Social Movements and Community
Givelify | September 29, 2021
Givelify, the most trusted digital giving platform, announced its relaunch. A commitment to giving more to Givelify’s generous and active community inspired the move.
Since its founding in 2013, Givelify’s app, along with its powerful donation management system has become the fastest growing technology for advancing generosity in the world — instantly connecting people to their heart’s impulse to do good. Today, Givelify’s global community of “givers” includes more than one million generous people, many from Black, Latino and rural communities around the world. The collective generosity of these consistent givers has led to nearly $3 billion in donations across more than 55,000 organizations, including churches and places of worship, as well as a variety of other non-profit causes. The community’s passion for giving has also made Givelify the most downloaded giving app on the Apple and Google Play stores.
Givelify’s giving community proved how despite the challenges brought on by COVID-19, technology can amplify generosity and deliver much needed resources. In fact, per Givelify, 55 percent of donors remained consistent or increased their online giving amounts in 2020, while 81 percent of faith organizations saw an increase in online and mobile donations during the pandemic. More organizations turned to Givelify to accept digital donations and embraced technology to further their mission.
“We celebrate our guiding light, those that give from their hearts, If not for this community, there would be no Givelify. In a world that can feel isolating, the Givelify community reminds us that giving brings us together. Those that give on our platform and the organizations and ‘faith responders’ they helped fuel during the pandemic are a particularly poignant example of the power of our community during the darkest of times.”
said Givelify founder and CEO Wale Mafolasire.
From Bootstrapped to Generosity Movement
Mafolasire started Givelify as a bootstrapped company, funded by several friends after being turned down by several traditional venture capitalists and angel investors. Givelify grew into a diverse community of content, technology and data innovators worldwide. It remains a minority-owned company that believes its strength is in embracing each team member's individual perspectives and differences.
Givelify’s new brand identity is informed by its giving community. Throughout the process, insights gleaned from extensive conversations with the community were infused into every design choice, ranging from the new logo to the images and color palette chosen to reflect the spirit of the brand’s passionate and sincere community leading a generosity movement.
As Mafolasire explains, “Givelify’s new logo leads with the simple and powerful symbol of a heart. The intent is to affirm the good that lives in all of us no matter where we live, no matter our life experience, no matter our faith, no matter our ethnicity or culture and in our desire to practice kindness and generosity.”
Vice President of Design & Innovation JW Kim adds, “We hope everyone that experiences our brand will see and feel what is crystal clear to us — a diverse, caring and devoted Givelify community. We want people that connect with our brand to think about how much better a world driven by generosity is for all of us.”
New Givelify Insights and Solutions
Givelify’s launch will also showcase the latest solutions the Givelify community has access to as well as what’s in store. This reveal supports their commitment to providing award-winning products and experiences to instantly connect people and organizations.
Hari Krishna, vice president of technology, said, “Everything we create is designed to help foster more ways to connect and give. From innovations to new features, our giving community is at the center of it all.”
This quarter, complementing the Givelify launch, those that use the Givelify app to donate will be able to access:
Trending Causes — a feature that helps users react and give quickly when crises or trending causes call givers to action, ranging from disaster relief to local fundraising needs.
New features that enable givers to match and exceed their generosity, including Giving Reminders and a new goal setting option.
Collectively, these solutions allow those that give to more easily turn good intentions into generous actions.
Organizations that use the Givelify platform to receive donations will also benefit from access to enhancements the brand has made to its Analytics Studio. The Givelify Analytics Studio provides organizations with the insights they need to understand donations and communicate as effectively as possible with their supporters. The enhancements support Givelify’s commitment to expand organizations’ financial means to further their missions and do more good. Its Analytics Studio does this by providing those organizations with the knowledge and insights needed to supercharge generosity to their mission.
“I could not be more proud of this moment in time and our community,” said Mafolasire. “It is humbling to recognize that our initial belief that people’s innate desire to do good would drive more generosity was an underestimate. What our community has taught us is if you eliminate the obstacles that separate our hearts from our actions, giving becomes the natural norm.”
Givelify asks its community of givers to stay tuned for future events that celebrate the meaningful, generous contributions they make every day.
