Rally.org

Rally.org is a free online social fundraising or crowdfunding platform{{cite news |title=Rally.org Rallies $7.9M in Funding |author=Pui-Wing Tam |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2012/06/26/rally-org-rallies-7-9m-in-funding/ |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=26 June 2012 |access-date=17 December 2012}} with a built-in proprietary payment system,{{cite news |title=Social Fundraising Platform Piryx Is Reborn As Rally.org With Top Investors In Tow |author=Jason Kincaid |url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/06/16/social-fundraising-platform-piryx-is-reborn-as-rally-org-with-top-investors-in-tow/ |newspaper=TechCrunch |date=16 June 2011 |access-date=17 December 2012}} which is used by individuals and organizations to raise money for their causes. The platform may be used for ongoing fundraising as well as for one-time initiatives.{{cite news |title=Rally.org Cause Crowdfunding Platform Raises $7.9M of Its Own |author=Liz Gannes |url=http://allthingsd.com/20120626/rally-org-cause-crowdfunding-platform-raises-7-9m-of-its-own/ |newspaper=All Things D |date=26 June 2012 |access-date=17 December 2012}} Rally.org can be used by organizations and individuals including charities, entrepreneurs, filmmakers, students, political campaigns, and social causes. Fundraisers can use the platform to create a page about their cause, which the site refers to as a "Rally", and collect money through the platform's payment-processing system.{{cite news |title=Rally.org Powers A Donation Drive With Prizes To Spend Time With Silicon Valley's Top Angels, VCs |author=Kim-Mai Cutler |url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/12/14/rally-org-glide/ |newspaper=TechCrunch |date=14 December 2012 |access-date=17 December 2012}} They can also share their story through content including photos, video and blog entries. Through a feature called Covers, Rally.org allows fundraisers to embed a link for donation into their videos and images. These can then be shared via social media, allowing fundraisers to promote their campaigns. Additionally, Rally.org's platform analyzes how users respond to individual posts and provides data analytics tools for fundraisers to analyze their campaigns' effectiveness.

The proprietary payment system developed by Rally.org processes payments directly, rather than needing to use a third party payments platform such as PayPal or Amazon.{{cite web |url=http://betakit.com/2012/06/26/rally-org-raises-7-9m-to-help-fund-causes-and-the-stories-that-drive-them |title=Rally.org Raises $7.9m to Help Fund Causes and the Stories That Drive Them |author=Darrell Etherington |date=26 June 2012 |work=BetaKit |access-date=12 February 2013}} Additionally, the system offers one-click payment functionality, which allows individuals donating through Rally.org to make multiple donations to different causes and campaigns without having to re-enter their payment information.{{cite news |title=Social Fundraising Platform Rally To Launch One-Click Donations |author=Sarah Lai Stirland |url=http://techpresident.com/news/22543/social-fundraising-platform-rally-launch-one-click-donations |work=TechPresident |date=10 July 2012 |access-date=12 February 2013}} Although the platform is free to use by fundraisers, the company takes 5.75 percent commission from each donation made through the site. This commission includes Rally.org's payments to credit card companies.{{cite web |url=https://rally.org/corp/how_it_works |title=How It Works |work=Rally.org |publisher=Rally.org |access-date=18 March 2013}} Fundraisers do not need to meet a predetermined goal to receive their donations and are able to raise funds on an ongoing basis if they choose.{{cite news |title=A GigaOM guide to Kickstarter wannabes |author=Ryan Kim |url=http://gigaom.com/2012/11/28/kickstarter-copycats/ |newspaper=Gigaom |date=28 November 2012 |access-date=27 March 2013}}

In addition to the fundraising platform, Rally.org offers space within its San Francisco headquarters for rent at a subsidized rate to non-profits and socially conscious entrepreneurs. The incubator is called RallyPad, and includes mentorship and other benefits.{{cite news |title=Rally.org's 'social fundraising' platform pays off |author=Carolyn Said |url=http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Rally-org-s-social-fundraising-platform-pays-off-3338026.php |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=17 February 2012 |access-date=17 December 2012}} The company also operates a similar startup incubator in Berlin.{{cite news |title=Save the Prinzessinnengarten! Rally.org launches in Europe |author=Rebecca Grant |url=https://venturebeat.com/2013/02/07/save-the-prinzessinnengarten-rally-org-launches-in-europe/ |work=VentureBeat |date=7 February 2013 |access-date=12 February 2013}}

