going to take the time to review all the suggestions submitted to Rassah.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

Please meet my good friend Jessie Morey. She's the awesome director of a nonprofit that teaches meditation skills to teens to improve emotion-regulation and self-esteem, among other things. It's called [urlhttp://ibme.info/=]Inward Bound Mindfulness Education[/url].

No Brainer! YES from me.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

Dmitry,

Please meet my good friend Tami. She's the director of the North Carolina-based Abundance Foundation, a non-profit that focuses on hands-on sustainability education. They hold events to promote local foods, renewable fuels and sustainable agriculture, among other things. Tami is quite forward-thinking as far as tech goes-- she and her husband once ran a successful open source software company called Tarus. However, Abundance does not yet accept BitCoins as donations.

Tami is awesome and I know she could do a lot of good with $1,000.

Enthusiastically,

Frankie

Another No-Brainer: And another YES from me.