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Tech Firms Targeting Nonprofits Secure Millions In Funding

Two more fledgling fundraising technology companies recently secured private capital to finance growth in the next year.

iDonate, an 8-year-old online fundraising firm that got its start with a focus on noncash donations, announced it secured $10 million Series A funding.

OneCause, formerly BidPal, announced that it closed on $4 million of new growth financing to continue to accelerate development of its mobile fundraising platform, including online giving, event management, mobile bidding and peer-to-peer social fundraising.

iDonate will “augment its platform with the next generation of donor-centric features,” and accelerate growth in enterprise donor engagement through new personalized connections, analytics dashboards and peer-to-peer giving, according to an announcement. The Dallas, Texas-based firm, which touts itself as the “all-in-one platform for engaging donors,” will unveil new capabilities in the fourth quarter and increase staff.

Launched in 2014 with $3.5 million in equity funding, iDonate has 20 employees and expects that number to rise as a result of the funding, with additions in sales, marketing and development. Features to be released during the fourth quarter of 2018 and first quarter of 2019 will include data analytics upgrades and “significant upgrades to both peer-to-peer and donor engagement functionalities.”

PerformanceEdge Partners (PEP), a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based venture capital firm focused on small, medium-sized and software-as-service (SaaS) businesses led this round of funding. Additional funding also came from existing and new investors, including the Miles Foundation in Forth Worth, Texas.

iDonate reports more than 700 nonprofits clients and strategic channel partners, such as LifeWay, that are marketing to more than 50,000 churches, according to CEO Ray Gary.

The online platform includes multiple giving channels, including web, peer-to-peer, text and event, as well as noncash giving and chapter and affiliate fundraising.

PEP is a business acceleration firm that was launched in 2008 for SaaS technology companies that provides investment capital and management services to high-growth businesses, specializing in small and medium-sized businesses.

The $4 million for OneCause was led by Chicago-based MK Capital, with participation from Allos Ventures and a new investor, WinTrust Ventures, according to a press release announcing the investment.

Indianapolis, Ind.-based OneCause has about 110 employees and 2,400 clients after its acquisition this past spring of Great Feats in Austin, Texas, which was founded in 2014 by former executives at Convio.

“There has been explosive growth in the nonprofit software industry and an increasing demand for year-round fundraising solutions that help nonprofits expand their reach beyond the ballroom,” Kirk Wolfe, general partner with MK Capital, said via the press release.

OneCause had gone by the name BidPal until a rebrand this past January, keeping the name BidPal for its mobile bidding product. The company announced in December 2016 that it raised $6 million equity, also led by MK Capital and Allos Ventures, to accelerate product development and business expansion. The funding went to hire 26 full-time employees last year, including senior leaders in product development, sales and finance, credited with expanding SaaS subscriptions by 35 percent during 2017.

OneCause CEO Steve Johns said the company has seen record growth this year, with software subscriptions up almost 40 percent over 2017. Since it was founded in 2007, OneCause has helped nonprofits raise $1.5 billion for their causes and connect with 1 million donors annually.