UK fundraising platform givestar has raised £9m ($12m) in a growth round led by Mercia, with Love Ventures participating. The company says it has helped raise more than $70m for over 4,000 charities and will use the capital to push into the US.
givestar was set up to respond to the decline in cash donations, initially letting smartphones act as contactless collection points for charities. It has since built a fundraising app and community platform aimed at younger donors and event participants.
The company reports nearly 800,000 user accounts, with 76% of users aged under 35. Co-founder Tom Montague leads the business.
The deal
Mercia led the £9m round, with Love Ventures joining. givestar described it as the largest investment in its history and the biggest round completed to date by a UK fundraising technology platform.
Valuation terms were not disclosed, and the split between primary and secondary capital, as well as the size of each investor's cheque, were not made public. The company had previously announced a £2.1m investment round, meaning the new raise is more than four times the size of that earlier deal.
For Mercia, the round marks a growth-stage bet in charity technology, a segment that attracts relatively little venture capital in the UK. Hugo Lough of Mercia Ventures said the firm was drawn to "the network being created around" the technology as well as the product itself.
Use of funds
The capital will fund faster growth in the UK and what the company calls a major US expansion. givestar has already secured partnerships across more than 70 US events, including Bay to Breakers, the Las Vegas Marathon and the Portland Marathon.
It has also been appointed official US fundraising partner to Spartan and Tough Mudder, two of the largest obstacle-race organisers. The company plans to build out its team and presence across the country.
The numbers
The platform's metrics give investors a view of unit economics in a market where revenue is typically tied to donation volumes:
- nearly 800,000 accounts created
- more than $70m raised for charities
- over 4,000 charities supported
- 76% of users under 35
What's next
Montague said givestar is building "the technology layer" that connects charities, events and fundraisers. Converting the US event partnerships into recurring donation volume will be the key test of whether the round sets the company up for a larger Series B on either side of the Atlantic.
Original source: BusinessCloud — https://businesscloud.co.uk/news/givestar-raises-9m-to-power-modern-fundraising/ (also reported by Startups Magazine — https://startupsmagazine.co.uk/givestar-secures-12m-to-scale-modern-fundraising-platform-in-uk-and-us)
