Benefunder

Benefunder operates as a specialized intermediary platform designed to connect private capital with research and innovation projects. The company was founded by Christian Braemer and Tom Paparatto after a personal family health scare highlighted inefficiencies in the private funding landscape for outcome-oriented research. Braemer's background combines global wealth management, entrepreneurship, and non-profit experience, while Paparatto is a veteran of the data and information industry, specializing in monetizing data assets in financial services. This blend of expertise shaped Benefunder's mission to address the funding gap for scientific and social breakthroughs.

Initially established as a non-profit, Benefunder transitioned into a for-profit social enterprise to better scale its operations. The firm's business model centers on providing a comprehensive suite of services and a technology platform to private funders such as family offices, private foundations, and donor-advised funds (DAFs). It assists these clients in deploying capital across various stages of innovation, from basic research to commercialization. Benefunder identifies client objectives, sources and vets relevant opportunities, structures the funding, and facilitates ongoing engagement between funders and researchers. Revenue is generated via a 10% fee on transactions, paid by the donor through their DAF account.

The platform serves two primary groups: funders and researchers. For funders, Benefunder offers a curated marketplace of vetted research programs, aiming to make philanthropic giving more targeted, efficient, and impactful than traditional grantmaking processes. It integrates with wealth management channels and advisors to streamline the process. For researchers at affiliated institutions like Stanford, Harvard, and Princeton, the platform provides access to cause-driven private capital without the need for extensive grant applications, allowing them to focus more on their work. A key milestone was the 2023 acquisition of Impactly, a management system for family offices that facilitates grantmaking and impact investing.

Keywords: philanthropic services, impact investing, research funding, donor-advised funds, family office services, social enterprise, innovation financing, private capital, grantmaking platform, venture philanthropy, researcher funding, scientific philanthropy, continuum of capital, impact mandates, philanthropic marketplace, wealth management solutions, non-profit funding, emerging breakthroughs, social impact, university research partnerships