GREAT JUNCTION Colo. (KREX)—

Cryptocurrency has been a popular option among a small portion of the internet population for years. Now, Grand Junction’s Hopewest is taking it mainstream by becoming the first national hospice organization to accept crypto donations.

Debbie Horwitz, Hopewest’s director of development, says she’s been contacted by other nonprofits wanting to know how they can do the same. She’s excited to see the idea take off and, more importantly, to provide more donation options for donors. According to Debbie, 46% of crypto owners have given at least $1,000 in donations.

Though the timing wasn’t ideal, the organization took the necessary steps to make sure everything was properly set up. “It took a while to set everything up. Right. Policies. So when we started the process, cryptocurrency was working very well. And then the day we released it, the day before we released it, FDX imploded.” But they were assured that even though cryptocurrency is dormant right now, they’re not taking any risks. “Once we have all the policies and everything in place, there really isn’t much risk. It took time and effort to get to this point. But in no way, we are not putting ourselves or our donors at risk in any way, shape or form.”

Within a week of launch, Hopewest received their first crypto donation and they’re just getting started. The organization has also added a Venmo option for donations and anticipate adding Apple Pay in the coming year.