Bitcoin Charity Sends Free Software Foundation $1 Million Donation
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has recently received a 91.45 BTC (roughly $1 million) donation from the anonymous founder of the Pineapple Fund, a bitcoin charity set to donate a total of 5,057 BTC, at press time worth about $54 million, to various organizations.
The Free Software Foundation, per its website, is a nonprofit organization that aims to promote computer user freedom, by defending the rights of all software users. The foundation promotes the freedom to study the code, distribute, create, and modify computer software. This essentially gives users control, instead of leaving them subject to the whim of those who create the software they use.
The Free Software Foundation’s bitcoin address shows that, over time, it has received over 1,080 BTC. The organization has been accepting the cryptocurrency since May 2011, and started accepting Litecoin in 2013.
The Pineapple Fund, per its website was created by an anonymous donor who got into bitcoin when the flagship cryptocurrency was in the single digits. This means he or she now has an incredibly large amount of money, and decided to support various organizations.
The fund is currently matching any donations sent to MAPS, an organization supporting research for treatments for mental illness, and to the Erowid Center, an educational organization providing free information on psychoactive plants and drugs. Donations sent to MAPS will be matched up to $4 million, while donations sent to the Erowid Center will be matched up to $250,000 until March 10.
The Pineapple Fund has Already Donated $34 Million
The donor behind the Pineapple Fund, known as “Pine,” has notably already donated over $34 million to 41 organizations. All of the donations are sent in BTC, which brings the tax advantage of sending the full amount, without being assessed capital gains taxes. Pine does not take any tax deductions for the donations.
Pine has in the past revealed that there are three main considerations for supporting a charity. These are how impactful their work is, what innovation they provide, and their efficiency, size, and sustainability.
Some of its donations include $1 million to the Water Project, which provides clean water to people in Sub-Saharan Africa, $5 million to a basic income experiment that will help rural Kenyans trapped in extreme poverty, and $1 million to the Internet Archive, a non-profit created to build an Internet library.
The Pineapple Fund has also donated to organizations to support universal health care, research and treatments for aging, education for disadvantaged children worldwide, and to provide stable housing worldwide. On Reddit, Pine has stated that people who want to donate to charity should do so.
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