Skip to content
Satnam SatoshiIn service of humanityFind your place ↗
Menu

Sikh Bitcoin · Beginner · Lesson 17 of 21

Donations with accountable purpose

Follow a contribution without exposing the people it serves.

About 10 minutes with practice. You only need something to take notes with. No real wallet details or payments are part of this lesson.

Course contents · Lesson 17 of 21
  1. Bitcoin without jargon
  2. Keys, custody and keeping control
  3. Payments for humans, including Lightning
  4. Money, prices and units
  5. Follow a payment from request to receipt
  6. Addresses, networks and QR codes
  7. Confirmations and patience
  8. Fees buy scarce block space
  9. Backups before dependence
  10. Scams, urgency and trusted routes
  11. Privacy is a practice
  12. Custody is a relationship
  13. Reading a Lightning invoice
  14. Exchanges and access to bitcoin
  15. Volatility and practical planning
  16. A fair invoice for creative work
  17. Donations with accountable purpose
  18. Proof of work and honest energy questions
  19. Bitcoin and Litecoin: related ideas, separate networks
  20. Read Bitcoin news with a source trail
  21. Capstone: welcome a newcomer safely

What you will learn

  • Distinguish received, restricted and spent funds.
  • Recognize the limits of a public address balance.

Start with a real recipient and purpose

A donation page should identify the accountable beneficiary, intended use and verified receiving method. A community story is not evidence of control over an address. Nor does an address copied from an unrelated wallet establish a valid receiving setup. The sender needs enough information to understand whom they support and what the project actually promises.

Receipt is not impact

A transaction can support a claim that funds arrived. It does not prove that ingredients were bought or meals served. A useful report connects receipts, approved expenses and outcomes while keeping sensitive details private. Restricted donations need separate treatment from general operating support. A large public address balance can include unrelated funds, change outputs or obligations that the viewer cannot see.

Publish what helps people check

For a fictional meal pilot, show the approved budget, aggregate receipts, spending categories, remaining restricted balance and corrections. Do not expose guests’ identities to create an impression of transparency. Donation recognition should be optional. Avoid promising a tax deduction, refund entitlement or legal status without the relevant established basis. Human stewards control spending; an agent may help reconcile redacted records but cannot convert a donor’s intent into a new mandate.

Practice on paper

A program receives 100,000 sats restricted to ingredients and spends 60,000 on approved ingredients. A designer asks to use the remaining amount. What should the report and steward say?

Reveal the worked answer

The report shows 40,000 sats remaining for the restricted purpose, before any separately recorded fees. The steward cannot silently redirect it; the purpose and applicable agreement govern what happens next.

Check your understanding

Choose an answer in your head or on paper, then reveal the explanation. Retry whenever you like. Answers are not submitted or scored; completion marks are your own learning notes.

1. Does an address balance prove meals were delivered?

  • Yes
  • No
Reveal answer 1

No. Financial and service evidence are separate.

2. Should a guest disclose a wallet to receive food?

  • Yes
  • No
Reveal answer 2

No. Access to a free meal must not depend on financial surveillance.

Take this with you

Make the purpose and accounts checkable without turning service into surveillance.

Your learning, at your pace

Read every lesson freely. Optional progress tracking needs JavaScript and browser storage; it does not require an account or wallet.