Turning Cash into Community Support

The International Day of Charity, which occurs annually on 5 September, recognises the role of charity in helping others.

Cash has been inextricably linked to giving for centuries, and today digital donations are rising in prominence, but there are less obvious ways in which banknotes and coins have benefitted charities.

Here, we provide some recent examples of the role of banknotes and coins in philanthropy through auctions, donations and other forms of fundraising.

Coins

Australia: to mark the 2020 International Day of Charity, the Royal Australian Mint launched the Donation Dollar - the world’s first legal tender currency designed to be donated, not spent. According to the Royal Australian Mint, if every Australian donates just one Donation Dollar each month, an additional $300 million will be raised for charity each year, and $9 billion over the coin’s lifetime. To date, it has already influenced an incremental $58 million in additional donations.