Blockchain-based Giga Giving to fundraise through an ICO
Howard Lake | 6 October 2017 | News
Giga Giving, a blockchain-based giving and fundraising platform, is to start fundraising next month through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) to implement its plans.
Based on the GC token or altcoin, Giga Giving’s founders aim to create “a platform that revolutionises charitable giving”.
US-based Giga Giving is building a platform which will provide “a new way to make donations, conduct charitable campaigns and fundraisers, all in a completely transparent and publicly accountable way”. In addition, it will offer “a new way to connect people and their donations to those who need them with fewer transactions, less cost, and less complexity.”
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Its founders see the blockchain method of recording and guaranteeing the integrity of information as a way of helping charities run fundraising and giving in a fully transparent and accountable manner. In addition it can lead to less complexity and help to reduce costs.
In particular they see it as a tool to reduce charity fraud, and educate donors in how and where their donations are spent.
In terms of fundraising tools, they say that their platform will act asa ‘matchmaking’ platform between donors and causes, and help facilitate peer-to-peer giving, employee giving and corporate giving.
Giga Giving has published a whitepaper to outline its plans for the platform, and its international development.
Giga Giving ICO opens on 15 November
The organisation’s five-week Initial Coin Offering runs from 15 November (12pm EST) to 20 December 2017 (11.59 EST).
There is no pre-sale, as in some other ICOs, but there are “early participation bonuses”. If you invest in the first week of the sale 1 ETH (Etherium) will buy 625 GCs, whereas if you invest in the fifth week 1 ETH will buy 200 GCs.
Giga Giving, and other blockchain start-ups, could of course have turned to traditional funding or even crowdfunding options to generate this initial funding. But by using a Smart Contract ICO it is using the blockchain to demonstrate its effectiveness and “to provide fully transparent funding”.
To take part in the ICO you need to create a Token Compatible Ethereum Wallet, and then fund that wallet with Ethereum. After you establish and fund your ERC20 compatible wallet, you send Ether to the Giga Giving ICO address. Tokens are then issued to your ERC20 compatible wallet.
All income from the ICO will be used to “cover the costs of developing and launching” the Giga Giving Platform.
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority issued a statement last month regarding ICO’s, advising: “You should only invest in an ICO project if you are an experienced investor, confident in the quality of the ICO project itself (e.g. business plan, technology, people involved) and prepared to lose your entire stake.”
WATCH: Buying Giga coins
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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.