June 18, 2021
Funding will be used to expand services offerings to financial institutions wanting to deliver a superior customer experience and further invest in their communities
Givio Inc., creators of a mobile giving and fundraising platform designed to meet the needs of givers, today opened their first round of seed funding with the closing of an initial investment from the Center for Innovative Technology’s CIT GAP Funds. This funding follows the advancement of Givio’s Minimal Viable Product (MVP) to a feature-rich, charitable giving and fundraising solution, already integrated with multiple service providers in the charitable giving technology and financial services space. Givio plans to use this funding to expand services offerings from nonprofits, schools and companies for workplace giving, to financial institutions wanting to deliver a superior customer experience and further invest in their communities.
“Givio’s mission is to simplify the act of giving and fundraising, unleashing everyone’s potential to make a massive, positive impact in local communities and around the world. Givio has grown out of a vision to liberate givers and fundraisers from complex, expensive technology that ironically hinders the giving process,” said Gary Carr, co-founder and CEO of Givio. “Our founder’s capital has taken us through our proof-of-concept and MVP to the place where we are now, ready to take our product to market on a much bigger scale. Funding from CIT GAP Funds and subsequent seed investors is providing us the fuel we need to transform the way people give, for the better. We also thank Herb Ezrin of The Potomac Business Group for advising our team throughout this process.”
The Charitable Giving market has seen a decline in the number of donors over the past 20 years, attributable to several factors like complicated technology, spam overload, lack of trust and outdated payment processes. Givio eliminates the barriers to giving by putting the user-experience first with “tap & give” technology, while building trust between giver and nonprofit with detailed, pre-formatted giving pages for 1.6M 501c3 nonprofits. Whether that user is a giver or a fundraiser, the Givio experience is fast, easy and rewarding. Allowing donors to choose from modern payment methods, including cryptocurrency donations, as well as full control over donation privacy, Givio delivers the experience today’s donors want, making fundraising efforts more impactful with less effort.
Tom Weithman, Managing Director of CIT GAP Funds, added, “As the direct investment program of VIPA’s Investment Division, CIT GAP Funds is committed to leveraging venture capital for Virginia-based startups. We are confident in Givio’s potential for rapid growth and contributions to the Commonwealth’s technology ecosystem. We look forward to being part of their expansion into new markets and the positive connections they will make for charitable giving.”
Partnering with financial technology providers, Givio will bring their charitable giving solutions to Financial Institutions and their customers, offering the same tap and give technology, enabling financial institutions to broaden their value and deepen their customer relationships. Customers will be able to track all of their charitable giving in one place and easily participate in community wide fundraisers sponsored by the financial institution itself, or its partners.
About Givio
Givio Inc., a Pending B Corporation, is a giver-centric charitable giving technology company on a mission to make giving and fundraising pain-free, intuitive and more impactful. Through its software platform design and the Givio app, Givio simplifies outdated and complex charitable giving solutions, removing the barriers to giving to and fundraising for any of the nation’s 1.6M nonprofits. Givio features tap & give payment options like Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Pay and in-app Cryptocurrency conversion; the ability to track giving history; and fast, in-app fundraising campaign creation and sharing across any communications or social media platform. Individuals, businesses and nonprofits alike can use Givio to support the causes they care about in their communities and around the world.
About CIT GAP Funds
CIT GAP Funds, the direct investment program of VIPA’s Division of Investment, makes seed-stage equity investments in Virginia-based technology, clean energy, and life science companies with a high potential for achieving rapid growth and generating a significant economic return for entrepreneurs, co-investors, and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Since its inception in 2005, CIT GAP Funds has deployed $32.4 million in capital across more than 240 portfolio companies, including 17 companies in designated Opportunity Zones. CIT GAP Funds’ investment decisions are guided by the CIT GAP Funds Investment Advisory Board (IAB). This independent, third-party panel has drawn from the expertise of leading regional entrepreneurs, angel, and strategic investors, and venture capital firms such as New Enterprise Associates, Grotech Ventures, Harbert Venture Partners HIG Ventures, Edison Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Intersouth Partners, SJF Ventures, Carilion Health Systems, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, and Alpha Natural Resources. For more information, please visit https://www.cit.org/gap-investment-funds.html.
