Sun Valley is among a growing number of churches across America that are accepting online donations in cryptocurrencies, USA Today wrote. They are following the example of NPOs, which also started accepting cryptocurrency donations in the past year.
Some church leaders find this makes it easier for young people to make donations. Mika Casey, Sun Valley’s lead director of digital strategies, said:
We are just trying to keep up with the way people prefer to give, and with younger people, they don’t really carry cash. We want to be accommodating to ways that people are transacting.
Sun Valley has been accepting donations through electronic checks or debit and credit cards online for years. Now, it’s adding crypto to its payment methods. The church has stopped passing offering plates because of pandemic-related health issues. It now livestreams services using professional-grade cameras,
Crypto not without critics
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has called Bitcoin “worthless.” His sentiment is joined by Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who drew an analogy between the crypto market and Wild West.
Still, are digital offerings the new thing?
Cryptocurrencies have gone mainstream. Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence took his signing bonus in cryptocurrency. The mayor of New York pledged to take his first three paychecks in Bitcoin.
Quite a few churches encourage their members to give 10% of their incomes, but very few do. The site Church Development reports just 5% donate that amount. However, almost 50% of all church donations are made with a debit or credit card. Almost two-thirds of churchgoers said they were willing to give digitally in a survey.
Stephen Ballard, a former licensed investment broker and the cofounder of OnlineGiving.org, says about 35 of the churches he services accept donations in crypto. He adds that organizations that accept cryptocurrency are opening themselves up to younger people who might want to give cyber wealth away:
I’ve talked to guys in their 30s who are crypto millionaires. They bought the stuff and held it or bought and sold through the years. Less than eight years ago, bitcoin was under $1,000. Now, it’s over $60,000.
His company, which is based in South Carolina, will accept bitcoins, Litecoin, Dash, and Dogecoin for churches.
Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $68,513 last week. According to CoinGecko, the total crypto market cap has reached $3.1 trillion.
