Binance Charity’s Mission to Achieve Greater Transparency in Philanthropy
Binance Charity Foundation (BCF) is committed to achieving 100% transparency in philanthropy. With blockchain technology, we are redefining the charitable giving process and ensuring 100% of all donations are distributed directly to the hands of those in need.
In this post, we explain Binance Charity’s commitment to using blockchain for social good and to achieve global sustainable development goals, outline Binance Charity’s on-chain, transparent donation tracking process, and give full disclosure of what we’ve achieved by now.
Why We Need Blockchain-Based Charities
Traditional charities often face challenges due to a lack of transparency and accountability. Scandals involving misuse of charity funds is a common phenomenon, hampering the public's faith in charitable organizations and in turn, reducing the community’s willingness to donate to charities.
Using blockchain technology to facilitate charitable donations (also known as blockchain philanthropy) is a solution which we believe addresses many of the issues facing charitable organizations today.
As part of the Binance ecosystem, Binance Charity aspire to give back to the community and empower people through blockchain-based philanthropy. All operation costs of Binance Charity are covered by Binance, so we can ensure that we deliver on our promise to distribute 100% of all donations to charity projects and end beneficiaries.
Commitments vs. Donations
One question we often receive is: “Why is the donation amount shown on the Binance Charity website different from what was announced in the news?”
This is because donors can choose to commit certain amounts first, then donate gradually over time to their preferred projects.
Here’s an example to showcase this.
On January 1, 2019, Company A committed to donate the equivalent to 5 million USD in cryptocurrencies to Binance Charity.
Company A is not required to send all of the committed funds in one donation. Instead, Company A may choose to donate 1 million USD worth of cryptocurrencies in 2019, and donate the rest of the 4 million USD in future years.
The Binance Charity website will only show the amount that the wallet has already received. Therefore, in 2019, the website will only show 1 million USD in crypto donations, not the full 5 million commitment. The public can check any donation record (blockchain Txid) on Binance Charity to see the actual amount donated, instead of what has been claimed.
Our Donation and Fund Allocation Process
Crypto and bitcoin donations recorded on the blockchain are fully traceable and unchangeable. The immutable nature of blockchain and distributed ledger technology allows all stakeholders, from donor to end beneficiary, to know exactly where the funds are coming from––and where the funds are going.
For Binance Charity, any donor can view, research and select the charitable crypto donation projects they would like to donate to, and make donations cryptocurrency accordingly. We currently support Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and BNB on the Binance Charity platform.
Donations from individual donors are recorded on the Binance Charity projects pages, under the “Donation Records” tab for each charitable project receiving the donation.
For institutional donors, there are two phases for donations:
1. Commitment Phase
2. Donation Phase
During the initial Commitment Phase, institutional donors will work with Binance Charity to confirm their commitments (in cryptocurrency or fiat) and sign a donation agreement. It is during this phase that we may see donors announcing large commitments publicly via social media and in their communities. However, these funds often do not get transferred into the Binance Charity wallet during the Commitment Phase and will not show on the Binance Charity website immediately.
In the next Donation Phase, institutional donors can allocate all or a portion of their committed funds to their preferred crypto charity project(s). The moment each donation enters the Binance Charity system, it is displayed transparently and tracked on the blockchain.
(Note: The Binance Charity website only reflects the funds that have been successfully donated, and does not include the total commitments received from donors.)
As the Binance Charity platform was launched only nine months ago, we understand there is room for improvement on our donation process. We are working hard to constantly improve our operations, and we welcome constructive feedback to help us ensure all stakeholders are satisfied with the transparency and results of Binance Charity.
Navigating the Binance Charity Website
On the Binance Charity projects page, you’ll find the Binance Charity Wallet, which is designed for donors who prefer Binance Charity to distribute funds accordingly to projects and beneficiaries who are most in need. Below the Wallet is a list of charitable projects accepting donations, as well as previously concluded projects.
At the top of each project’s page, a graphic shows the current status of donations and allocations, including the donation amount received in BTC and the amount that has been distributed so far to the end beneficiaries. Some donations are pending to be allocated in the future.
We are actively searching for more qualified recipients and charitable organizations to support around the world, and encourage the community to reach out to us at bcf@binance.charity with suggestions.
