My First Bitcoin (MFB) Receives $1M Grant From #startsmall to Advance Independent Bitcoin (BTC) Education

In a positive development for open-source education, non-profit organization My First Bitcoin (MFB) has received a major donation from #starsmall to advance independent Bitcoin (BTC) education around the globe.

Non-profit organization My First Bitcoin (MFB) has received a major donation from #startsmall to advance independent Bitcoin (BTC) education around the globe.

The non-profit can continue serving “grassroots Bitcoin education initiatives worldwide,” thanks to the $1 million grant from Jack Dorsey’s grantmaking initiative, which was announced on Tuesday.

My First Bitcoin, also known as Mi Primer Bitcoin, was launched in El Salvador in 2021. The organization has been focused on BTC education across the world, including various programs and its Bitcoin Educators Unconference to bring enthusiasts and industry figures together.

As announced, the grant will help MFB accelerate its work to create and distribute “free and open-source Bitcoin education materials and infrastructure,” improving the existing resources, including the Bitcoin Diploma, the BTC intro Course, and the teacher training workshops.

Moreover, it will help the organization scale its digital platforms, such as its Online School and Community hub.

In early 2022, the non-profit launched its BTC Diploma program to facilitate BTC education on different topics, like fiat money, Bitcoin’s history, and the challenges of the flagship crypto’s multiple facets.

The program has become successful, reaching tens of thousands of students in El Salvador in the last four years. The 2023 workbook has also been translated into 23 languages and independently taught from South America to Asia.

MFB has also been working with El Salvador’s Ministry of Education to promote adoption and financial empowerment in the country, aiming to introduce the Bitcoin diploma curriculum to the country’s public educational system in 2024.

In 2023, it also launched the Independent Bitcoin Educators Node Network, aiming to provide a space for people to join MFB’s mission. The network, which spans over 65 projects from more than 35 countries, is now self-governing, but receives support from the non-profit organization.

In their Education Manifesto, MFB notes that the education system of the fiat world “has been corrupted and abused,” with a broken incentive structure. On the contrary, the funding of Bitcoin education must be transparent, independent, impartial, community-led, and decentralized.

As such, MFB considers #startsmall’s grant a “huge win” for Bitcoin and independent Bitcoin Education as it will enable them to “serve the global community better than ever before.” The organization also pledges to continue serving the community while working “for the public. In public.”

The founder and Executive Director of MFB, John Dennehy, asserts that “the revolution of Bitcoin education is that it teaches students HOW to think, not WHAT to think,” adding that “funding from sources with their own incentives is the greatest vulnerability that threatens that.”

Dennehy further notes that “the subtle influence of funding has ruined fiat education and we need to create alternative models for the revolution of Bitcoin education to realize its full potential.”

Meanwhile, the Director of Communications of MFB, Arnold Hubach, says that “open-source money deserves open-source education. Over the past few years, we’ve seen growing demand for our resources around the world, and we remain committed to serving everyone in the Bitcoin space who needs support.”

He adds that the funding will enable MFB to “plan further into the future and continue being the first-stop provider of free educational tools.”