Dignitas International: Bitcoin Holds Promise for Non-Profits

With the initiative, Dignitas hopes to reach a whole new pool of donors for whom bitcoin technology can help pass these incremental savings on to life-changing projects in the region.

" people who want to fully integrate bitcoin into their daily lives - including their charitable giving," Connelly said.

Non-profits who have already taken the plunge have witnessed a generous response from the bitcoin community, just this week Wikipedia received over $140,000 in bitcoin in its first seven days of accepting the digital currency.

Although payment processors Coinbase and BitPay have waived fees for non-profits in the US, Dignitas, which is headquartered in Toronto, uses Canadian exchange Virtex to convert the bitcoin it receives into Canadian dollars.

Connelly says Dignitas plans to treat bitcoin donors like those who pay by cash or credit card.

In order to receive a tax receipt, bitcoiners can opt to disclose their personal information, including their email, name and location, which the charity will keep on file.

Though bitcoin usage on the continent remains low, it holds a promising target market for bitcoin services like 37Coins, a universally-compatible SMS bitcoin wallet, as well as bitcoin remittance platforms like BitPesa.

The relationship between bitcoin and charity doesn't stop at donations and payments.

Researchers are also investigating how the bitcoin network's cumulative computing power can be harnessed for scientific purposes.

"The charitable sector has the most to gain from technologies like bitcoin [] We've just started to scratch the surface of what it can help us achieve."