Under the “Donation Records” tab, all donation records are listed. By clicking on the Txid link, you’ll reach the BNB Chain blockchain explorer and see the exact amount and time of the transaction tracked on the blockchain.
Under the “Allocation Records” tab are all of the allocation records to the end beneficiaries. Again, the Txid is the way to see the transaction on the blockchain.
Note: Only transactions that are successfully processed and verified on the blockchain are valid. Donation/allocation records are updated only after transactions are on the blockchain. Sometimes there is a delay, which can be misleading, but remember: the information in each transaction that is made on the blockchain can never be tampered with. Feel free to click on the “Txid” button to do a deep research on how the donation comes and goes on blockchain.
In any case, if you send donations to Binance Charity and don’t see the record reflected on our website, please contact us at bcf@binance.charity.
Operational Costs of Binance Charity
All operational costs of Binance Charity Foundation are covered by Binance. Operational costs include: development, maintenance and improvements of the blockchain-based Binance Charity platform; on-the-ground operations in Uganda, Malta and other locations of our charitable projects; travel, expenses and salaries of Binance Charity staff; educational programs and outreach to charitable organizations, and more.
Binance Charity operational costs will amount to approximately 1.126 million USD each year. We expect this amount to increase as the scale of charitable projects increases in the future. Binance will continue to cover this cost in full.
Binance Charity’s Commitment
At Binance, we strongly believe in giving back to the society. We are committed to transforming and addressing globally pressing issues at the grassroots level through blockchain technology. We believe that the immutable, transparent and censorship resistant nature of blockchain can truly redefine charity and help us toward achieving global sustainable development goals.
(Part of the $3 million donation from TRON, $245,000, was transferred to 22,282 BNB at the exchange rate then and had been donated to charity projects. The rest of the donation, $2.755 million will be transferred into cryptocurrency and donated into charity projects in the future. As to what project specifically, we respect TRON’s decision.)
BCF has initiated 6 projects/initiations including:
1. Empower Bududa, saving the landslide disaster victims in Uganda;
2. L-Istrina Campaign, providing financial, material and professional support to terminally ill patients, the disabled and disadvantaged demographics;
3. Binance for Children, including Lunch for Children, providing African children with LED screens, and giving African children stationary;
4. ALS ‘Voice your love’, offering medical supply for those who suffer from ALS;
5. Rebuild Notre Dame, helping restore the Notre Dame;
6. Pink Care Token Project, helping young women in Africa in need of better feminine care.
All are listed on BCF website. The Empower Bududa project, the Binance for Children project and the Pink Care Token Project are three long-term projects that are currently in the process.
As of July 29th, 2019, BCF has passed 12,298.1 BNB, 3,427.2 PAX and 2.03 BTC to the end beneficiaries, in which 3,983.75 BNB is from Binance as partial fulfillment of the original commitment and the rest is from institutions, crypto project teams and the public. Binance will continue to put in donation as well as efforts to push crypto-philanthropy to the next level.
Since the BCF was founded, we have received thousands of donations from all around the world and we have passed them to over 60 thousand end beneficiaries. We are always thankful for the support.
(Institutions and crypto projects that have donated to BCF: TRON, Ripple, BabelFinance, IOST, Bloq, Zcoin, crypto.com, Mars Blockchain Group, Arrington Capital, WINk, Mithril, Machi X, Aelf, EMURGO, Blockseed Ventures, Earth Protocol, Sora Ventures, Contentos, DENT, Tally Capital, 8 Decimal Capital, KIZUNA, Primitive Ventures, Paxful, IoTeX, Certik, Pundi X, Matic Network, Harmony, Quantstamp, BLOC Platform, Celer, StormX, GXchain, Orichal, Enjin, Quarkchain, Ultrain, Fetch.AI, AID:Tech, Nebulas, Fintech4Good, VeChain, V Systems, Blockshine Technology, VeriBlock, BitGuild, Shuttle Holdings, Casperlabs, Eristica, DLT101, Cobo.)
Binance Charity is committed to raising the bar for charity and transparency in philanthropy worldwide. In CZ’s own words, there is no competition when it comes to charity, and we are just doing our part to give back. We encourage more organizations to explore blockchain-based charitable giving and will continue to improve our process to bring meaningful change to the lives of millions around the world.