Posted: June 01, 2012<\/p>\n
Tech startup: iGivefirst Inc.By\u00a0Eric Peterson<\/a><\/p>\n Company: iGivefirst<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong>CoBiz Magazine: \u201cINITIAL LIGHT BULB Sharif Youssef spent 15 years in technology, consulting for firms like eBay, Amazon and Citigroup, before deciding to focus on philanthropy and start charity-centric iGivefirst.<\/p>\n \u201cThe very definition of philanthropy is the love of humanity,\u201d Youssef says. \u201cI realized there was a total disregard for humanity in corporate America.\u201d\u00a0To this end, iGivefirst offers a means for nonprofits to raise money online. \u201cWe created a \u2018give\u2019 button,\u201d Youssef says. \u201cIt sits right next to \u2018share\u2019 and \u2018tweet.\u2019\u201d\u00a0Youssef is CEO of the seven-employee company. He envisioned iGivefirst as a nonprofit before settling on \u201ca hybrid model\u201d that includes both a 501(c)3 charitable fund and a for-profit company.<\/p>\n IN A NUTSHELL \u201cThere isn\u2019t a trustworthy giving brand online, and that\u2019s what we aspire to be,\u201d Youssef says. \u201cThe goal of iGivefirst is to increase charity worldwide and give youth an easy way to donate online without fear of fraud.\u201d \u00a0With the \u201cgive\u201d button next to relevant stories, iGivefirst puts a fundraising vehicle in the best possible spot. \u201cEmotion leads to action,\u201d Youssef says. \u201cWe wanted to take searching out of the process.\u201d Donors simply click and get a list of 10 relevant nonprofits; one more click and they are donating to a cause. iGivefirst\u2019s technology searches the article text and matches it to relevant charities.<\/p>\n Donations go to the iGivefirst Charitable Fund (the aforementioned 501(c)3), which passes them on to the charity of the donor\u2019s choice, minus 8.5 percent that goes to iGivefirst Inc. Noting that even the most efficient charities usually spend more than 10 percent of their budgets on administration and fundraising, Youssef says iGivefirst is \u201cincreasing the efficiency for the most efficient nonprofits by about 40 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaking it as simple to give as possible, that\u2019s the trend and where the opportunity lies,\u201d says Connie Rule, president and CEO of the Rocky Mountain Outward Bound School in Denver, which signed with iGivefirst in April. \u201cThe notion of passive fundraising is very intriguing for us.\u201d\u00a0Rule says iGivefirst\u2019s ability to connect through a relevant news story makes it \u201cmore natural and organic\u201d than traditional active fundraising. \u201cIt touches hearts when people are in the moment,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n THE MARKET According to Giving USA, philanthropic donations totaled nearly $350 billion in the U.S. last year, three-quarters of it from individuals, but only about 8 percent was donated online. \u201cMillennials and Generation X, we don\u2019t have checks,\u201d Youssef says. \u201cTo reach this audience, you have to go online.\u201d<\/p>\n Youssef says iGivefirst would have helped boost the fundraising for the Haiti earthquake by several multiples; text donations are limited to $10, while online donations average $60.<\/p>\n FINANCING Youssef says iGivefirst\u2019s launch was \u201ccompletely bootstrapped\u201d by him and the company\u2019s employees, who have yet to collect a salary to date.\u201d<\/p>\n For more information go to:<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.cobizmag.com\/articles\/tech-startup-igivefirst-inc<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Posted: June 01, 2012 Tech startup: iGivefirst Inc.By\u00a0Eric Peterson Company: iGivefirst CoBiz Magazine: \u201cINITIAL LIGHT BULB Sharif Youssef spent 15 years in technology, consulting for firms like eBay, Amazon and Citigroup, before deciding to focus on philanthropy and start charity-centric iGivefirst. \u201cThe very definition of philanthropy is the love of humanity,\u201d Youssef says. \u201cI realized more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[11,27,13,22,14,15,18,19,20,24,21],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n