Cincinnati-based Global Cloud is changing the way nonprofits raise money by harnessing the power of social networking to turn a $50 donation into $5,000.
DonorDrive, the software as a service tool that Global Cloud launched more than three years ago, has become a competitive product in the world of nonprofit development, where tapping into new sources of funding is a driving necessity during a slow economy, said Global Cloud founder Todd Levy.
“We saw that it was underserved and that we could compete,” said Levy. “We see a huge market potential.”
Levy said DonorDrive takes current donors and turns them into developers by allowing an individual volunteer to set up an event, such as a walk-a-thon, and create a DonorDrive page that describes the event and is easily forwarded to social networking contacts who can then give online. All the money collected goes directly to the nonprofit, reducing costs by eliminating mailings and promotional expenses.
“This makes it possible to hone in on (social) networks and take a $50 donation and turn it into $5,000,” he said. “A single donor becomes a network of donors.”
Global Cloud began as a website design company in 1997. Levy and co-founder Paul Ghiz had many nonprofit clients and eventually began filling requests for custom software applications for them. One of those software programs was for online donations.
They began testing DonorDrive in 2008 and have since rolled it out to hundreds of clients throughout the United States and Canada.
Levy said DonorDrive has been experiencing triple digit growth in sales over the past two years. DonorDrive will go from roughly 50 percent of Global Cloud’s business to at least 90 percent, he said, adding he plans to expand his staff of 24 by about 20 percent to accommodate the growth.