OAK LAWN, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A southwest suburban children’s museum said it’s the first children’s museum in the country to start accepting cryptocurrency donations.
“I came across an article on cryptocurrency and something just clicked and I started looking into it,” said Adam Woodworth, executive director of the Children’s Museum in Oak Lawn.
It was after a financially tough 2020 for the museum.
He saw other non-profits were accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency as donations and, within 24 hours of the museum starting to accept crypto, got its first such donation.
“It was bitcoin, and translated into, I think, $35.”
Woodworth said the museum will not hang on to the cryptocurrency as an investment. It’s automatically converted into US Dollars.
“We’re accepting it as a donation mechanism, just like we would accept a stock donation or a vehicle donation. We don’t hold those, either. Non-profits, typically, don’t," he said.
“A couple of people have asked, “Well, are you going to start taking it at the gate for admissions?” We’re like, no, not yet.”
Woodworth said other children’s museums from around the country have been asking how to go about taking cryptocurrency donations.
“There was one in the San Francisco area that reached out to me. There was one in the Nebraska area. They’re from all over the country. Texas. I’ve gotten about five or six phone calls," he said.
Related
