Northern charities can now get donations of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies
While many charities have been able to accept donations of stocks, bonds and other investments, now more they are taking gifts of cryptocurrency.
The fundraising website, CanadaHelps, is the latest to let people donate amounts of the world's two most popular digital coins, Bitcoin and Ethereum, to any charity registered on its site.
The website's acting CEO, Jane Ricciardelli said the move came about to encourage more young people to give to their favourite charities.There is a giving gap in Canada, and the majority of donations are coming from older donors,"
"We also identified that 18 to 24-year-olds, 24 percent of them own cryptocurrency. So, we saw this as an opportunity to offer a donation option for those who are owners of crypto."
The website converts the digital currency directly to Canadian dollars, and transfers the money to the chosen charity. The site takes a two to three percent cut of crypto donations and also charges fees for other forms of donation.
Many charities in northeastern Ontario, including the Timmins and District Hospital Foundation, stand to benefit from the new service which launched Wednesday.
Executive director, Jason Laneville, said his foundation has been thinking about setting up a crypto donation service as well, seeing this as another option to make charitable giving more convenient for people.
"If somebody walked into the foundation today and wanted to donate cryptocurrency, we're not set up for that. But it's something that we have to look to for the future," said Laneville.
"I think CanadaHelps is doing a good job of being an early adopter of this form of donation."
The website is among a handful of Canadian agencies to accept crypto donations. Others include the Canadian Red Cross, Pathways to Education, and Action Against Hunger Canada.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.