Blu Whitepaper
A comprehensive overview of our mission to revolutionize charitable giving through direct, transparent, and impactful donations.
Blu is a global, peer-to-peer micro-donation platform revolutionizing how charitable giving works. It eliminates the inefficiencies and opacity of traditional charity models by enabling individuals to give directly to other people in need through a Tinder-like swipe interface. By combining trust mechanisms, digital identity verification, and blockchain transparency, Blu ensures that small donations have a big, visible impact. The platform retains only a 5% fee to cover operating costs, far lower than the 20–40% average in traditional systems.
Blu is committed to democratizing access to help, ensuring donors see the direct effect of their generosity, and recipients receive aid with dignity and speed. It operates as a hybrid model: nonprofit at its core for donation legitimacy and tax benefits, with a for-profit or DAO-governed tech arm for scalability and innovation.
Blu was born out of a simple question: What if people could help each other directly, without going through bloated institutions? Traditional charities, while well-meaning, often suffer from inefficiencies, lack of transparency, and barriers to entry. Many donors never know where their money goes. Meanwhile, millions of individuals across the globe suffer without access to help.
Blu solves this by offering a decentralized, mobile-first way to send and receive donations. Recipients submit their story and hardship category, and donors swipe to select individuals they'd like to help, transferring a small fixed amount (e.g., $20) directly. The app makes giving personal, transparent, and direct.
3.1 Charity System Inefficiencies
- Administrative costs consume 20–40% of donations
- Donor fatigue due to lack of transparency
- Scandals reduce trust
3.2 Barriers to Access
- Individuals in crisis often don't qualify for large-scale aid
- Application and vetting processes can be slow, bureaucratic
3.3 Technology Gaps
Most charities lack modern UI, real-time donor feedback, or blockchain audit trails. Blu sits at the intersection of social need, fintech innovation, and decentralized trust, offering a new model that meets the moment.
4.1 Swipe-to-Give
Inspired by dating apps, users swipe through stories of people in need. Each profile includes:
- Name and photo
- Hardship category (e.g., disaster, disability, poverty, war)
- Optional social media link for verification
- Location and urgency level
4.2 Fixed Donation Amount
Every donation is the same—$20 (regionally adjusted)—so users don't have to overthink how much to give. It levels the playing field for recipients and simplifies transactions.
4.3 Donation Queue
Once a recipient gets a donation, they move to the back of the queue to ensure fairness.
4.4 Regional Filtering
Donors can select specific regions or hardship types to focus their giving.
5.1 Frontend
- Mobile-first React Native (Expo)
- Swipe interface
- Onboarding, story submission, and profile creation
- Donation flow and history
5.2 Backend
- Laravel PHP
- MySQL database for users, stories, and donations
- API for mobile app
5.3 Payments
- PayPal, Stripe integration
- In development: crypto rails and USDC/USDT support
5.4 Hosting
- Vercel (frontend)
- Laragon/Laravel (backend)
- SSH secured VPS or cloud deployment
6.1 Social Media Verification
Recipients are encouraged to link their social profiles, allowing donors to gauge authenticity.
6.2 Moderation System
Admins and eventually community moderators can flag, review, or remove suspicious accounts.
6.3 Transparency Layer
Donation histories are visible on user profiles. Donors can see a receipt and track impact.
6.4 Reporting & Feedback
Donors can rate experiences and flag misuse, helping build a trust score over time.
8.1 Blu Charges 5% of Donations
This covers:
- Card processing fees (2.9% avg)
- Infrastructure (servers, APIs)
- Basic moderation and support
8.2 Comparison
Phase 1: MVP Launch (Complete)
Android App released, Laravel backend with Stripe/PayPal
Phase 2: Web App + iOS
Responsive web version on Vercel, iOS app via Expo
Phase 3: Token Integration
Explore blockchain partner (e.g., Hedera, Polygon), begin token reward experiments
Phase 4: DAO Transition
Establish governance rules, begin token voting for decisions
Phase 5: Global Expansion
Region-specific onboarding, currency adjustment and localization
| Platform | Peer-to-Peer | Blockchain | Fee | Transparency | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GoFundMe | No | No | ~15% | Low | U.S. |
| GiveDirectly | No | Partial | ~20% | Medium | Africa |
| Facebook Giving | No | No | Varies | Low | Global |
| Blu | Yes | Planned | 5% | High | Global |
Blu enables a two-way relationship between givers and receivers: Donors can see where their money went, recipients feel seen and supported, builds a global culture of peer-led generosity.
Impact Metrics (Goals by Year 1):
14.1 Natural Disasters
Quick access to cash when floods, fires, or quakes strike
14.2 War Zones
Humanitarian aid for individuals displaced or harmed by conflict
14.3 Poverty Relief
One-time help to cover food, rent, or education
14.4 Medical Emergencies
Pay for surgeries, medication, or treatments not covered by insurance
15.1 No Exploitation or Shaming
All stories must be voluntarily submitted. We do not coerce or manipulate emotional responses.
15.2 Content Filters
Submissions are reviewed for graphic, misleading, or inappropriate content
15.3 Moderation Tools
Admins and community will have tools to:
- Flag duplicates or bots
- Rate and rank verified users
- Suspend accounts on abuse
16.1 Enterprise Tools
- Analytics dashboards for NGOs or brands
- Integration of Blu's P2P API into other giving platforms
16.2 Sponsored Impact Campaigns
- Companies can "match" community donations
- "Sponsor a Category" or "Region" for cause-based branding
16.3 Merchandising (Optional)
- Blu-branded shirts, bags, NFT certificates of giving
17.1 Currency Conversion Logic
- Convert $20 to local equivalent (with daily FX rate pull)
- Lock exchange rate at time of donation
17.2 Localization
- Translations
- Cultural sensitivity moderation
- Regional legal compliance
17.3 Regional Moderators
- In-app moderators by geography
- Crowdsource moderation with reward points or tokens
The following diagrams will be inserted in future versions:
Architecture Flow
Donation Queue Logic
Recipient Onboarding Flow
Token Governance Structure (Future)
Ready to Change Lives?
Join the Blu community and start making a direct impact today.