Toronto-based philanthropic fundraising platform Wisely has raised $1.5 million in a seed-stage financing, bringing its total funding so far to $2.1 million.
The round was led by Canadian early-stage venture capital firm Ripple Ventures, with participation from Verstra Ventures and Maple Leaf Angels.
Founded in 2017 by CEO Artiom Komarov, CTO Ryan Henry and COO Wes Moon, Wisely provides artificial intelligence-enabled technology to help charities, foundations, educational institutions and non-profit organizations more effectively pursue donations.
The round’s proceeds will be used by Wisely to expand its operations in the North American market.
Photo: Artiom Komarov, co-Founder and CEO of Wisely.
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Wisely to impact $440 billion North American industry – Platform makes work of fundraising easier by discovering how much to pursue, from whom and when, more efficiently
TORONTO, July 25, 2019 – Wisely, a philanthropic fundraising enablement platform that leverages AI to help nonprofits simplify and pursue donations more efficiently, today announced it has raised $1.5 million CAD ($1.15M USD) in seed funding to expand its operations in North America. The round was led by Ripple Ventures with participation from Verstra Ventures and the Maple Leaf Angels. The seed round brings Wisely’s funding to-date to $2.1 million Canadian.
Founded by engineers, fundraisers and nonprofit software executives in response to organizational inefficiencies and archaic tools used in the sector, Wisely’s fundraising platform adapts to and integrates with existing donor data, and creates customized plans for the organization to optimize workflow and funds raised. The philanthropic sector sees an estimated $440 billion raised each year across the USA and Canada.
“The fundraising industry is at a point of inflection as new technologies like AI revamp ineffective tools and tired models,” said Artiom Komarov, Co-Founder and CEO, Wisely. “Today’s fundraisers aren’t always equipped with simple and effective tools to help them reach or scale their annual targets. With Wisely, fundraisers know the right actions to take so they can reach their fundraising goals more efficiently and run successful campaigns. We’re excited to help philanthropic organizations grow as they are backed by great technology.”
“Ripple is excited to lead Wisely’s seed investment round,” said Matt Cohen, Founder and Managing Partner, Ripple Ventures. “For the past decade, the nonprofit industry has remained unfazed by the digital software revolution, and in using AI technologies traditionally used for sales organizations, Wisely is helping fundraisers better target their benefactors. The founders’ strong domain expertise and understanding of user needs give us the confidence that they will move the industry in the right direction.”
Wisely works with nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, foundations, and charities across North America including UNHCR, St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation, Kids Help Phone, and Oakville Hospital Foundation. There are approximately 1.8 million nonprofits operating across North America.