The nonprofit sector plays a vital role in society by addressing social issues and providing services that benefit communities. In recent years, the rise of social entrepreneurship has led to many innovative nonprofits that are run like startups. These lean nonprofits take an entrepreneurial approach to tackling social problems in areas like healthcare, education, economic development, and environmental sustainability.
Top nonprofit startups
Complete list of the nonprofit startups that are worth knowing:
Anaxago
Founded in 2012, Anaxago is an online crowdfunding platform that helps high-potential startups raise investments from a community of individuals and venture capital firms. Their model is reinventing how emerging companies get funded.
Entrepreneurs can create investor profiles on Anaxago’s sleek site to showcase their business vision, and growth traction, and the scope of the capital they need. Backers range from ordinary individuals to large investment funds. A data-driven vetting process ensures only promising startups get promoted.
Kontist
Kontist empowers self-employed professionals with integrated banking, accounting, and tax solutions tailored to freelance workstyles. Their digital platform centralizes financial workflows from banking and invoicing to bookkeeping and tax preparations scaled for independent hustles. Core offerings include an online-centric business account and smart debit card, plus intuitive financial dashboards that automatically categorize transactions to simplify taxes. Kontist also connects members to accredited tax advisors for expert guidance optimizing filings.
Driven by AI, their tools align independent finances and strategic growth in one unified ecosystem. By holistically addressing bookkeeping hassles and planning needs underserved by traditional institutions, Kontist helps Europe’s freelance workforce maximize income, efficiency and peace of mind.
WISHLY
Founded in 2019, WISHLY taps into the civic spirit of generations Y and Z as an engine for grassroots good. The platform lets individuals crowdfund donations starting as low as three dollars for their choice of charities and causes. Donation campaigns get shared peer-to-peer to hit targets.
WISHLY spotlights impact through micro-giving. By breaking largesse into bite-sized acts, they overcome obstacles that limit many from aiding pressing needs. WISHLY also spotlights givers to inspire more socially-minded participation.
Classy
Founded in 2011, Classy offers a suite of tools to simplify donor engagement including campaign creation, peer-to-peer fundraising, automated email, text fundraising, donation forms, and more. The platform optimizes the giving experience.
For organizations dedicated to making an impact, Classy offers the infrastructure to expand fundraising outreach while saving administrative costs. Their platform innovates donor experiences and management.
Change.org
Founded in 2007, Change.org allows anyone to create online petitions and fundraisers to spread awareness of causes and influence leaders’ decisions. Campaign organizers harness digital outreach to build mass movements.
By developing accessible tools for digital civic participation, Change.org empowers grassroots action at unprecedented scale. The company reflects technology’s potential to strengthen democracy through collective voices.
MoveOn
Founded in 1998, MoveOn enables individuals to advocate and organize around issues through coordinated digital activism. Members create and rally around petitions, electoral campaigns, calls to action, and community events.
MoveOn pioneered using the internet’s reach to effectively connect individuals and spur coordinated activism. Their movement harnesses shared energy of millions to progress equality and justice.
Kiva
Founded in 2005, Kiva lets lenders browse borrower profiles and fund microloans as small as $25 to support borrowers across sectors like agriculture, education, manufacturing, and more. Full loan funding is sent to the local Field Partner to disburse.
To date, over 3 million Kiva lenders have crowdfunded $1.7 billion in loans across more than 80 countries. The organization’s innovation leverages collective action to empower financial inclusion at scale.
Fonteva
Founded in 2008, Fonteva designed their software specifically for the workflow needs of member-based organizations. Core features manage membership data, events, education, career centers, peer networking, website integration, communications, and analytics.
Configurable modules integrate directly with Salesforce CRM to consolidate data and standardize processes into a centralized hub. Fonteva aims to optimize member engagement, retention, and loyalty for thriving associations.
Medic
Since 2018, Medic has built mobile apps, sensor technologies, and data platforms to expand quality care in underserved communities. Their open tools aim to improve healthcare access, quality, and infrastructure through co-creation with local voices.
Whether increasing maternal health through data-driven insights or enabling earlier disease detection, Medic aims to empower frontline health workers and under-resourced communities with tailored solutions that save lives.
Clowder
Launched in 2012, Clowder builds mobile apps packed with features like events listings, news, directories, document libraries, donations, activity sign-up, and more. Apps extend community impact and participation beyond physical events.
For groups like associations, charities, schools, and churches, Clowder apps provide at-a-glance access to programs, resources, and collective purpose. Members stay connected in the digital spaces where they already spend time.
Giving Forward
Founded in 2012, Giving Forward offers a free browser extension that automatically contributes a percentage of purchases from 4000+ online retailers into the user’s nonprofit donation account. Donations collect until the user is ready to pay out.
