Bring Light

Bring Light, Inc. operated as an online web service designed to facilitate fundraising for charitable organizations by connecting them with new donors. The company was established in Cupertino, California, in November 2006 by two former Adobe Systems executives, Melissa Dyrdahl, who was the Senior Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Communications, and Drew McManus, the Director of Corporate Product Management. Their shared vision was to empower non-profits with better marketing and fundraising tools.

The platform provided a social network for donors to discover and support charitable projects. A key feature was the ability for donors to create "Giving Groups" to amplify their impact by involving others. The service officially launched on May 29, 2007, at the Netsquared Conference in San Jose, California. Unlike many competitors that relied on the Guidestar database, Bring Light individually screened and approved every charity on its site, which then gained access to a Charity Resource Center with fundraising management tools. The platform also allowed donors to contribute to specific projects rather than just a charity's general fund and offered donor-advised fund benefits with a low minimum deposit of $5 through a partnership with the American Endowment Foundation.

Bring Light's revenue model was based on a sliding scale service fee charged to charities, calculated as a percentage of the funds they raised, with a maximum fee of 10%. Initially self-funded by the founders, the company later received backing from angel investors, including Ron Conway and Bruce Chizen. On January 1, 2011, Bring Light was acquired by Rally.org, an online social fundraising platform, and has since been integrated into its services.

Keywords: online fundraising, charitable giving, non-profit fundraising, social fundraising, donor network, charitable projects, philanthropy tech, fundraising platform, donation processing, angel investment, cause marketing, non-profit services, online donations, charity marketing, donor engagement, crowdfunding, social impact, charitable campaigns, peer-to-peer fundraising, acquired startup