Washington, D.C.-based social enterprise startup GoodWorld has picked up $485,000 in funding from the District's Innovation Finance Fund. Goodworld, which offers direct donation to partner charities via a hashtag on social media, has raised a little over $2.5 million with this new capital.
"We're really excited to be part of the D.C. government's investment," GoodWorld founder Dale Pfeifer told DC Inno in an interview. "It all happened relatively quickly, just a few hoops to jump through."
The Innovation Finance Fund is part of the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking and matches private investment, in this case the $485,000 raised by GoodWorld from 1776, Fenway Summer Ventures and Nyca Partners in January, 2015. GoodWorld is the second company to get funding through the program after investing $50,000 in Good Foods Market last year.
"At the end of the day the purpose of the fund is to invest in companies in the District that are going to grow, create jobs and improve the economy," said GoodWorld COO John Gossart. "It's a bonus for the District to invest in a company whose goal is to improve the world."
"The money raised is the exact amount we need to get to our Series A round," Pfeifer said. "D.C. is the perfect home for GoodWorld."