For committed volunteers and nonprofit champions, Giving Forward makes supporting an organization easy during everyday online shopping. A few clicks raise revenue from brands customers already use.
CharterUP
Founded in 2016, CharterUP provides a platform to search, compare, and directly book buses on-demand from an expansive network of charter bus operators. Organizations can manage group trips efficiently.
CharterUP consolidates a highly fragmented charter bus sector into one hub for seamless planning. Operators receive new business leads through the marketplace which empowers their growth.
TapRaise
Founded in 2015, TapRaise offers easy-to-use online fundraising tools including donation forms, peer-to-peer campaigns, text-to-donate, donor management, and marketing integrations. Nonprofits can consolidate fundraising activities digitally.
By providing integrated digital fundraising solutions purpose-built for nonprofits, TapRaise empowers these changemakers to further their mission and deepen community ties. The company reflects technology’s potential to accelerate social good.
American Indian Family Center
Founded in 1975, the American Indian Family Center offers dedicated resources across areas like mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, youth mentoring, early childhood education, employment assistance, and cultural activities. They serve over 1000 families annually.
The American Indian Family Center’s range of culturally rooted programs affirms how focused community organizations transform lives when anchored in shared identity and values. Their comprehensive, integrated support models wider social service transformations.
The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
Founded in 2014, The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation partners with nonprofits, researchers, and humanitarian organizations to ethically apply technology to tackle global challenges like poverty, health issues, and climate change.
From AI for humanitarian aid to data tools for early disease detection, The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation sponsors leading-edge innovations for good that demonstrate possibilities to uplift human wellbeing through technology.
Rorshok
Founded in 2021, Rorshok develops digital platforms and tools to strengthen neighborhoods, civic engagement, resource access, and relationship building among residents. Their solutions aim to break down barriers to local participation.
Rorshok’s personalized, inclusive approach catalyzes grassroots community building. Features like volunteer matching and skills sharing empower communal support and resident-driven change.
Perennis Community
Founded in 2020, Perennis convenes individuals from diverse backgrounds for cultural activities, skill sharing, discussions, and projects focused on civic participation. Programming aims to cultivate connections and uplift communities.
For London residents seeking local engagement and empowerment, Perennis provides welcoming avenues to unite through common interests and community service. Their model reflects technology’s potential to enrich communities when grounded in genuine human connection.
Wasser 3.0
Founded in 2017, Wasser 3.0 designs efficient, eco-friendly water treatment methods leveraging reusable materials like biochar made from agricultural waste. Technologies safely eliminate toxins while recovering resources.
Beyond cleansing methods, Wasser 3.0 studies nano- and microplastic prevalence across the water cycle to inform protection strategies. Their expertise in green chemistry drives sustainable innovation.
Oversight Board
Launched in 2020, the Oversight Board aims to provide principled, unbiased content judgements to establish precedent and legitimacy around social media governance. The board’s diverse experts issue binding rulings on cases referred by users or Facebook itself.
By creating a transparent process for appeal and oversight, the Board provides checks and balances around content decisions globally. It represents a step toward accountability and due process in platform governance.
DigiConsult
Founded in 2010, DigiConsult provides expertise across capabilities like digital transformation strategy, customer experience optimization, data analytics, custom software development, and change management.
By taking a business-first approach, DigiConsult objectively helps clients identify the best technologies and solutions to address needs from both IT and end-user perspectives. Their focus is practical value.
WebTree
Founded in 2018, WebTree envisions an open source platform allowing peer-to-peer exchange of goods, services, knowledge, and talents using social validation rather than physical currency. A decentralized structure facilitates direct community transactions.
Features like peer reviews, impact tracking, and programmable incentives powered by an integrated ledger aim to quantify and reward contributions to the community and Commons according to collective values.
Wikirate
Launched in 2015, the Wikirate community sources, validates, and rates publicly available information on company ESG metrics like emissions, workplace policies, ethics, and sustainability initiatives. Crowdsourced data aids research.
By gathering dispersed information into structured, unified company profiles, Wikirate enables benchmarking and gaps analysis. Open data fuels research and drives informed stakeholder action.
Happy Dogs & Shelters
Founded in 2015, Happy Dogs & Shelters operates animal shelters providing care, vaccination, nurturing, and housing for stray and surrendered dogs until they find permanent homes. Their volunteers socialize and prepare dogs for forever families.
Through relentless care and optimism, Happy Dogs & Shelters pioneers what becomes possible when animal welfare stays guided by unyielding humanity. The organization reminds us why love always leads the way.
Conclusion
Forget everything you thought you knew about traditional charities – these nonprofits startups are disrupting stale models with entrepreneurial approach. Whether it’s reducing hunger with tech-savvy solutions or empowering women through mobile platforms, these nonprofits represent the exciting future of mission-driven organizations.
Discover more creative startups that might interest you:
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