Much like Bitcoin, BitHope is primarily two things:

1) A a website - BitHope.org and

2) A legal entity (a Foundation).

The BitHope Foundation is the first Bulgarian non-governmental organization (NGO) in the public benefit that uses ONLY cryptocurrency to accumulate funds for the campaigns that are hosted on the BitHope.org platform. What the Foundation and the platform do is actually convert your bitcoins into tangible good for the people, animals, and the environment.

The BitHope Foundation provides you with a place in the virtual ocean, where you can find a cause that you personally can associate with and help fund it, using the fairest form of money that ever existed. With your help we will support established NGOs in their efforts to promote their causes internationally and accumulate additional funding for their charitable initiatives. Also, the Foundation will encourage businesses in the nascent Bitcoin industry to divert small amounts of their bitcoin profits to socially valuable causes and, thus, help improve the image of cryptocurrencies worldwide.

Bitcoin is a great way to express your compassion no matter who and where you are. Bitcoin does not discriminate on the basis of borders, religion, race, gender or social status, much like love and hope.

Cryptocurrencies are slowly proving that they are the best form of money that has been created by the human intellect. Here is why:

1) They are based on open-source software. Anyone with the technical skills to do so can look into the very heart of the Bitcoin protocol and understand the logic behind its functioning. Much like your computer, your smartphone or your car, you can take it apart and find out how it works. However, if you want to change something, you will need the approval of at least 51% of the people that support it (the so called “miners”).

2) They are decentralized. Unlike traditional currencies, a transfer of funds between two Bitcoin addresses is not confirmed (or “cleared”) by a centralized institution (like a Bank, for example). Bitcoin transfers are approved by whomever finds the next block (the newest part of the “blockchain”) and subsequently further confirmed by all Bitcoin nodes in the network.

3) No access restrictions. Anyone can join and use the Bitcoin network – all you have to do is download a Bitcoin wallet. The Bitcoin network does not need your personal information; it does not care about your financial status, or your credit history. It is absolutely neutral.

4) Very low or even no transfer fees. You can send amounts lower than an EU cent to larger than millions of Euros with the same or no transfer fee at all. Fees speed up the confirmation of your transaction by rewarding the miners and are usually in the range of 0.0001 – 0.0005 bitcoins or 0.02 – 0.1 Euro cents (at a price of 200 EUR/BTC).

5) No downtime. Bitcoin is 24/7/365 and the Bitcoin network is always functioning. You can initiate a transfer at any time.

6) Fast transfers. No matter when you initiate a transfer, the receiving side will see it coming almost immediately (Bitcoin wallet initiated transfer). Depending on the fee included and the type of Bitcoin wallet, it should take no more than an hour for the funds to become usable by the recipient.

7) Transparency. Although a Bitcoin address can be connected to a specific person only if that person announces it in some way (ex. posts it on his/her website or includes it in the signature of his/her forum account), the balance and transactions history of ANY Bitcoin address can be checked at ANY time by exploring the Bitcoin blockchain.

8) Limited supply and forgery protection. Bitcoin is not a renewable resource. Only 21 million bitcoins will be created according to the Bitcoin protocol, and the inflation is fully predictable. It is not possible to “print” new bitcoins or create forgeries.

The high level of transparency, neutrality, low transaction fees even for small amounts and fast transfers make cryptocurrencies exceptionally convenient for donations, no matter where you are. Learn more about Bitcoin by reading this 101 piece.

The BitHope Foundation is the first non-governmental organization in the public benefit (NGO) in Bulgaria, registered according to Art. 33 of the Law on Nonprofit Legal Entities (LNLE), that accepts ONLY cryptocurrencies to fund the initiatives that are hosted on the BitHope.org website. The primary goals of the Foundation, according to its Founding Act, are:

1) To support and promote the development of international donation activity through the use of decentralized store of value technologies;

2) To promote the public image of decentralized store of value technologies;

3) To be engaged in social activities by supporting citizens and initiatives in need of funding.

