How the Best NGOs Are Leveraging Blockchain

The World Food Programme: Digital IDs & Efficient Aid

The UN's World Food Programme is an early adopter of blockchain and digital IDs. Their Building Blocks project provides undocumented refugees in Jordan's Azraq refugee camp with a digital identity, enabling them to access basic services and financial systems. The project allows Syrian refugees to cash in food vouchers at the supermarket by staring into a retina scanner, with transactions recorded on a private Ethereum-based blockchain. Because blockchain eliminates the need for WFP to pay banks to facilitate transactions, Building Blocks could save the WFP as much as $150,000 each month in bank fees in Jordan alone -- while also preventing fraudulent claims.

The Red Cross: Crypto for Economic Development

The Red Cross societies of Norway, Denmark, and Kenya launched a groundbreaking two-year blockchain initiative to tackle cash scarcity in Kenya's impoverished communities. These communities have goods and services to offer, but the lack of sufficient cash stifles motivation to produce more. The Red Cross payment solution allows crypto credits to be paid to villagers' mobile phones in exchange for goods or labour, with credits then spendable on local goods and services. Tested successfully in Kenya and Ethiopia, it's set to expand, potentially reaching over 320,000 users in other developing countries.

The World Wildlife Fund: Sustainable Supply Chains

Global supply chains are intricate and sprawling, involving countless producers, processors, and importers. The opaque nature of these chains can jeopardise a company's reputation and pose safety risks to consumers. The WWF launched a revolutionary digital platform called OpenSC that uses blockchain and other technologies to track food and products. WWF International Director General Marco Lambertini called it a game-changer, massively increasing transparency and accountability. The platform helps people and businesses avoid illegal, environmentally damaging, and unethical goods.

Unsustainable production of food and goods is a major driver of environmental damage and some of the worst supply chains remain rife with human rights issues. -- Marco Lambertini, WWF

Save the Children: Crypto Donations & Humanitarian Passports

Save the Children was the first major NGO to accept Bitcoin donations, launching the initiative in response to Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. They've raised over $7 million in crypto funds for vulnerable groups including children fleeing conflicts in Ukraine and Afghanistan, families suffering from hunger crises, and those impacted by climate disasters. Beyond fundraising, the concept of a humanitarian passport for emergency responders is also gaining traction -- an approved register of pre-vetted people with identity and qualifications registered on a blockchain, so they could reliably be called upon in emergencies.

UNICEF: Walking The Blockchain Talk

With a 75-year history spanning over 190 countries, UNICEF has identified blockchain as having potential benefits in three major ways: leveraging innovative financing models, increasing the efficiency and transparency of internal processes, and incentivising the creation of open-source digital public goods. In 2019, UNICEF launched the CryptoFund, allowing the organisation to receive, hold, and distribute donations in cryptocurrency with a shared public record. UNICEF Ventures has issued blockchain-verified certificates for drone operators in Kazakhstan. The Digicus project explores how smart contracts can provide transparency into spending while increasing internal efficiencies. The Atrium project fosters blockchain collaboration across UN agencies. And on UNICEF's 75th anniversary, they launched the UN's first NFT collection -- Patchwork Kingdoms -- to fund internet connectivity for schools.

• CryptoFund: Transparent cryptocurrency donations and investments
• Verified Certificates: Blockchain-registered credentials for emergency responders
• Digicus: Smart contracts for automated partner funding
• Atrium: Cross-UN blockchain innovation sandbox
• Patchwork Kingdoms: NFTs funding internet for 1 million schools

Conclusion

Blockchain is transforming the way NGOs operate, offering innovation, transparency, efficiency, and accountability. The Red Cross, UNICEF, WWF, and the World Food Programme are at the forefront of this shift, using blockchain to improve fundraising, streamline processes, and ensure aid reaches those who need it most. From digital IDs for refugees to transparent donation tracking, sustainable supply chains, and smart contract efficiencies, blockchain is becoming an important ally for NGOs taking on global challenges.