12 April 2023, Manila, Philippines — A visionary entrepreneur is pioneering a crypto donation drive to help grassroots churches across the Philippines to begin accepting donations in the form of cryptocurrencies.
Jon Blaylock was the former Head of Marketing and Strategic Planning at Diamond Motor Corporation, one of the largest and most established distributors of Mitsubishi vehicles in the Philippines. Over the years, Blaylock has worn many hats, including being the frontman and manager of a UK-based punkrock band, the founder and CEO of a digital marketing agency, and most recently, the founder of a crypto private equity firm.
Prior to heading up marketing and strategic planning for Diamond Motors, Blaylock was the worship pastor for a church plant at Imperial College, London, collaborating with various NGOs and youth groups to support the youth and to effect positive change in society.
With a master’s in music business management and digital transformation, and an extensive background in non-profit fundraising and operations, Blaylock set out to establish Ophir, a fully decentralized cryptocurrency that utilizes the world’s first endowment smart contract on the blockchain to resource and educate grassroots churches across the Philippines and other developing countries around the world. It is named after the biblical land from which Solomon sourced the purest gold in the ancient world to build the Lord’s temple.
Being actively involved in both spaces, Blaylock saw new fundraising opportunities emerging from the cryptocurrency landscape. “There are many crypto communities around the world that are extremely passionate about helping those in need. We live in an abundant world. I firmly believe that the problem we have is not a resource problem, but a gatekeeping problem. By accepting crypto, these churches can have access to that abundance while connecting with the next generation of donors,” he said.
The initiative will involve an international cryptocurrency fundraising campaign to channel donations to the General Mariano Alvarez Fellowship of Christian Churches (GMAFEC), a non-profit based in Cavite, consisting of influential leaders who belong to church networks and para-church organizations with inroads to thousands of grassroots churches.
According to Blaylock, the donations will be used by GMAFEC to support the religious organization’s activities and to facilitate the education of thousands of churches which will also be receiving Ophir tokens as a free gift. Ophir’s community, which consists of an international team of experts, will help equip church leaders, members, and communities to raise awareness of crypto’s potential to fuel programs designed to address social and humanitarian causes and to teach them to leverage other exponential technologies in order to prepare their congregations and communities for the 4th industrial revolution.
Donors can send Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Ether (ETH), Smooth Love Potion (SLP), Hex (HEX), or Texan (TEXAN) to GMAFEC’s designated crypto wallet. They will also receive zero-value Ophir tokens as donation premiums which the market may ascribe value to once Ophir becomes tradeable.
Global churches and top nonprofits like the United Way Worldwide, Feeding America, and UNICEF are accepting crypto donations to grow their ministries and fund humanitarian aid. Crypto donations to Turkey’s earthquake relief efforts have reached over $9 million.
“Through the power of blockchain technology, galvanized communities can transcend barriers to financial inclusion, enabling access to the abundant resources that exist in our world. Ophir is unwavering in its commitment to unlocking this abundance and channeling it towards those who are most in need. The prospect of churches and other organizations embracing blockchain technology to amplify their impact is truly awe-inspiring, as the possibilities for positive change are literally boundless.” Blaylock said.
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