About Givelify
Givelify is the most trusted online and mobile giving platform. Along with its powerful donation management system, it’s the fastest growing technology for advancing generosity in the world. We instantly connect people to their heart’s impulse to do good with award-winning products and experiences. A global community of more than one million generous people support their favorite churches, places of worship, nonprofits and causes with nearly $3 billion in donations across more than 55,000 organizations. Givelify leads all giving apps on the App Store and Google Play Store with more than 90,000 verified authentic reviews with an average 4.9 out of 5-star rating.
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Nonprofit Management
Comerica Bank, Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas | September 03, 2021
Comerica Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) partnered to award a combined $71,000 in Partnership Grant Program (PGP) funds to four Texas nonprofits.
The two banks celebrated the funding awards with the four organizations during a September 2 virtual check presentation.
The following organizations received funding:
Kym's Kids, Dallas, Texas, $22,000. Kym’s Kids helps abused, neglected and low- to moderate-income children and families with year-round mentoring, tutoring, low-income housing, field trips to cultural events, school supplies and household goods. The organization will use the funds for operational expenses.
Made Media Group, Austin, Texas, $17,000. Made Media Group promotes Black businesses and celebrates African American achievements and encourages African American youth to pursue careers in media and technology. The organization will use the funds for administrative and operational expenses.
MEED Center, Dallas, Texas, $17,000. MEED Center provides low- to moderate-income individuals with entrepreneurial support, business development, education, job training and community events, including outreach into refugee communities and a global youth and women’s leadership program. The organization will use the funds for administrative and operational expenses.
PowHer Play, Pearland, Texas, $15,000. PowHer Play, doing business as The Chatman Women’s Foundation, is a nonprofit organization that empowers women by supporting women-owned businesses and providing scholarships and grants to those in need. It plans to use the funds for educational scholarships for women going back to school or those completing their education, women wishing to obtain new job skills or those overcoming hardships.
“We are grateful for strategic partnerships like FHLB Dallas’ PGP, which allows our bank to be intentional in the way we deploy resources, ensuring we reach and make an immediate impact on the communities that need it the most,” said Vanessa T. Reed, Comerica Bank’s national external affairs manager. “FHLB Dallas’ matching grant structure also helps us deliver on the Comerica Promise of raising expectations in the communities we serve through inclusive and innovative investments in four very-deserving nonprofit organizations.”
For 2021, FHLB Dallas awarded $400,000 in PGP grants, and its members provided an additional $200,250 for an impact of more than $600,000 in its five-state District of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas.
“The PGP exemplifies the strong bond between FHLB Dallas and our members,” said Greg Hettrick, first vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas. “Comerica’s support of community organizations with PGP funds spans more than a decade, a tribute to its commitment to many worthwhile organizations over the years.”
See the complete list of the 2021 PGP grant recipients. For more information about the 2021 PGP grants and other FHLB Dallas community investment products and programs, please visit fhlb.com/pgp.
About Comerica Bank
Comerica Bank is a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA), a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Commercial Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping people and businesses be successful. In addition to Texas, Comerica Bank locations can be found in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Comerica reported total assets of $88.4 billion as of June 30, 2021.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $58.6 billion as of June 30, 2021, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to approximately 800 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. For more information.
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Nonprofit Management
Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund | October 26, 2020
Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund (KCCF) recently announced that it has launched a donor-advised fund with the Diocese of St. Augustine in Jacksonville, Florida. Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund is an independent nonprofit public charity sponsoring a donor-advised fund program, which inspires Catholics' generosity and empowers Catholic organizations to maximize their philanthropic impact on the world. Dennis Gerber, president and chief executive officer of KCCF, noted, "The partnership between KCCF and the Catholic Foundation is a unique opportunity for the Catholic community in the Diocese of St. Augustine to utilize the latest technology in charitable giving to donate to the organizations that matter most to them." "The Catholic Foundation is excited to partner with KCCF in offering a Catholic option for donor-advised funds (DAFs). This simple and flexible giving tool is a hands-on opportunity for individuals and families to get involved in philanthropy – supporting the causes they care most about," added Patty DiSandro, Executive Director of the Catholic Foundation of the Diocese of St. Augustine. DAFs allow individuals and families to donate now, potentially receive an immediate tax benefit, and recommend grants later, at any time, to a qualified charity. Meanwhile, contributions to DAFs grow tax-free. DAFs are relatively low-cost and easy to set up, and they offer a level of confidentiality that individuals and families may not have with a private foundation.
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