SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 20, 2013 – Razoo.com, the fastest-growing crowdfunding site for causes, today expanded its online platform to allow people to give directly to other people for any good cause – whether nonprofit or personal. Building on Razoo’s record-breaking platform for nonprofits, Razoo now empowers everyday philanthropists to show they care through peer-to-peer giving to personal fundraisers.
Razoo’s distinct track record of helping nonprofits raise more than $165 million through online campaigns, including 24-hour “Giving Day” events to benefit specific communities, provides a foundation for Razoo’s individual fundraising platform. By broadening the crowdfunding website to support personal causes, Razoo provides a single destination for connected giving.
“Giving makes you feel good, especially when you can see benefits to real people,” said Lesley Mansford, CEO of Razoo. “The true perk of giving isn’t material – it’s the positive feeling you get when you help someone else. When you add the connective power of online tools to the mix, we believe that peer-to-peer benevolence will continue to augment nonprofit fundraising and become a significant category of giving in the future.”
Razoo anticipates medical, educational and disaster relief sectors will be the popular categories of individual fundraising on its platform. Personal campaigns on the site today range from parents raising money for children’s medical bills to a couple funding costs related to a dog rescue. Across all topic areas, Razoo’s technology delivers a real-time, online marketplace that facilitates fundraisers and donors to connect in the moment. The powerful reach of personal fundraising and nonprofit campaigns on the site allows people to connect with the people and causes most familiar and to them – which has been shown to increase the propensity to give.[1]
“Peer-to-peer sharing has a multiplier effect on giving to causes”, said Henry Timms, co-founder of #GivingTuesday™. “Crowdfunding has huge promise in enabling and inspiring a new generation of philanthropists.”
Developing a fundraising campaign on Razoo is simple and free. Razoo offers a secure, straightforward payment system through its payment provider for personal fundraising,Stripe. The system allows payment to fundraisers every week, regardless of whether goals are achieved.
Beyond raising funds, Razoo encourages users to share and post about campaigns to their networks on sites like Facebook and Twitter to drive more giving. Razoo has found that every Facebook share has the potential to help raise approximately $18 of donations for the nonprofit or individual campaign on Razoo.com. In addition, donors and fundraisers can search or discover individual causes by visiting the site and searching by topic.
For more information on how to start or donate to a fundraising campaign, please visitwww.razoo.com.
About Razoo
Razoo is crowdfunding for causes. Named for an Australian coin of little value on its own, until combined with many, Razoo powers small acts of giving that together change the world. From multimillion-dollar, community-led Giving Days to individuals collecting donations on behalf of the nonprofits or personal causes they support, Razoo has helped raise more than $165 million online – one small donation at a time. Razoo has offices in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., and is seed funded by the Legatum Group. See how we’re creating a new generation of everyday philanthropists at www.razoo.com. Follow us on Twitter at @Razoo, or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/razoogiving.