{{As of|2013|2}}, the site had approximately 4.6 million total users, including donors, charitable causes and political campaigns.{{cite news |title=Rally.org goes global |author=Dave Nyczepir |url=http://www.campaignsandelections.com/campaign-insider/354257/rallyorg-goes-global.thtml |work=Campaigns and Elections |date=7 February 2013 |access-date=12 February 2013}} The company is based in San Francisco and is led by chief executive officer Jon Cole. It also has offices in New York City and Berlin, Germany and has approximately 23 employees.{{cite news |title=Social Fundraising Platform Rally Grows With A New Round of $7.9 Million |author=Sarah Lai Stirland |url=http://techpresident.com/news/22464/social-fundraising-platform-rally-grows-new-round-79-million |newspaper=TechPresident |date=26 June 2012 |access-date=17 December 2012}}{{cite news |title=$8M In Two Weeks: The Inside Story Of The Largest, Crowdfunded Series A Round Of All Time |author=J.J. Colao |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2013/02/13/8m-in-two-weeks-the-inside-story-of-the-largest-crowdfunded-series-a-round-of-all-time/ |work=Forbes |date=13 February 2013 |access-date=18 March 2013}}

Tom Serres developing the precursor company, Piryx, in 2009 with co-founders Brian Upton Jonas Lamis and Naveed Lalani, originally as a platform to help political campaigns raise money online.{{cite web |url=http://piryx.com/team/ |title=Executive Team |year=2013 |work=Piryx.com |publisher=Piryx |access-date=13 February 2013}} According to Serres, the company's initial aim was to provide a service similar to PayPal, but customized for political fundraising. It was developed as a nonpartisan fundraising platform to be used by political candidates at all levels. The platform allowed donors to make payments directly to a campaign's bank account, and included an app that tracked donations and reported them to the Federal Election Commission. It also included features that campaigns could use to set up a webpage or fundraising tool via a Facebook group.{{cite news |title=A PayPal for politics |author=Chris Morrison |url=https://money.cnn.com/2009/11/24/smallbusiness/piryx.fsb/ |work=CNN Money |date=24 November 2009 |access-date=18 December 2012}}

In June 2011, the company announced that it was rebranding as Rally.org and widening the scope of its platform to a broad range of organizations and individuals, such as charities, filmmakers and students, in addition to political campaigns and candidates. Prior to the relaunch, the company moved its headquarters from Austin to San Francisco.

In June 2012, the company announced that it had raised $7.9 million in its first Series A round of venture capital funding. The funding was raised online through AngelList and was the largest round of Series A venture capital ever raised online.{{cite news |title=Take That Crowdfunding Cynics! Rally Raises Largest AngelList Deal Ever |author=Sarah Lacy |url=http://pandodaily.com/2012/06/27/take-that-crowdfunding-cynics-rally-raises-largest-angellist-deal-ever/ |newspaper=Pando Daily |date=27 June 2012 |access-date=17 December 2012}} Investors included Greylock Partners,{{cite news |title=Social fundraising platform Rally.org raises $7.9m from Google Ventures, Greylock and others |url=http://thenextweb.floost.com/Miscellaneous/post-social-fundraising-platform-rallyorg-raises-79m-from-google-ventures-greylock-and-others-502244 |work=The Next Web |date=26 June 2012 |access-date=12 February 2013}} Mike Maples of Floodgate Fund, Michael Birch, Tim Ferriss, Eric Ries and Google Ventures. Investing in Rally.org was Kevin Rose's first investment as a partner at Google Ventures.{{cite news |title=Kevin Rose Reigns As The Zen Master Of Silicon Valley Chatter |author=Max Chafkin |url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3004354/kevin-rose-reigns-zen-master-silicon-valley-chatter |work=Fast Company |date=15 January 2013 |access-date=12 February 2013}} Serres stated that the company would use the funding to scale the business, hire more engineers and expand into Europe.{{cite news |title=Rally.org poised to expand global reach |author=Danielle Kane |url=http://www.campaignsandelections.com/campaign-insider/322752/rallyorg-poised-to-expand-global-reach.thtml |newspaper=Campaigns and Elections |date=27 June 2012 |access-date=17 December 2012}}

