Donation tins went digital years ago; givestar now wants the whole fundraising process to live on a phone. The London company has closed $12M in growth capital, led by Mercia with Love Ventures alongside, in what it calls the biggest round a British fundraising technology startup has completed.
Almost 800,000 accounts have signed up, according to givestar, and the platform has moved upward of $70M to more than 4,000 charities. Younger donors dominate its user base: 76% are under 35.
On the events side it has partnered with British names such as RunThrough, Spartan UK and Tough Mudder UK, plus Ultra X and Ultra Events, covering hundreds of races.
Spartan and Tough Mudder named it their official US fundraising partner earlier this year. Its American footprint now spans more than 70 events, among them the Portland Marathon, the Las Vegas Marathon and Bay to Breakers.
Tom Montague, who co-founded givestar, framed the whole pitch around one observation about how giving habits have shifted over the years: “Young people hadn’t stopped caring about causes, they’d just stopped carrying cash.” Hugo Lough, an investor at Mercia Ventures, said what drew the firm was the network givestar is assembling around its technology. The money goes toward expansion in both markets, more product work and new hires.
