Tony Hawk is a skateboarding legend and a pioneer in the crypto philanthropy space. He is a vocal supporter, donating Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to charities that accept crypto donations.
Tony Hawk was nine years old when his brother changed his life by giving him a skateboard. By fourteen he’d turned pro, and by sixteen he was widely considered the best skateboarder on earth.
Motivated by emails from worried parents whose children faced arrests because they didn’t have a place to skate in legally, the Tony Hawk Foundation was established, later renamed The Skatepark Project to better recognise the work it does. The project has built over 700 skateparks across the USA and in low-income communities around the world. It has provided grants totalling more than $10 million. The skateparks currently serve over 6-million kids annually.
In 2019, the Skatepark Project began accepting Bitcoin donations but Hawk also donates crypto currency to other charities, such as the Water Project, which provides clean water to people in developing countries. Hawk, believes that Bitcoin can contribute to financial equality and enable direct assistance to those in need. He has taken the Crypto Giving Pledge, which is a yearly commitment to donate one percent of your crypto holdings to charity. He isn't the only crypto philanthropist, in 2022, $69 million was donated via The Giving Block, who claim:
"If every user today gave away one percent of their crypto (based on a $2T market cap), charities would receive $20 billion in crypto donations."
It's reported that Fidelity Charitable, the largest grantmaker in the United States, received $274 million in cryptocurrency donations since early 2021, smashing through the 2017 record of $69 million. Their research found, investors who have donated cryptocurrency to charity were driven both by the tax benefits of their donations and by a desire to do good. Two-thirds say they wanted to do something good with their cryptocurrency, while 54% mention tax benefits.
Driven by his passion and in an interview with the Independent, Hawk said about his philanthropic work:
“With this program, we are engaging these kids — not only to advocate for a skatepark for their use but also to realize that their voices can matter, that they can effect change,” Hawk said.
Hawk's crypto philanthropy is inspiring others crypto holders to get involved. More and more people are donating Bitcoin and to charities, and this is helping to make a real difference in the world. You can find a list of charities that accept crypto donations at thegivingblock.com/donate.
