SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Daffy Charitable, a not-for-profit community built around an innovative new financial platform for giving, announced a $17.1M Series A financing for Aside, Inc., the company building the technology behind Daffy. The funding round was led by Ribbit Capital, joined by XYZ Capital and Coinbase Ventures, as well as over 50 notable angel investors, including industry luminaries like Reid Hoffman, Aaron Levie, Amy Chang, Dylan Field, John Lilly, and Mike Schroepfer. The funding will help Daffy scale and drive product innovations to help people be more generous, more often.
The Trillion-Dollar Generosity Gap
While Americans are already some of the most generous people in the world — individuals gave over $324 billion to charity in 2020, the team at Daffy has identified a significant “Generosity Gap” between what people say they want to give and what they actually end up giving.
In fact, a study at the Stockholm School of Economics showed that pre-commitment, committing ahead of time, can increase the amount an individual gives by 32%. This could translate to an additional $1.27 trillion dollars donated to charity over the next ten years by 2031.
“People want to be generous and help those less fortunate than themselves, but we are all busy and life gets in the way,” said Adam Nash, CEO & Co-founder. “My co-founder Alejandro and I believe that all of the innovations that have helped us shop, save, and plan, Daffy can also use to help people make giving a habit.”
Transforming The Way The World Gives
Daffy seeks to solve “the Generosity Gap” by asking people up front to set a goal for how much they want to give to charity for the year. Similar to having a certain amount set aside in every paycheck in a 401(k), Daffy asks members if they want to automate those contributions by taking the “Daffy Pledge,” a commitment to put money aside every week, month, or quarter.
Instead of the money sitting idle, a member’s tax-deductible contributions are invested in one of nine modern portfolios, to maximize their potential impact. Then whenever the member wants, they can easily donate to any of over 1.5 million worthy charities across the U.S.
“Daffy takes many of the amazing innovations we’ve seen in fintech to a large new space, charitable giving,” said Ribbit Capital’s Micky Malka. “Within seconds, you can donate to your favorite causes and charities from anywhere. By building a seamless and habit-forming giving experience, Daffy is not only creating a better way to give but a better way to live.”
“For decades, charities have been looking for a way to encourage individuals to give more regularly, and Daffy is working to make this a reality,” said Charles Best, founder of DonorsChoose and advisor to Aside.
Launched just four months ago, Daffy has surprised many with their rapid pace of announcements in a sector not typically known for technical innovation:
- The first full-featured donor-advised fund in the Apple App Store with the ability to open an account, make contributions, invest the contributions, and make donations, all with just a couple of taps.
- A modern responsive web experience for use across all major platforms and devices.
- A revolutionary membership-based pricing model as a direct challenge to existing providers who focus on accumulating assets under management.
- Members can give to more than 1.5 million worthy charities, schools, and faith-based organizations supported on Daffy.
- Members’ account sizes range from their minimum of $10 to over $1M.
- A generous community where 40% have signed up for the “Daffy Pledge,” a commitment to set money aside weekly, monthly, or quarterly for charity.
About Daffy Charitable Fund
Daffy is the Donor-Advised Fund for You™, a not-for-profit community built around a new, modern platform for giving, one built around the commitment to give, not the amount you give. It empowers people to make giving a habit through a seamless mobile experience that helps members set money aside for charity, watch it grow tax-free in a modern investment portfolio, and donate to more than 1.5 million charities across the U.S. Daffy (Daffy Charitable Fund) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. To give with Daffy, simply visit daffy.org or search “Daffy” in the App Store.
About Aside, Inc.
Aside is the venture-backed technology company focused on helping people be more generous, more often. Started by technology veterans Adam Nash (Acorns, Wealthfront, Dropbox, LinkedIn) and veteran software engineer Alejandro Crosa (Slack, Twitter, LinkedIn), and backed by Ribbit Capital, XYZ Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and Silicon Ventures, as well as over 50 prominent angel investors, Aside is focused on leveraging technology to reinvent charitable giving. Aside provides the innovative technology platform behind Daffy, a not-for-profit community built around a new modern way to give.
