A new nonprofit-centered startup has launched in the Magic City and is looking to tap into readers of news sites.
Maria Underwood, with help from the Voltage program at Innovation Depot, has created Fundrage, a Google Chrome extension in its current form that aims to galvanize people when reading the news.
Underwood, a veteran in the nonprofit space, said Fundrage suggests nonprofits to readers visiting news sites to donate to based on the subject matter of the content they are consuming. These suggestions are recommended through a third-party navigator. The current version of Fundrage is available for free to download in the Google Chrome Store as an extension, but Underwood said she plans to make it a full app.
Underwood said it is in the works to have some plays in the B2B market, but the current focus is to garner users.
“The ultimate goal in creating Fundrage in general is to ensure that consumers and news readers stay active and engaged and (they’re) given a tool that helps them do so and take stress out of reading the news,” she said. “I think it's important to have informed people, but it's also important for ... the news to not be a source … of rage. So I would be happy if the company were successful and making money just from the entrepreneur side but would also be happy if it gave people an outlet to stay informed while doing good.”
Fundrage is personal for Underwood. She said the idea for the company came when she was frustrated with happenings in the news and couldn’t find the right nonprofit to donate to in an effort to help work toward a solution. She essentially wanted to take the stress away by making it easier for people to find valid nonprofits.
“It's really important to me as a nonprofit person that you go through valid nonprofits, and I spend a lot of time researching which ones best fit the issue,” Underwood said. “So I wanted to create a tool that took away all that stress and getting from the emotional point of reading the news to finding ways to take action.”
In addition to the startup, Underwood currently serves as vice president of development and social impact at YWCA Central Alabama. She is currently the only Fundrage employee but is seeking investments that can lead to additional hires and a bigger technology build. She said she plans to keep Fundrage in Birmingham but has advisers in other areas of the country to make connections in wider markets.
