English Heritage, a UK charity that provides the country with access to over 400 historical sites, buildings, monuments and places, has recently announced that it will be partnering with Blockchain charity platform, Giftcoin.
The charity utilizes donations to maintain historical assets such as Stonehenge and Hadrian’s Wall.
The partnership comes at a time when the charity sector has experienced a steady decline in public trust. While technological innovations have been boosting capital in practically every other industry, the charity sector has fallen behind. Millennials especially just don’t seem to have confidence in an industry that has had scathing media coverage of improper practice, damaging commercial partnerships and a lack of transparency when it comes down to seeing how donations are distributed.
Open and honest via the blockchain
Those few points are just the tip of the iceberg, and yet again blockchain technology finds itself in the position of providing a solution.
The charity received roughly GBP 2.5 million in donations in 2015/2016 and is setting out to be self-funded by 2023. On their website, they carefully lay out how they intend to distribute present and future funds and now with Giftcoin, English Heritage can communicate openly with donors, showing them exactly where the money goes and how the funds will be spent.
English Heritage isn’t the only charity to be working with Giftcoin, a technology that makes it possible for any user to browse through the ledger that is owned and maintained by all the users of the system.
Being paired with the Giftcoin platform or another charity-focused blockchain solution or cryptocurrency means that a charity can give their donors confidence in knowing that funds donated will be used for the exact reasons that the charity has stated.
Luke Purser, development director at English Heritage, said in an interview with CityWire.co.uk:
“English Heritage cares for the places where England’s stories were forged and where they can be retold. To do this, we often use the latest technologies and so we’re pleased to see the new initiative from Giftcoin, which will help charities communicate to donors how and where their funds are being used. We hope this will be a great new way to raise more funds to support our important work.”
The reason blockchain technologies will be a staple in the future of charitable efforts is because it repairs a lost trust between donors and charities, especially the faith of the millennial generation.
Altruism is alive and well but donors want to be sure that their donations will not be used to cover overheads like staff wages, office rentals and printing leaflets. They want to see that the funds will be used as they are advertised to be.
One of the most treasured charities in the UK, English Heritage has taken the bold step forward into a blockchain future and it could prove to be a wholly positive move for the charity sector.
