Donate foreign currency to Miva

Donating Foreign Money to Charities: The Obstacles at Miva and the Benefits of the Cambio Foundation

For many people, donating to charities is a way to contribute to a better world. Organizations like Miva play a vital role in supporting vulnerable communities through practical means, such as transportation and communication technologies.

Yet, donors face a significant barrier when trying to donate foreign money to these organizations. In this article, we delve deeper into Miva’s donation policy regarding foreign money, the associated restrictions, and discuss an alternative: the Cambio Foundation, an organization that handles foreign donations much more easily.

Miva: A Charity with an Important Mission

For decades, Miva has been committed to supporting missionaries and aid workers in developing countries. The organization focuses on providing transportation and communication equipment, such as bicycles, motorbikes, cars, and satellite phones, to people working in remote areas. Miva enables aid workers to work faster and more effectively, directly impacting the lives of the people they serve.

Donations are crucial to Miva. The organization relies on contributions from individuals and businesses to fulfill its mission. In the past, it was possible to donate not only in euros, but also in foreign currencies. However, this proved logistically challenging and led to a change in Miva’s donation policy.

Miva’s Donation Policy for Foreign Currency

Currently, Miva only accepts guilder banknotes as foreign currency. This means that Dutch donors who still have old guilder banknotes can donate them directly to Miva. While this may seem like a convenient way for some to dispose of old currency while simultaneously supporting a good cause, it offers little solution for many. Guilders are now scarce, and the majority of donors with foreign currency do not have access to them.

The situation becomes even more complicated for people who want to donate foreign currency in currencies other than the guilder, such as the US dollar, British pound, Swiss franc, or currencies from vacation destinations. Miva does not accept other currencies or coins directly.

This means that donors who want to contribute with foreign currency are responsible for converting their own currency into euros. Only after the currency has been converted can donors transfer the converted amount to Miva’s bank account. This cumbersome procedure discourages many potential donors, especially because exchanging money can often be complicated and expensive.

The Obstacles to Exchanging Foreign Currency

If you want to exchange foreign currency in the Netherlands, Travelex is the only major option for individuals. Travelex, known for its currency exchange offices at airports and in major cities, offers a service that allows you to exchange foreign currency. However, this too has some major limitations:

1. Limited Currencies: Travelex only accepts the most tradable currencies. This means you can only use currencies like the US dollar (USD), British pound (GBP), Swiss franc (CHF), and a limited number of other major currencies. If you have money left over from a vacation to a more exotic destination, you’re often out of luck.

2. No Coins: Travelex only accepts banknotes. However, many people have mostly coins left over from their trips abroad, and they have nowhere to exchange them. This means all that foreign change is worthless unless you reuse it creatively.

3. High Commissions: The costs of exchanging money at Travelex can be quite high. Commissions can be as high as 50%. This means that if you want to exchange 100 euros of foreign currency, for example, you’ll only get 50 euros back after deducting the fees. This makes it an expensive and inefficient process for people who want to do a good deed.

For donors who want to convert foreign currency into euros and donate it to a charity like Miva, the obstacles are therefore considerable. The limited availability of currency exchange offices, the restrictions on which currencies can be exchanged, and the high fees cause many people to drop out. The current system discourages generosity because the process is too complicated and expensive.

Charity Cambio: a simpler alternative for donating foreign currency

Fortunately, there is an alternative for donors who want to contribute with foreign currency: Stichting Cambio. While Miva makes donating foreign currency virtually impossible, Stichting Cambio offers a much more direct and accessible solution.

The Cambio Foundation is a non-profit organization that accepts foreign currency, regardless of its type. This means you don’t have to worry about whether your currency is on Travelex’s acceptance list or whether it’s coins instead of banknotes. You can simply donate your foreign currency, and the Cambio Foundation will ensure the proceeds go to a good cause.

Benefits of donating through Stichting Cambio:

1. All currencies and coins are welcome: Stichting Cambio accepts both banknotes and coins, regardless of currency. Whether you have dollars, British pounds, Turkish lira, or Japanese yen, all are welcome. This is a huge relief for donors who often have a small amount left over after a trip and don’t know what to do with it.

2. No currency exchange fees for donors: Unlike Travelex, Stichting Cambio doesn’t charge high commissions. Exchanging foreign currency is free of charge, because Cambio manages the currency conversion process itself. This means that every cent of your donation actually goes to the charity, instead of disappearing into commissions and transaction fees.

3. Easy donating: Instead of going through the cumbersome process of exchanging currency, Stichting Cambio donors can simply send their foreign currency to Stichting Cambio or drop it off at one of their collection points. It’s a hassle-free way to donate that encourages generosity rather than hindering it.

4. Supporting various charities: The proceeds from the collected currency go to various charities. The Cambio Foundation offers donors the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of others with their foreign currency, without having to worry about the administrative hassle of exchanging money.

Donating foreign currency: a choice for simplicity and effectiveness

Donating foreign currency to a charity can be a powerful gesture of solidarity and support, but only if the process is accessible and transparent. Miva is an organization with an important mission, but due to its strict donation policy regarding foreign currency, the generosity of many potential donors remains untapped. Limiting acceptance to only guilder banknotes and asking donors to exchange foreign currency themselves makes the process unnecessarily complicated.

The Cambio Foundation, on the other hand, offers a refreshing alternative by making donating foreign currency simple, effective, and without hidden costs. Donors don’t have to worry about what currency they’re holding or whether it’s coins or banknotes. Moreover, Cambio guarantees that the full value of their donation will be converted and benefit the charity.

For those with foreign currency lying around and wanting to make a positive contribution to a good cause, it’s clear: the Cambio Foundation is the simplest and most direct choice. Thanks to their flexible approach, donors can confidently convert their foreign currency into a valuable contribution to a better world.

If you have any foreign coins or banknotes you no longer need, consider donating them using the instructions below.

How to donate to Charity Cambio?

• We accept all types of foreign currency, both coins and banknotes.
• This also includes currency that is generally no longer exchangeable.
• You can drop off your donation yourself at the reception desk at the address below. Opening hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-6:00 PM.
• You can also mail your donation. Please be sure to cover the shipping costs yourself. Please include your information (IBAN and email address) in a note inside the envelope, and we will reimburse the shipping costs.
• If you provide an email address, you will always receive a response. Please be patient, as we are volunteers and process received currency quarterly.
• Send your foreign currency to the address below:

Locations of donation boxes for donating foreign money