After shifting its focus from individual donations to corporate giving in early 2018, Chicago startup Percent Pledge has been quietly lining up well-known tech clients. Now, the company is looking to expand its offerings to more companies and raise capital to fund it.
Percent Pledge, a startup that lets employees donate a small percentage of their monthly pay to causes they care about, has secured $75,000 and is in the process of closing another $150,000 in additional funding from a group of undisclosed angel investors, totaling $225,000 in funding. The capital will enable the company to hire one or two more full-time people, add new product features, market the platform to new clients and improve the technology. As the startup is raising funds, it’s also adding Chicago area charities to its cause portfolios and facilitating volunteer opportunities for corporate clients, said Percent Pledge’s founder Joel Pollick.
“It’s great that we’ve been able to find success and grow our user base and our platform to what it is now,” Pollick says. “We realized that if we really want to scale, we need to make strategic investments.”
Percent Pledge pairs donors with charitable giving portfolios filled with various non-profits that serve causes like women’s empowerment, healthcare and veterans. Users can enter their budget or salary information and determine how much money they want to give to charity every month. Donors can choose weekly or monthly reports that update them on the progress of the charities to which they have donated.
The startup, which launched in November 2017, has landed notable clients including 1871, SpotHero, Spikeball, the Chicago Leadership Alliance and Cultivate Labs. Percent Pledge, an 1871-based startup, recently organized a volunteer day for SpotHero employees at Humbolt Park to benefit non-profit Casa Central. Percent Pledge is considering offering similar volunteer efforts when new companies join the platform, Pollick said.
“With this platform, our team is able to seamlessly support their favorite causes and further our impact on the community,” Nikki Facchini, senior director of people at SpotHero, said in a statement.
In addition to facilitating volunteer days, Percent Pledge is also adding Chicago-area non-profits to a new Chicago Cause portfolio, an option added at the request of prospective clients, Pollick says. Hope for the Day and Feeding America will be featured in the Chicago cause portfolio, the charities confirmed. The company is also rolling out custom giving options for specific campaigns and events.
Going forward, the company wants to add companies with between 50 and 500 employees to its client list. In addition to pitching companies directly, Pollick said Percent Pledge would be open to partnering with benefits and payroll providers to offer Percent Pledge to existing and new customers.
“We’re focusing mainly on Chicago now… but we want to as well work with companies outside of the Chicagoland area,” Pollick says. “With this new investment, we’ll be able to expand and grow beyond Chicago.”
