UNICEF Venture Fund Teams Up With Lido & GSR Foundation for Game-Changing Impact Staking Initiative

Web3 meets philanthropy as UNICEF''s crypto arm dives into staking—with heavyweight backing.

Lido''s liquid staking protocol just got a humanitarian upgrade. The UNICEF Venture Fund is jumping into impact staking through a strategic partnership with the GSR Foundation, marking another institutional leap into DeFi.

Staking for good—or just good PR?

The move signals growing institutional comfort with crypto-native yield strategies—even if the ''impact'' claims might raise eyebrows among hardened DeFi degens. After all, when NGOs and market makers hold hands, someone''s probably getting a tax break.

Active verbs only: The partnership leverages Lido''s staking infrastructure to generate yields for UNICEF''s crypto treasury. No vague ''enabling'' here—just cold hard (algorithmically generated) ETH returns funding children''s programs worldwide.

Because nothing says ''saving the next generation'' like locking assets in a smart contract.

The, a global leader in funding early-stage, open-source technologies developed in low and middle-income countries, has joinedas a new impact recipient. This will enable ETH stakers to donate their staking rewards directly to support the Fund’s investments in frontier technologies that improve the lives of children and their communities.

This listing was made possible by, which became theto deploy ETH for impact via LIS by directing staking rewards to the UNICEF Venture Fund. The MOVE marks a significant step forward for institutional philanthropy in Web3, showcasing how long-term ETH holders can sustainably fund social innovation without liquidating their assets.

The partnership brings a novel funding mechanism to the Venture Fund’s portfolio of tech investments. By becoming a recipient on Lido Impact Staking (LIS), UNICEF can now receive a stream of staking rewards from individuals and institutions who wish to stake their ETH for social good.

“This new pathway gives crypto-native supporters an innovative way to fund technologies that improve the lives of children,” said, Lead, UNICEF Ventures. “From AI to web3 tools that are digital public goods, we support frontier technologies, and now we’re embracing frontier funding models.”

Through Lido Impact Staking, ETH holders can stake their tokens and direct any share of the rewards to approved social impact organizations. The principal remains untouched, while the staking yield, generated through staked Ethereum, is automatically routed to initiatives like those supported by the UNICEF Venture Fund.

This creates a sustainable and transparent FLOW of capital to fund innovation in health, education, climate, financial inclusion, and humanitarian response. For donors, it’s an easy, non-custodial way to give, without giving up ownership of their assets.

“UNICEF is a visionary in both tech and impact,” said, COO at Lido Impact Staking. “Their monumental work makes them an ideal partner for LIS and we’re thrilled to make it easier for the crypto community to support their mission”.

The UNICEF Venture Fund has invested in over 150 startups and UNICEF country office initiatives across 85+ countries, targeting solutions in AI, blockchain, XR, and data science. By accepting staking rewards, the Fund is tapping into a fast-growing, Web3 donor base aligned with its open-source, digital public good ethos.

The support offurther validates impact staking as a credible and scalable funding model. As more institutions follow GSR’s lead, a new wave of sustainable, yield-based philanthropy is emerging, powered by Ethereum.

Theis the first of its kind in the UN system, offering catalytic, non-dilutive capital to early-stage startups building open-source solutions for children, youth, and vulnerable populations. The Fund identifies technologies with the potential for global scale and equitable impact, investing in frontier areas like blockchain, AI, and digital identity.

was born out of Ethereum’s move to Proof of Stake, championed by, a company founded in April 2020 to help individuals and institutions run their own ethereum validators while maintaining full control over their assets. Launchnodes has been a key player in advancing self-custodial staking infrastructure.

In 2023, theawarded Launchnodes funding to develop a specialized middleware LAYER that would route staking rewards toward high-impact causes. Built on top of Lido’s robust staking infrastructure, this innovation laid the foundation for what is now known as.

Today, LIS partners with leading NGOs, development agencies, foundations, and socially driven investors to enable a new FORM of giving: one that turns ETH staking rewards into a long-term funding stream for digital public goods and humanitarian innovation. It’s a crypto-native, sustainable model of philanthropy.

https://unicefventurefund.impactstake.com