We are a fully transparent NGO and are subject to the reporting obligations, included in Article 46 of the LNLE. In accordance with Art. 45 (3) of the same Law, the Foundation is included in the Central Register of Nonprofit Legal Entities in the Public Benefit of Bulgaria.

In addition, in compliance with Article 3 (2) of the Law on Measures against Money Laundering, the BitHope Foundation has developed and applies Internal Rules, approved by the State Agency for National Security, with the aim to prevent possible laundering of illegally acquired assets. For more information, you can look at our AML Policy.

The BitHope Foundation is also an administrator of personal data, registered with the Commission for Personal Data Protection.

For more detailed legal information regarding the BitHope Foundation please refer to the documentation below.

No less than 95% of all generated funds go to the final beneficiary.

Much like Bitcoin, we are honest and transparent. Each campaign announced on the BitHope.org website is provided with a brand new and unique Bitcoin address stored in “cold” state that acts like a virtual donation box. Thanks to the amazing characteristics of cryptocurrency anyone can check the balance and transaction history of that address (a transparent donation box), but only the BitHope Foundation has access to them.

With your kind support there will be numerous incoming transactions. However, there will be only one outgoing transaction. Once the campaign has finished, there will be a single outgoing transaction - the one that is directed towards the final beneficiary (we hope that will be the case in the near future) or is send towards an exchange (Kraken), where it will be converted to fiat currency.

We believe that until cryptocurrencies become more widespread, we will have to provide the final beneficiary with fiat currency. Nonetheless, we will never assume – beneficiaries will indicate their preference for Crypto or fiat in the contract we sign and before we upload their initiative on the website.

The BitHope Foundation can help local charities promote their campaigns internationally, receive bitcoin donations and improve the image of cryptocurrencies ONLY if it is able to sustain itself. We ask for up to 5% of all donated funds, so that we can cover our expenses related to administration, hosting, marketing and staff.

If the generated funds after the completion of a campaign are under 50 Euro bitcoin equivalent, we will provide the beneficiary with 100% of the funds. We are fully self-funded and any donations to one of our campaigns (excluding the ones in the "External" category) or directly to the BitHope Foundation are greatly appreciated!

Fully in line with our goal of full transparency in the “Completed campaigns” section (on the “Campaigns” page) we will provide detailed information about all generated funds, the BTC price at which the bitcoins were sold, the amount of generated fiat funds, any taxes paid in the process of delivering the funds to the final beneficiary, and the amount that allows us to support our mission. The statements will be supported by original documentation and will be available for your consideration.

Since we use blockchain services provided by BlockCypher (payment forwarding), a fee of 10 000 statoshis is added to each transfer going to any of our campaigns, initiated using donate Option 1 (BitPay payment style). 10 000 satoshis are equal to 0.03 USD for an exchange rate of 265 USD/BTC. The tax is collected by the bitcoin miners who support the Bitcoin network. We have not included any other automated bitcoin fees.

All of the members of the Foundation’s team have donated funds to campaigns that they associate with. We understand that such acts may deprive you from enjoying certain good or service for the sake of people or causes that are geographically distant from you. We know that getting detailed feedback on how those funds were spent and what difference they made is essential. You decided to trade some of your personal well-being to provide hope to someone else and you fully deserve to know how you helped.

We take upon the responsibility to provide you with this important information. By exploring the “Completed Campaigns” page (under “Campaigns”), you can find out how your donations supported a specific cause. In other words – how your bitcoins were converted into hope.

The BitHope Foundation works with established non-governmental organizations that have demonstrated their professionalism and integrity. Our primary partner in the process of selecting campaigns is the Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law (BCNL). In 2010 BCNL founded the Bulgarian NGOs Information Portal (ngobg.info), which is currently the most popular NGO dedicated website, hosting the largest and most detailed NGO database in Bulgaria. Since its establishment ngobg.info has proven itself to be the forum of choice for members of the civil society, media, NGOs and volunteer enthusiasts.

BCNL and ngobg.info have established connections with all NGOs in Bulgaria and have accumulated valuable experience that is instrumental to the activities of the BitHope Foundation.