Cryptocurrency & Philanthropy: Hearts & Homes’ Early Adoption of Innovation
Cryptocurrency and crypto philanthropy is a powerful and exciting space to be in and to follow.
For Hearts & Homes for Refugees, crypto philanthropy fueled our nonprofit vision with a donation of BTC ($100,000) from the anonymous Pineapple Fund in 2018.
The Pineapple Fund’s donation was organization-altering and the nascent welcoming movement was inspired by the faith of one anonymous donor and an overwhelming number of people who wanted to be part of welcoming refugees. Hearts & Homes has been able to build a deeply rooted grassroots welcoming movement by tapping into the energy and goodwill of thousands of volunteers and supporters.
In 2020, we began our partnership with Pat and Alex at The Giving Block, an organization that provides nonprofits with the crypto technology to further their mission. By providing the tools to allow for crypto donations and building a charitable movement surrounding crypto giving, they opened the door to an entire realm of untapped donors and philanthropy. Beyond building a platform to bring more funding to nonprofits, they amplify our voice throughout the crypto community and empower our organization to channel our mission towards achieving impact. With millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies flowing between charitable causes, and many nonprofits lacking the technology to harness such donations, The Giving Block stepped in as the solution for nonprofits that wished to tap into the crypto-charity revolution.
When the pandemic pushed many of our vulnerable families into precarious positions, Hearts & Homes had to adapt to meet critical needs and evolve in response to the time. We transformed change and uncertainty into innovative change and exponential impact. The Giving Block’s approach and perspective helped convey the message that with each donation to Hearts & Homes crypto donors would be contributing to our growth and fueling our mission to build more welcoming communities for our new refugee neighbors. When new technology and innovation are embraced the opportunities are infinite.
Our first year as a fledgling organization turned quickly into 4 years under anti-refugee policies, to a global wide pandemic and now the crisis in Afghanistan. Hearts & Homes has known nothing but resilience and the urgency to adapt.
Today, more than 70,000 Afghan refugees need homes and help to start new lives. 40,000 refugees have left the U.S. bases where they first arrived and are resettling across the country, many in a variety of temporary situations. The government is planning to complete processing of 30,000 more refugees in the next several weeks. For the Afghan refugees Community Sponsors find and furnish homes, cover some of the rent, groceries, utilities, assist with enrollment in social services, navigate families through medical and emotional support needs, ESOL support, employment guidance and networking, and more. Our commitment of up to one year of financial support and the hundreds of hours of wrap-around support wanes throughout the first year as employment income makes the path to independence more likely. It costs anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 to resettle a family, depending on factors such as family size, rent, employability, language readiness and more.
In the last five months, we have launched the most active support and resettlement of refugees since our start in 2016. We are energizing and building more welcomers so that we can offer our Afghan allies safe, new beginnings here in our communities. Hearts & Homes is leading Community Sponsored resettlement of refugees in the Lower Hudson Valley. We have already resettled the first 25 Afghan refugees, and there are more in the pipeline heading to the Lower Hudson Valley in the coming weeks and year.
As we round the corner on end-of-year giving we have a goal to raise $10,000 in crypto donations, before the new year, so we can address the immediate needs for these new arrivals. With the continued support of crypto donors, we aim to see at least 200 refugees resettled in the next 12 months in the Lower Hudson Valley.
So far this year we have seen the crypto community stand up to support the welcoming of our new neighbors through the donation of $40,000 from six different cryptocurrencies. But in 2022, we want to make cryptocurrency a part of our organizational structure. The crypto community’s belief in our vision of harnessing the energy of and investing in the people of goodwill at the grassroots has helped build our foundation, and now we look to them to continue as a part of our ever-growing structural future. We are grateful to crypto donors who believe in the power of people of goodwill who are raising their hands to welcome our Afghan allies.
2022 will be a year unlike any other for refugee resettlement. We look forward to deepening our welcoming roots within the crypto community for years to come, as the growth of crypto philanthropy proves how Hearts & Homes can make a difference in this crisis and in the lives of each new neighbor we resettle. As proponents of the mysteries and innovations of cryptocurrency, you understand audacious and forward-thinking vision.
Join us in ours.
Message to Pine, wherever you are: I hope you know that your belief in our vision of harnessing the energy of and investing in the people of goodwill at the grassroots level could shift the paradigm of refugee resettlement has become a reality.
Kathie O’Callaghan | Founder