Amicus.io cofounders Cor Hoekstra and Walt Ruloff sat for 20 years on an idea to merge technology with charitable giving, making sure the timing was right. That time, they say, is now.
Hoekstra and Ruloff founded Amicus.io in Charlotte in 2017. Hoekstra said basing the headquarters in the Queen City made sense because of the city's stronghold in banking.
Hoekstra said the fintech platform was developed to help put banking at the heart of charitable philanthropy, which he said will give the average person greater opportunity to give to causes they support.
The digital platform is similar to a traditional donor advisor fund, though Hoekstra said those types of accounts are antiquated, inefficient and most often used by high-net-worth individuals. The similarity between a traditional DAF and Amicus is in how the account functions — the account holder deposits money and gets a tax receipt, the assets grow and the account holder can grant the funds to the charities of their choice over time.
"Think of this digital version simply as a digital savings account," he said. "Our vision is a world of a more generous kind where everyone can be a philanthropist. This [platform] puts a level of sophistication in charitable giving for people like yourself and myself ... The average person can make a bigger impact."
Hoekstra said the ultimate goal is to make the Amicus platform a popular savings option, similar to a 401(k), IRA or 529 plan.
Amicus is currently in a beta test phase with a Tier 1 bank, and Hoekstra said the platform is proven, enterprise-ready and set to launch sometime this month. He said they're also working to onboard nonprofits as they prepare their roll out to more banking institutions.
Hoekstra described Amicus as more than just a savings account, however. He said account holders and nonprofits will be able to interact and make personal connections through the platform.
"[It will] allow the customers of the bank to connect with the charities and causes they're passionate about and for the charities to exchange storytelling related to how they're accomplishing their mission enabled by the grants they're receiving from participating in this ecosystem," he said.
To date, Amicus has raised $8.8 million in capital, and Hoekstra said they plan to announce another significant funding in the coming weeks. They are currently a 25-person team, but Hoekstra anticipates the company will double in size over the next 18 months.
"The majority of our investors are individuals who are aligned with the mission of the company. They're not just approaching this from the lens of economic return," Hoekstra said. "Our vision is to create a company for the long term, for generations to come to truly make an impact."
He added, "Preserving the integrity of our mission, vision and values of the company are equally as important as change of control and viability."
