Starfish is transforming how people engage with nonprofits through its innovative global social media platform. Starfish users can create profiles, share their preferred nonprofits, and connect with others who share common philanthropic interests.
An important feature of the Starfish app are the Challenges, in which users rally their communities, fundraise for important causes, and directly support nonprofits in-app. A standout example is their Challenge for Veterans, which supported the Land of the Free Foundation. This initiative raised funds for 34 individual nonprofits focused on helping U.S. military families and veterans, and showcased Starfish’s ability to mobilize meaningful contributions in just two months.
With its eyes set on growth, Starfish is planning to launch more Challenges and expand its user base in the coming year, further solidifying its role as a leader in socially-driven philanthropy.
Starfish’s mission is to inspire social media users to make a tangible impact by supporting nonprofits through their Challenges. However, the complexity of managing donations at scale presented significant difficulties. Starfish needed a solution that could provide timely and accurate payouts to nonprofits, and handle the logistics of managing donations for hundreds of organizations at once.
Equally important was maintaining the trust of their growing community of users and nonprofit partners. With plans to expand the platform’s reach and host more Challenges, Starfish sought a partner who could help them scale their operations without compromising efficiency or credibility.
Starfish partnered with Change to address their need for a robust donation management system that could keep pace with their rapid growth. Change’s platform offered the tools necessary to simplify the donation process.
One of the key features Starfish relied on was Change’s ability to handle payouts to nonprofits efficiently. Through Change’s donor-advised fund (DAF) structure, donations were seamlessly processed and distributed to nonprofits, removing the administrative burden from Starfish and ensuring that funds reached their intended recipients promptly. This functionality proved invaluable during campaigns like the Challenge for Veterans, where support for 34 nonprofits required precise coordination.
With over $2 million raised so far for nonprofits such as Semper Fi & America’s Fund, Special Forces Charitable Trust, and Canine Companions for Independence, Starfish has been able to support amazing Veterans organizations while continuing to build an interactive and enthusiastic online community.
As Starfish continues to grow, their partnership with Change will remain central to their mission of transforming online engagement into meaningful support for nonprofits. By leveraging Change’s expertise, Starfish is poised to scale its platform, launch more Challenges, and inspire even more users to make a difference.
