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TechSoup Lands $4 Million Loan, Launches Public Offering

TechSoup, a leading nonprofit facilitator of technology solutions to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) globally, has secured a $4-million loan from Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) to support expansion of its global distribution network to bring software, hardware, services, and content to civil society organizations.

The organization is also launching a Direct Public Offering (DPO) where investors can inject as little as $50 into the DPO. It is the first time the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has qualified a nonprofit to raise funds nationally through a Regulation A+ / Tier 2 offering.

This is the second time NFF has invested in the San Francisco, Calif.-based TechSoup. The nonprofit established a line of credit with NFF in 2004 to scale its then-two-year-old NGO Tech Marketplace, moving the organization from a local to a national level. Double-digit growth of customers and revenue helped TechSoup pay back those funds ahead of schedule.

TechSoup connected more than 1 million nonprofits worldwide during 2017, distributing $1.995 billion in donated and discounted technology, knowledge, and other critical resources, according to the organization. The NFF loan will help TechSoup scale its core programs, specifically supporting late-stage research and development, product-testing, piloting, and expansion.

“We are proud to continue to partner with TechSoup as they increase access to much needed technology across the US and global social sectors,” Norah McVeigh, managing director of financing at NFF said via a statement.

“We are grateful for NFF’s support of the next-generation NGO Tech Marketplace and our growing Global Data and Validation Services initiatives,” said TechSoup CEO Rebecca Masisak via a statement. “In an increasingly digital world powered by ‘services first, cloud first’ approaches and threatened by security and data privacy concerns, digital strategies are even more critical for the estimated 12 million NGOs. And TechSoup’s ‘Common Data Model’ for global nonprofit validation will power collaboration at new levels.”

Receiving this investment early in its $11.5 million growth capital campaign will enable TechSoup and its network to generate significant social impact and to reach many more organizations with its services, according to Masisak. TechSoup launched its capital campaign in November, to finance five new initiatives to help NGOs, philanthropists and civil society leverage technology to create, connect, activate and transform their organizations and communities.

TechSoup’s DPO is being offered on SVX.US, a new investing platform that allows debt and equity investment opportunities in high impact companies, organizations and funds that can deliver positive social and environmental impact alongside financial return. It includes three tiers of debt securities investments.

With investment minimums as low as $50, it is structured to engage with TechSoup’s community, including the nonprofits served, the technology companies supported, and those who have supported TechSoup for 30 years. For every $100 invested in the DPO, TechSoup estimates it will be able to distribute more than $47,000 of additional resources to the nonprofit sector.

“The DPO embodies our belief that TechSoup’s stakeholders come from a range of economic backgrounds but share a common belief in the importance of a strong infrastructural backbone for civil society,” said Masisak via the statement. “This is more than just an investment. It’s an opportunity to invest side-by-side with TechSoup and civil society organizations everywhere to build a better world.”

TechSoup has 70 partner NGOs around the world and manages the a global philanthropy program that brings together more than 100 tech companies to provide technology donations to NGOs. TechSoup’s data and validation services enable companies, foundations, and governments to connect their philanthropic resources with vetted NGOs. During the past 30 years, TechSoup has reached 1.06 million NGOs and facilitated distribution of technology products and grants valued at more than $11.1 billion.

For more information, go to https://www.techsoup.org/