NGU Missions funded our second mission! Freedom Coaching. Well, a few months ago. I’m wary of posting this because charity in the spotlight can be awkward, but I will to showcase how funding charities and non-profits with bitcoin can work.
San Antonio-based, Freedom Coaching helps men and women break their attraction to pornography and unchaste behavior. Here’s how the multi-year, 1-million satoshi donation process went down.
Freedom Coaching
Connection request
Sep 5, 2024 - 1 BTC = 56,000 USD
My friend Saul is a Freedom Coach:
He sent me this message early September:
Hey, I’d like to connect you with our founder who would love to share with you about our vision, mission, and some of the amazing things that God is doing through this work. Would you be open to me introducing you to him via email so the two of you set up a time to talk?
He is fundraising. People who are not able to pay for the service get scholarships from donors
Donating wasn’t explicitly part of our mission yet, so I am not sure if Saul’s experience of us discussing Bitcoin and economics is related to his idea to make the connection, same for the later yes from Freedom Coaching’s founder.
I say cool, the founder (Steve) and I get connected, and schedule a call.
The call
Sep 11, 2024 - 1 BTC = 57,000 USD
The call happens a week later. Steve has prepared a Google Meet presentation, about an hour long. I ask questions along the way. The two main questions:
Main “competitors” in market
Where does the money go?
My non-edited notes:
Catholic competitors - Reclaim Sexuality (not 1:1 meetings, not live), Matt Fradd’s course and community
Where does money go? Do you hold savings. Vast majority of donations goes to clients. But also goes to podcasts. And training. It is 503c charity - founder runs it, there are board members as well. Also funding website, everything etc. Pooled account. Goes into a chequing account. Sounds like spent monthly, no nest egg.
Call ends. He gave support options:
Financial
Prayer
Spread word - priests, friends, people who have connections that care about this
Steve asked for a specific donation number, a strategy I recognize from my entrepreneurship coach - good to encourage action. I said I’ll sleep and pray on these decisions at the moment (bitcoin process clarifying especially) and that I’ll have an answer for him end of next week latest.
The offer
Sep 20, 2024 - 1 BTC = 64,000 USD
With regards to the mission, I was convinced the morning after. I just wasn’t sure the proportion of bitcoin vs. USD, and the total amount, as he asked for a specific amount we hadn’t donated in that size yet.
I choose 1 million satoshis total value ($640 USD at the time of my email to Steve below): 50% in US dollars now, then 50% in bitcoin a year from now.
I send the offer email:
500,000 satoshis = 0.005 bitcoin
Recap:
$320 USD today
500,000 satoshis a year from today, at whatever USD value that may be
Acceptance and first donation
Sep 23, 2024 - 1 BTC = 63,000 USD
Steve accepts on the weekend. He sends me the donation link.
I make the $320 donation via credit card the next business day.
Lessons
Oct 17, 2024 - 1 BTC = 68,000 USD
In the first mission we funded, we agreed that I’d help our recipient—a Gen Z campus missionary—set up a wallet and that I’d send him the actual bitcoin. Then he’d sell the bitcoin later to pay for his mission expenses. But we didn’t end up doing it. Three main reasons:
Donation size (400,000 satoshis, so fluctuating between $200-$300 dollars around time of donation and months afterward)
Holding period (he was only holding for 4-8 months)
His schedule is full
We learned from that, so for a similar situation like this one with Steve (consider Freedom Coaching’s holding period the time to the promised future donation - one year), we implied that we’ll hold the bitcoin for them.
While the recipient doesn’t:
Learn about wallets and self-custody
Experience holding real bitcoin
They do:
Learn about opportunity cost of holding bitcoin vs. fiat currency
Freedom Coaching became an apostolate!
I got this exciting email in my inbox this week:
Part of our mission at NGU Missions is to discern what are good causes to donate to. The Archdiocese of San Antonio seems to agree on our decision to support! I’ll include the rest of the email and why this status is important at the end of this next section.
Mission two funded
Jan 30, 2025 - 1 BTC = 106,000 USD
In our bitcoin donation strategy for Freedom Coaching, two things were possible because of Bitcoin:
NGU Missions stores 100% of our funds in bitcoin, so we had money available when we made the donation (our donation pool has increased 82% in USD terms since we started in May 2024)
We promised a future donation denominated in bitcoin, exposing the recipient to Bitcoin’s NGU Technology—that is, the tendency for bitcoin to increase in value over time—allowing them to fund their future mission expenses with more confidence, and teaching them sound money by experience (I’ve heard through friends that they’re increasing their bitcoin savings on their own volition now)
Bitcoin thus makes funding charities and non-profits more sustainable, while aligning capital stewardship with the Church’s moral teaching on economics. (For the latter, our upcoming course explains why.)
We are grateful God gave us the opportunity to support Freedom Coaching! Please pray for them and for us. If you’d like to connect with Steve and Freedom Coaching, you can reach them through their website.
Written by Steve Pokorny, founder of Freedom Coaching
Hear ye! Hear Ye!
The Archdiocese of San Antonio has formally approved Freedom Coaching Foundation Inc. as an apostolate on a probationary basis! This is a BIG DEAL!
I was freed by the grace of Jesus Christ after over 12 years of living as a slave to pornography and unchaste behavior. In 2011, I heeded God’s call and responded, and thus our mission began.
We have grown from those first days of wandering through the wilderness to putting this puzzle together as God continues to design the pieces.
Check out the miracles God is working through us:
🙌 The creation of Redeemed Vision and Redeeming Our Vision,
🙌 The assembling of a team of 13 Coaches and 3 support staff,
🙌 An amazing Board of Directors who are all in with the growth of this mission,
🙌 Receiving this formal endorsement of the work of Freedom Coaching!
This is the mercy of Jesus Christ and it is truly a marvel. Never in my wildest fantasies did I think my own brokenness could lead to such healing.
To God be the GLORY!
Why is this gracious letter from Auxiliary Bishop Gary Janek so important?
👊 It gives us permission to approach all priests within the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
👊 Priests can have the confidence to entrust Freedom Coaching to serve the broken men and women who approach them with fidelity to the Gospel.
👊 It creates the opportunity to invite clergy to a dialogue, where they are given the opportunity to become familiar with Freedom Coaching, to receive homily pointers, and even see how we can be of service to them for their own healing journey.
👊 It empowers us to approach other dioceses to invite them to approve us to serve their people, thus creating a ripple effect of freedom throughout the Church.
GOD DID THIS! (With a little bit of work from us)
We at Freedom coaching couldn’t have done it without your love, support, and prayers.
We’re just getting warmed up! The iron is hot and it is time to redouble our efforts & go into the deep to proclaim liberty to the captives. May we continue to be faithful to God’s grace and be obedient to where He leads.
We ask for your continued prayer and support, and if a name pops into your mind as someone who I should connect with to cast this vision, please let me know!
Again, from the bottom of my heart, I am truly grateful to God and to you for the good that has been done, but get ready.
Even bigger miracles are on the way.
This is the God of FREEDOM that we serve.
#dayzero
One final update
We are indeed one big Catholic family. The friend who I met Steve through just got married and I just got back from his wedding!
First photo is us with another friend in Mexico fall 2023, a day before they went to a retreat in Colombia, where he’d meet his now wife. Second photo is after the wedding Mass in Colombia, mourning (kidding… celebrating) our friends’ marriage. Please pray for them, and for us solteros as well with our vocation yet confirmed!
And as a reminder, I’m back posting on X (for the third part of our mission) if you wish to follow over there.
Huge! Love what you're doing, David, and may the Lord bless you abundantly!