During the last fiscal year, the Advancement Office announced that Milton will now accept cryptocurrency as a form of philanthropic giving. This shift reflects both alumni initiative and effort to modernize fundraising practices.

According to Chief Advancement Officer Kelly DeGregorio, the Milton Fund provides unrestricted operating support, giving the school the flexibility to direct resources wherever they are needed most. “Milton Fund gifts can fund teacher salaries, special projects, academic programs, athletics, and the arts,” DeGregorio explained. “When people give, they’re essentially saying: ‘I trust the school’s leadership to use this where it’s needed most.’” Because the fund is annual, alumni and families contribute every year to sustain the ongoing needs.

Cryptocurrency now joins cash, checks, and stock gifts as another way to contribute. Like stocks, cryptocurrencies are assets that can increase in value. When holders donate appreciated crypto directly to an institution, they can avoid certain capital gains taxes, making it a financially strategic form of giving.

DeGregorio noted that the idea to accept crypto came from alumni Brooks English ’12 and Luke B. Macdonald ’14, who had approached the Advancement Office with the enthusiasm and the resources to make the option possible. They hoped to expand giving opportunities for a wider community of younger alumni whose assets may exist more in digital forms than in traditional cash.

In an attempt to process crypto safely, the school uses the third-party platform Giving Block, which receives the cryptocurrency, sells it, and transfers the proceeds. “There are lots of legal implications for directly accepting cryptocurrency,” DeGregorio noted. “A small institution like Milton isn’t set up to do that safely on its own. The platform protects the school.”

While it is too early to measure the full impact of this new policy, DeGregorio stresses that advancement work is fundamentally donor-driven. “Giving is really about what works for the donor. People’s assets aren’t the same, and neither are their hopes for what they want to accomplish with their philanthropy,” she said. Expanding acceptable assets is, in her view, a natural and necessary progression.

Tiger Zhang ’18, another alumnus working in the digital-asset space, shares that sense of momentum. Although he was not involved in setting up the payment system, he is eager to help shape Milton’s long-term understanding of cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin.

Zhang first became interested during the pandemic. “When I first heard about Bitcoin, I was skeptical like everyone else,” he said. “But after studying more—economics, market structures, talking with my brother—I had an ‘aha moment.’” Zhang now works professionally in Bitcoin, and he sees tremendous potential for Milton to benefit from it. His hope is that, eventually, the school will not only accept Bitcoin donations but hold them as part of its long-term financial strategy, similar to an endowment asset. “I believe Bitcoin is an asset for the digital age that Milton should hold onto,” Zhang said. “It can diversify the school’s portfolio and lower certain risks over time.” Still, he recognizes there may be regulatory and legal barriers to holding cryptocurrency directly for now.

For Zhang, his involvement is ultimately about education. “I want to help people see why this technology matters. I’m excited there’s interest, and I want to support anyone trying to learn.”

Alba has already observed this curiosity at Milton: “the student body has certainly shown interest in cryptocurrency—whether that be investing in it or learning about mining it.” She commented, “regardless of whether people believe it has merit or not, crypto has become a multi-trillion dollar asset class, so people should and do want to learn about it so they can better navigate the financial landscape.”

As Zhang put it: “you’re all young and curious. You’re going to think of crazy, amazing things to do with this technology. I just want to help spark that interest.”