Lifeboat Foundation can’t explain where its crypto donations go

The Lifeboat Foundation is still claiming to be a government-sanctioned charity despite it still being unclear exactly what it does with the donations it receives.

The organization, which Protos covered all the way back in 2021, describes itself as a 501(c)3 charity but is best known in crypto circles for its donors, which include a host of important cryptocurrency advocates and founders such as Vitalik Buterin, Stuart Hoegner, and Charles Hoskinson.

While it’s not immediately obvious where the foundation’s donations go, it claims to be working on numerous shields for Earth (Nano Shield, Black Hole Shield, Asteroid Shield) along with a seed preserver and so-called ‘space habitats.’ Any proof of development on these hasn’t been shared publicly.

The foundation claims to be working on numerous shields for Earth.

Revocation and lies

Since 2020, the Lifeboat Foundation has been on the IRS auto-revocation list, meaning that it hasn’t filed the necessary documents with the IRS to ensure it can retain its tax-deductible status for donors. The last time any paperwork was filed by the entity was in 2016.

The foundation hasn’t filed the correct documents to ensure it can retain its tax-deductible status.

Despite this, the foundation states on its donation page that “All membership fees and other gifts are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.”

The Lifeboat Foundation still claims to have a bitcoin endowment fund, however, no one knows what happened to the millions of dollars in bitcoin and hundreds of thousands in other coins that were donated to the foundation. The cryptocurrency wallet addresses currently listed have nearly nothing in them.

There has been an increase in high-profile charity frauds since the COVID-19 pandemic, with the IRS warning donors about fake charities. If you’re thinking of donating to a charity but aren’t sure of the veracity of its claims or if it is a 501(c)3 please use the IRS’ tax-exempt organization search tool.

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Edit 17:30 UTC, Feb 1: Removed J. R. Willett from the list of Lifeboat Foundation donors. Willett says that despite being a member, he never donated to the foundation.