Ripple, a blockchain and digital assets firm headquartered in San Francisco, opened up the first dedicated office last year in Washington D.C. for the blockchain industry to spearhead government and regulatory affairs. As COVID-19 hit the Bay Area in 2020, Ripple has been an early mover as well in generously donating funds to key nonprofits such as Tipping Point that serves the low-income population in the Bay area.
Ripple donated $1.1 million to the COVID-19 emergency fund of Bay Area nonprofit Tipping Point and $100,000 to the COVID-19 emergency fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF). Together, Chris Larsen and Ripple donated $1 million each to five local SF food banks — Alameda County Community Food Bank, Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen, Samaritan House, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank and Second Harvest of Silicon Valley.
Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple
“We recognize it will take everybody including the taxpayers, NGOs, the public sector, but also the corporate sector so we are trying to out-punch our weight” states Ripple’s Head of Social Impact Ken Weber. Ripple for Good started two years ago as an umbrella effort to formalize their social impact initiatives. Weber stated, “It is part of how Chris Larsen and Ripple employees have always looked at efforts to support the community from a grassroots perspective.”
Tipping Point, a non-profit based in San Francisco, looks to break the cycle in the Bay Area for the 1.7 million people who don’t have resources to meet their basic needs, is focused on how to provide emergency support for those living in or on the edge of poverty in San Francisco and is looking to raise $30 million.
Governor Gavin Newsom (D) of California spoke at a Tipping Point community call, where Ripple participated and donated $1.1 million toward Tipping Point’s goal in helping the Bay Area during COVID-19. Newsom stated how there was simply not enough help at the federal or state level to handle a pandemic of this size and, “…that’s where we could really use your help,” stated Gov. Newsom to the Tipping Point community.
Tipping Point welcomes Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) of California to one of its events where it … [+]
No Fees For Ripple Customers During COVID-19
Ripple seeks to speed up transactions around the world and transform global payments with digital assets. As described on the www.ripple.com website, “Faster, less costly, and more scalable than any other digital asset, XRP and the XRP Ledger are used to power innovative technology across the payments space…Ripple is focused on building technology to help unleash new utility for XRP and transform global payments.” Indeed, outside of its own backyard in the SF Bay Area, Ripple, in partnership with its select customers, is also waiving transaction fees to help ease the economic impact of COVID-19 for its customers.
With individuals hit hard around the world and facing the challenges that already exist in transferring money, Ripple seeks to make this all a little easier. Campaign customers are waiving fees during COVID-19 and include TransferGo and RationalFX/Xendpay. Xendpay notes on Twitter, “Xendpay and Ripple have partnered to waive transaction fees to help ease the impact of COVID-19 for UK #KeyWorkers.” is offering free transactions on its platform to move money during COVID-19, for key workers such as doctors, police, nurses, and firefighters in the United Kingdom.
Xendpay and Ripple partnered to waive transactions to help ease the impact of COVID-19 for UK key … [+]
“We’re excited to partner with Ripple on such a fantastic initiative to help ease the financial impact of COVID-19 for the key workers who work night and day to protect us. These key workers deserve our collective support, which is why Xendpay is waiving transaction fees for the time being using Ripple’s technology,” stated Bhavin Vaghela, Global Head of Strategic Partnerships at Xendpay.
Early Detection Of COVID-19 Pandemic Fallout
According to Weber, Ripple’s fight against COVID-19 began months ago and he describes how the efforts of his company started early on. “Our business is global … we very quickly decided we would donate in the Bay Area but also make contributions to organizations that were responding to COVID-19 internationally,” stated Weber. Ripple has made international donations to the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Foundation and Doctors Without Borders.
Weber went on to note that when you have a strong network of non-profit partnerships, and you listen carefully to what is happening, whether it is a weather event or a pandemic, you have the opportunity to make a difference for those who will likely suffer most due to income inequality, particularly in the Bay area.
In addition to its own efforts as a firm, Ripple For Good has also partnered with Binance Charity and Helen Hai on their efforts with the Crypto Against COVID campaign. “We admire what they’re doing to leverage blockchain and digital assets to provide resources and funds in underserved countries and we’ll continue to partner with them,” stated Weber.
As a member of the overall ecosystem in San Francisco when the pains have hit this community so hard, Ripple has dedicated funds in a way to see that those already facing the hardships of poverty can have life be a little easier during COVID-19. And, while its heart may always be in San Francisco, Ripple intends as a global firm to ensure it supports international efforts as well.