Ripple cryptocurrency fully funds all projects on DonorsChoose
Howard Lake | 29 March 2018 | News
Cryptocurrency company Ripple has donated $29 million to DonorsChoose.org, the education crowdfunding website, fully funding all of the projects that were listed on the website.
By completely funding all 35,000 crowdfunding campaigns in one go, Ripple’s gift was expected to benefit around one million students and teachers in about one in six of all public schools in the USA.
Ripple is the third largest alternative currency behind Bitcoin and Ethereum.
SEE ALSO: Pineapple Fund sees anonymous donor give away $86m in Bitcoin
It made the gift in its token-based payment system, XRP, with a total value of $29 million.
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Today is #BestSchoolDay, and @Ripple has kicked things off in style:
Last night, they gave an incredible $29 MILLION to fully fund every single classroom project on our site. Join the celebration: https://t.co/D48nFuwz3O pic.twitter.com/n2HqMLMAxq— DonorsChoose (@DonorsChoose) March 28, 2018
Record-breaking cryptocurrency gift
Ripple’s $29 million gift is:
- the largest donation that DonorsChoose.org has received
- the largest reported donation of cryptocurrency to an individual charity
It was announced on The Late Show by Stephen Colbert, a member of the DonorsChoose.org Board of Directors:
https://www.facebook.com/DonorsChoose/videos/1365698766908204/
#BestSchoolDay
Ripple’s announcement of the donation on its blog included a comment that the company hoped that its donation would inspire others to donate and support new crowdfunding campaigns on DonorsChoose.
“You can join us by contributing to the new projects that teachers are already creating on DonorsChoose.org. As part of the #BestSchoolDay campaign, you can give to teachers and students within your community, where you grew up or just because they inspire you.
The announcement was made using the #BestSchoolDay hashtag. This was then used by the many teachers who found out that their campaigns had been fully funded and wished to share their thanks and delight.
In turn, DonorsChoose.org is setting up a fund to allocate resources to teachers who are new to using the crowdfunding platform.
CRAZY! @Ripple just FULLY FUNDED EVERY SINGLE PROJECT on @DonorsChoose $29,000,000 – I am feeling SO blessed right now! My 2 projects were fully funded along with a bunch of my colleagues! #BestSchoolDay https://t.co/ltnaqxt3Gy Thank you for supporting teachers & their classrooms pic.twitter.com/VGOaW2W6ik
— Melissa Smith (@mrssmithingr3) March 28, 2018
DonorsChoose.org was founded in 2000 by a high school teacher in the Bronx. It enables public school teachers from across the country to request much-needed materials and experiences for their students.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.