ImpactStake, built by Launchnodes, is a yield-based philanthropy tool that redirects staking and lending returns from ETH and stablecoins to social and environmental organisations, without touching donors' principal. Through two products, Lido Impact Staking (LIS) and Stablecoin for Impact (SFI), the platform has demonstrated over 1 year period a model where idle crypto capital generates sustained, measurable impact: 33 trees planted and nearly 34 tonnes of CO₂ offset via Treedom, and a 20× community labour multiplier from just $1,000 in yield directed to Grassroots Economics in Kenya.
💎 ImpactStake redirects users’ DeFi yield and not the principal, to impact organisations, creating a perpetual funding stream from idle crypto assets.
🌳 Through Lido Impact Staking, ETH staking yield via Lido has funded 33 trees and ~34 tonnes of CO₂ offset through Treedom, with 214.78 ETH in total TVL staked towards eight partner organisations.
🇰🇪 $1,000 in yield directed to Grassroots Economics in Kenya produced $20,000 in community labour value - a 20× multiplier, funding 173 activities across 43 groups.
🏦 Stablecoin for Impact (SFI) extends the model to stablecoin holders via Aave lending yield, removing ETH price exposure and opening the tool to a broader institutional and treasury audience.
Crypto philanthropy has grown significantly, but the dominant model remains transactional: a donor converts crypto to fiat and makes a one off donation. The capital is consumed, and further impact requires further donations. For organisations with ongoing funding needs like reforestation, school connectivity, community economic development, this creates a structural mismatch between how crypto generates value (continuously, through yield) and how it's typically donated (once, as principal).
ImpactStake was built to create sustainability of funding. Rather than asking donors to part with their assets, the platform routes the yield those assets generate, through Ethereum staking (via Lido) and stablecoin lending (via Aave), to onboarded impact organisations. Donors retain full ownership and withdrawal rights over their principal at all times.
ImpactStake consists of two complementary products that together cover both ETH holders and stablecoin holders:
LIS is built on the Lido protocol, the largest and most audited liquid staking solution on Ethereum. When a user stakes ETH through LIS, the staking yield, currently in the range of 2–4% APY is automatically directed to one or more partner organisations. The staker receives stETH (Lido's liquid staking token), maintains full liquidity, and can withdraw at any time. No principal is donated. Only a pre-set % of yield flows to impact.
The onboarding process for organisations is permissionless: any social or environmental impact organisation that meets the platform's requirements can join and begin attracting ETH stakers. Each partner receives a dedicated, white-labelled staking page that integrates into their existing web presence. This allows organisations like Giga (stake.giga.global), UNHCR (unhcr.impactstake.com), and others to offer impact staking directly to their own communities.
<aside> 🌱 One year after launch, LIS has onboarded nine organisations, including Giga (UNICEF/ITU), GiveDirectly, Grassroots Economics, MercyCorps Ventures, UNHCR, UNICEF Venture Fund, Treedom, Gainforest and Speech Without Borders. with a combined TVL of 214.78 ETH and approximately 6.44 ETH in yield donated to date. The GSR Foundation has become the first institutional donor, deploying over 40 ETH across multiple causes.
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SFI extends the same model to stablecoin holders (USDC, USDT, DAI). Deposits are routed into Aave lending markets, and the generated lending yield is directed to impact partners. Depositors retain full principal and can withdraw at any time.
SFI was designed to address a key limitation of LIS: exposure to ETH price volatility. For institutional treasuries, foundations, and organisations holding stablecoins, SFI offers the same perpetual impact mechanism without any asset price risk. The first impact partner connected to SFI is Giga/UNICEF's initiative to connect every school in the world to the internet, with additional climate and social impact partners being onboarded.