Cloud-based fundraising platform Classy closed on $30 million Series C financing, bringing its total raised to $53 million since it was founded 10 years ago. It’s the second round of funding secured within the last 17 months.
Financing was led by La Jolla, Calif.-based JMI Equity, which joined existing investors Bullpen Capital, Galileo Partners, Mithril Capital Management and Salesforce Ventures, who all participated in this round. As part of the Series C financing, Brian Hersman, general partner at JMI Equity, will join Classy’s board of directors.
Classy’s fundraising suite includes crowdfunding, peer-to-peer fundraising, online donations and event management. The San Diego, Calif.-based company said it will expand engineering and design teams to better help nonprofits migrate to the cloud and generate new revenue streams. The company has about 200 employees. That headcount is likely to grow to between 250 and 300 by the end of next year, most coming from expanding the product team, according to a spokesperson.
Classy’s customer base is on pace to grow more than 200 percent this year, according to the company, which it said will focus on four main areas going forward:
- Fundraising automation: Automate tasks and leverage intelligent data systems to enhance supporter engagement, increase funds raised, and alleviate organizational time or resource constraints;
- Recurring donation management: Build, expand, and optimize recurring revenue streams to enable greater financial stability and impact at scale;
- Internationalization: expand client fundraising tools to include more than 100 global currencies and geo-personalization options; and,
- Classy for Salesforce: Strengthen integration with Salesforce to connect back-office functions and drive greater efficiencies.
The most recent $30 million Series C funding adds to $23 million in Series A and Series B funding received since 2011. In July 2015, Classy announced $18 million in Series B venture capital funding, led by Mithril Capital Management in San Francisco, as well as the appointment of its first chief technology officer and two additions to its advisory board. Seed and Series A funding was all from angel investors. Menlo Park, Calif.-based Bullpen Capital “invests in post-seed companies that have “achieved product market fit, that have strong existing angel and microVC investors, and have an operational plan to hit big milestones within a 12-month period.”
“Classy started as a group of friends looking to raise money for cancer research,” CEO and co-founder Scot Chisholm said in a press release. “What we found was a lack of modern and mobile-friendly tools that could help social enterprises mobilize and empower their supporter base. So we created Classy, a technology platform built by fundraisers for fundraisers,” he said.
Founded in 2006, Classy publicly launched its online fundraising platform in 2011. It works with more than 1,500 nonprofits and social enterprises, including Oxfam, National Geographic, Heifer International and Team Rubicon. In February, the company announced a five-year partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for its national fundraising campaigns.
