DonorSee

DonorSee is a humanitarian crowdfunding platform that is intended to allow donors to quickly and easily help people in the world's poorest countries. The platform lets donors see how their money makes an impact through raw video updates.[1] The company is based in Fairfax Station, Virginia.[2]

Donorsee
Type of site
Crowdfunding
Available inEnglish
Founded2016
HeadquartersFairfax Station, Virginia, United States
IndustryCharity
URLwww.donorsee.com
Current statusActive

History

The company was founded in March 2016 by Gret Glyer, in response to what he saw as poor management of aid money by large aid organisations.[2][3] Glyer raised $150,000 in seed funding to build the platform on web, iOS and Android and launched it on 26 September 2016.[4] Two weeks after launch, Glyer appeared on the Tom Woods show to talk about DonorSee.[5] In October 2016, DonorSee was listed in USA Today as one of the best ways to give to those affected by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti.[6]

On January 26, 2017, the Peace Corps issued a ban preventing their volunteers from using DonorSee.[7][8] Glyer subsequently initiated a Change.org petition asking that President Trump intervene and lift the ban.[8]

Glyer’s goal for 2017 is to reach $75 million in revenue.[9]

On March 14, 2018, DonorSee announced that they would be imposing a maximum donation level of $450 on future projects posted on their platform.[10]

On June 3, 2019, Glyer launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the publishing of a book If the Poor Were Next Door, which will detail his experiences with severe poverty which led him to create DonorSee.[11]

Business model

DonorSee allows aid workers to build a donor base by posting a feed of projects specific to the country they are serving.[12] During this process, members post a picture or video of the potential recipient and a story explaining how the money will be used, along with the amount of money needed.[13] They also have the option to say which country the project is in, and whether or not they want to raise money on a monthly basis. After posting, people can then donate to these projects using a debit or credit card, which is processed by Stripe. Stripe charges a fee averaging 6.25% per donation and DonorSee takes an additional fee averaging 13.75%.[14] After the project is funded, aid workers are expected to post visual follow up, which often includes the donor’s name in the video.[1][15]

While DonorSee is not a 501(c)(3) organization, certain projects are still 100% tax-deductible. Additionally, DonorSee has implemented an extensive vetting process, through which they claim to reject over 90% of submitted projects.[16]

References
  1. "DonorSee: How We Work". DonorSee. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  2. "Business Entity Details". sccefile.scc.virginia.gov.
  3. "How teaching math in Malawi inspired this local guy to start a crowdfunding company - Technical.ly DC". Technical.ly DC. 2017-01-27. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  4. "137: How I Raised $150,000 to Build My Own App". The Inner Tube!.
  5. "Ep. 751 Help People Around the World by Going Over the Heads of Governments and Aid Groups - Tom Woods". tomwoods.com.
  6. "How you can help Haiti after Hurricane Matthew".
  7. "Ep. 837 Peace Corps Declares War on Philanthropy App Built by My Guest - Tom Woods". tomwoods.com.
  8. "This crowdfunding platform for international aid is beefing with the Peace Corps - Technical.ly DC". Technical.ly DC. 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  9. Glyer, Gret (1 January 2017). "My Goals for 2017".
  10. Glyer, Gret. gretglyer.com. DonorSee http://www.gretglyer.com/donorsee-imposing-450-max-on-all-future-projects/. Retrieved 15 March 2018. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ""If The Poor Were Next Door" New Book". Kickstarter.com.
  12. Freiling, Nicholas (5 October 2016). "How the Uber for Charity is Revolutionizing Humanitarian Work - Nicholas Freiling".
  13. "DonorSee Lets Givers See the Impact of Their Gifts - Opportunity Lives". opportunitylives.com.
  14. "Who We Are". DonorSee. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  15. Sawchuk, Sam (21 December 2016). "Meet Gret Glyer - Learn How He Is Adding Transparency To The Way We Give".
  16. "Frequently Asked Questions". DonorSee. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
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