In 2012, during the U.S. presidential and congressional elections, the non-partisan platform was used by Governor Mitt Romney's presidential campaign in the general election as its only fundraising platform, as well as by Mayor Julian Castro and Senator Elizabeth Warren.{{cite news |title=Rally.org learns from Obama and Romney as it looks for life beyond the elections |author=Hamish McKenzie |url=http://pandodaily.com/2012/12/17/rally-org-learns-from-obama-and-romney-as-it-looks-for-life-beyond-the-elections/ |newspaper=Pando Daily |date=17 December 2012 |access-date=17 December 2012}}{{cite news |title=Techies Cash In On Romney, Obama |author=Khadeeja Safdar |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/24/techies-romney-obama_n_1698861.html |newspaper=The Huffington Post |date=24 July 2012 |access-date=27 March 2013}} Rally.org was also the platform used for Jon Bon Jovi’s hurricane relief campaign raising funds to rebuild New Jersey communities following Hurricane Sandy.

The company announced the launch of its platform in Europe in February 2013. The global payment system will process transactions in 17 currencies, starting with donations in euros.{{cite news |title=Social Crowdfunding Platform Rally.org Expands To Europe With New Berlin Incubator And Donations In Euros, With Pounds Coming Soon |author=Ingrid Lunden |url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/02/07/social-crowdfunding-platform-rally-org-expands-to-europe-with-new-berlin-incubator/ |work=TechCrunch |date=7 February 2013 |access-date=12 February 2013}} It also established a new office and startup incubator in Berlin.

Also in February 2013, Rally.org introduced a new feature called Covers, which allows fundraisers to add a video link or image about their cause to their donation form. The new Covers feature was used by film director Sam French to raise money for the two Afghan actors in his film Buzkashi Boys to attend the Academy Awards.{{cite news |title=Filmmaker turns to new Rally.org feature to get young actors from Kabul to the Oscars |author=Hamis McKenzie |url=http://pandodaily.com/2013/02/07/filmmaker-turns-to-new-rally-org-feature-to-get-young-actors-from-kabul-to-the-oscars/ |newspaper=Pando Daily |date=7 February 2013 |access-date=17 December 2012}}{{cite news |title=A Trip to the Oscars, After All |author=Melena Ryzik |url=http://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/a-trip-to-the-oscars-after-all/ |newspaper=The New York Times |date=12 February 2013 |access-date=19 March 2012}}

Campaigns and Elections named Piryx in 2011 and Rally.org in 2012 as the "Best Online Fundraising Tool".{{cite news |title=Reed Awards |url=http://www.campaignsandelections.com/awards/reed-awards/2011/technology/best-online-fundraising-tool/ |work=Campaigns and Elections |year=2011 |access-date=12 February 2013}}{{cite news |title=Reed Awards:Best Online Fundraising Tool |url=http://www.campaignsandelections.com/awards/reed-awards/2012/political-technology/best-online-fundraising-tool/ |work=Campaigns and Elections |year=2012 |access-date=12 February 2013}} Also in 2012, the magazine named Rally.org the "Most Innovative Product of the Year"{{cite news |title=Reed Awards: Most Innovative Product |url=http://www.campaignsandelections.com/awards/reed-awards/2012/special-categories/most-innovative-product-of-the-year/ |work=Campaigns and Elections |year=2012 |access-date=12 February 2013}} and named Tom Serres one of its 2012 CampaignTech Innovators for creating Rally.org.{{cite news |title=Campaigns & Elections Magazine Announces "CampaignTech Innovators" |author=Miranda Neubauer |url=http://techpresident.com/news/22015/campaigns-elections-magazine-announces-campaigntech-innovators |work=TechPresident |date=5 April 2012 |access-date=17 December 2012}} In 2013, Forbes included Rally.org in its list of "America's Most Promising Companies".{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/most-promising-companies/list/ |title=America's Most Promising Companies |date=February 2013 |work=Forbes |access-date=18 March 2013}}

{{reflist|2}}

• [https://rally.org/ Rally.org website]

Category:American fundraising websites

Category:Companies based in San Francisco