Nonprofits make up 6 to 12 percent of the 125 million registered businesses across the world. That's a staggering number of charitable organizations — but serial entrepreneur Kathryn Engelhardt-Cronk said this market is still remarkably overlooked.
“They’re sort of a hidden market,” said Engelhardt-Cronk. “Very few people understand that there are 10 million nonprofits on the planet who are English speaking ... that are spending as much money as they are and doing as much good as they do. They are sort of looked at by a lot of corporations, big business and investors as just not real businesses.”
But that perception, she said, also means business opportunity. And Engelhardt-Cronk — an industry veteran who recently sold a SaaS platform with half a million daily users — would know.
Now, Engelhardt-Cronk hopes to impact the growth and reach of nonprofits through her new startup endeavor MissionBox, which launched in February.
MissionBox is a free global networking site that provides a go-to spot for nonprofit professionals to find recommended tools and services specific to their organizations, meet and share ideas with people from around the world, and easily locate vetted content and articles to support their causes.
“Right now, it’s very difficult for 85 percent of not-for-profits to find and identify ... any information they need on how to start, operate, grow, market, fund and govern a nonprofit, charity or non-governmental organization,” said Engelhardt-Cronk. “All the information on our site has been researched by our editors and writers, rewritten and okayed.”
Additionally, when a user looks up curated articles, they receive contact info of other allies, groups, mentors and business partners in the MissionBox social network who are experts in their fields and are available to talk directly with the user.
For users on the site who can’t find the answer to a question they have, Engelhardt-Cronk said MissionBox's team of 16 writers will actually go find it for them on request, like a free online concierge service.
This summer, they plan to roll out a live-streaming video function with archive capabilities on the site while also deploying a microsite pilot program with United Way for Greater Austin, where Engelhardt-Cronk previously served as a senior vie president. The password-protected site would allow for organizations to communicate with donors, policy makers, staff, volunteers and more from one universal location.
To date, Engelhardt-Cronk said MissionBox has raised $2 million in funding, with another $2 million on the way. This year the team is focusing on the rollout in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, with plans to extend to the rest of the European Union, Africa and Asia in 2018.
“In the next decade, 600,000 nonprofit executives will be retiring, and we need to be providing knowledge and information to nonprofits so that they can set up succession plans, so they can train, and uplift management to get them ready for these roles,” said Engelhardt-Cronk. “We need to find good ways for nonprofits to keep thriving.”
Image provided by MissionBox.
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