Pat Duffy co-founded The Giving Block in 2018, in partnership with Alex Wilson. The organization is a donation solution for nonprofit organizations that wish to fundraise cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin, for their respective missions. When Bitcoin’s price surged in late 2017, Duffy and Wilson discovered that cryptocurrencies were taxed the same way as stocks, which means that crypto donations made to nonprofits did not incur capital gains tax on appreciated cryptocurrency.
The Giving Block started as a consultancy that aimed to educate nonprofits about cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. In 2019, they created a crypto equivalent of “Giving Tuesday” called “Bitcoin Tuesday,” and soon began to raise around $50,000 per day for various nonprofits. Years later, they have successfully raised over $1 million through various cryptocurrencies.
Duffy is currently managing director at BlockShop DC, a Washington, D.C.-based events space and workshop dedicated to building blockchain solutions. Before getting into blockchain, though, Duffy had an interesting start in another field: pharmaceuticals. He has years of experience working as a consultant in various pharmaceutical companies, where he focused mainly on collaborative efforts with nonprofits. Duffy’s experience in working with nonprofits encouraged him to shift to the nonprofit sector. He was the integration director for the Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. before he decided to focus full-time on The Giving Block.
The Giving Block started the year strong with a partnership with crypto exchange Gemini, announced early in 2021. The crypto exchange platform developed a way for its users to donate cryptocurrencies to more than 130 nonprofits through The Giving Block.
The feature, called “Give Back With Crypto,” gave users access to donation options for various charities, such as The Hunger Project, Water Wells for Africa, the American Cancer Society and more. The Giving Block launched the “Crypto Giving Pledge” in April 2021. Encouraged by the initiative, cryptocurrency companies were asked to contribute 1% of their revenue to charity. This, according to Duffy, would “generate a ton of money for amazing causes in critical need of this support.”
Late 2021 also saw the $16 billion charitable platform provider RenPSG partner with The Giving Block by allowing charities to accept over 45 different cryptocurrencies. “[The Giving Block] is taking another step towards making #CryptoPhilanthropy a worldwide phenomenon,” the company shared on Twitter.
Another notable initiative was the organization’s newly-launched crypto donation service for high-value donors. Launched in December 2021, the service is tailored for high-net-worth individuals wishing to donate large amounts of crypto. According to Duffy, the service allows donors to “quickly and securely give large gifts to their favorite charities while reducing their tax bill.”
NFT Paris recently announced on Twitter that they raised and gave away $38,000 total to The Giving Block and two other charities. Funds were raised via a charity auction among NFT artists and collectors.
The Giving Block also co-hosted a free virtual conference for nonprofits and charities titled #Empower2022, with the goal of empowering organizations via knowledge about cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and relevant tools to help them achieve their goals. Alex Wilson, the co-founder of The Giving Block, was one of the speakers at the event.
Duffy has not been active lately on Twitter, which suggests he’s working behind the scenes at The Giving Block, creating new partnerships with various organizations and cementing existing ones in a bid to encourage people to donate. As such, The Giving Block is expected to expand their reach in 2022, which will likely become another landmark year in terms of the organization’s mission.
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