Blockchain-based nonprofit Endaoment has announced the launch of the Basic Needs Fund, a collaborative effort that aims to bring housing, water and food to critically underserved and marginalized communities around the world. Together with Feed the Children, charity: water and New Story, Endaoment will utilize its groundbreaking fundraising platform to harness crypto assets and have a long-lasting, tangible impact on the people, families and communities that need it most.
With a goal of raising $300,000, the fund will positively impact nearly 10,000 lives by building homes, water projects, and providing meals and services to those in most need.
charity: water funds sustainable water projects in areas of greatest need and works with local partners to implement them and to employ a wide range of solutions to ensure that the needs of each community they serve are met.
“At charity: water, we often talk about how water is the spark that changes everything,” said Scott Harrison, Founder and CEO of charity: water. “And by collaborating with our friends at New Story, Feed the Children, and Endaoment on the Basic Needs Fund, we're taking that one step further to ensure that communities have access to all three of life's necessities.”
Feed the Children is a leading nonprofit focused on alleviating childhood hunger both in the U.S. and internationally. It is dedicated to helping families and communities achieve stable lives and to reducing the need for help tomorrow, while providing food and resources to help them today.
“Hunger and food insecurity are often invisible,” said Travis Arnold, Feed the Children president and CEO. “We rarely know what someone else is going through, which is why we need to take care of our neighbors. Feed the Children is thankful for the support from Endaoment and is excited to partner with charity: water and New Story as we tackle the important issue of childhood hunger.”
New Story is a Y-Combinator backed nonprofit, working to build homes for vulnerable families in Latin America. Since 2015, they constructed 38 communities and more than 2,500 homes across four countries, impacting more than 14,000 lives.
“Our global problems are too big for one team to solve alone and too complex to rely on traditional solutions,” said Brett Hagler, New Story co-founder and CEO. “I’m proud to team up with Endaoment, charity: water and Feed the Children to address the food, water and housing crisis with innovative solutions like crypto.”
The new collaboration highlights the growing role of the decentralized finance community in supporting philanthropic endeavors. “We believe in a world where every human has access to food, water, and shelter.” said Endaoment CEO, Robbie Heeger. “The Basic Needs Fund is leveraging your generosity to make that world possible.”
Endaoment launched in October 2020 to create a decentralized philanthropic institution that manages and encourages the charitable giving of cryptocurrencies, which now have a combined market capitalization of more than $2 trillion. As the first 501(c)(3) built entirely on the Ethereum blockchain, Endaoment leverages smart contract technology to facilitate efficient, transparent, tax-deductible donations of more than 150 cryptocurrencies and other digital assets like NFTs to any compliant US nonprofit.
Endaoment issued over 355 grants to 243 different organizations in its first year of operation, demonstrating the efficiency and transparency of its smart contract powered giving platform. Notable grantees include but are not limited to: Committee to Protect Journalists, Carbonfund.Org Foundation, Cancer Research Institute, Asperger/Autism Network, Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research Education & Conservation, and Asian Americans United. Currently, Endaoment has six active Public Community Funds which support a wide range of causes, including climate justice, journalistic integrity, the Black LBGTQ+ community, and the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
About Endaoment
Endaoment is a California Public Benefit Corporation based in San Francisco, federally tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3). Endaoment serves as the decentralized finance industry’s Community Foundation. Endaoment provides Donor-Advised Funds through its web application and will also steward a Community Endowment Fund powered by a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). By creating a robust Community Foundation entity for the DeFi industry, Endaoment hopes to encourage the charitable giving of cryptocurrencies and the adoption of cryptocurrency technologies by nonprofit organizations. For more information visit endaoment.org.
About charity: water
Nearly 1 in 10 people worldwide -- or 771 million people -- live without clean water. The majority live in isolated rural areas and spend hours every day walking to collect water for their family. Not only does walking for water keep children out of school or take up time that parents could be using to earn money, but the water often carries diseases that can make everyone sick. In fact, diseases from dirty water kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Access to clean water means education, income and health -- especially for women and kids. Since 2006, charity: water has funded 91,414 water projects serving 14.76 million people. Here at charity: water, there are a few things that make us different: 100% of public donations fund clean water projects, we prove every project we build, and we work with strong local partners to build and maintain projects. To learn more visit charitywater.org.
About New Story
New Story is a Y Combinator-backed nonprofit building homes for vulnerable families in Latin America. The team has built 38 thriving communities in its first seven years, impacting more than 14,000 people with safe housing. Investing heavily in R&D, New Story believes in bringing groundbreaking technologies to families who need them most. From a human-centered design curriculum to 3D printing to micro-mortgage loans, each innovative solution is shared with other teams tackling homelessness so more families can access safe housing. To learn more, go to newstorycharity.org.