In an era where digital convenience defines consumer behavior, the nonprofit sector often lags behind with outdated donation systems that frustrate potential donors and limit generosity. While e-commerce has evolved to offer one-click purchases and personalized experiences, many charitable organizations still struggle with clunky interfaces that lead to abandoned donations and missed opportunities. Fundraise Up is revolutionizing this landscape with an AI-powered donation platform that brings modern e-commerce efficiency to nonprofit fundraising. Their technology helps organizations double conversion rates through personalized giving experiences, seamless checkout processes, and intelligent optimizations that make donating as easy as ordering a pizza. The platform’s predictive AI analyzes donor behavior to right-size ask amounts and upgrade donors, while supporting multiple payment methods and languages to enable truly global fundraising.
AlleyWatch sat down with Fundraise Up CEO and Cofounder Peter Byrnes to learn more about the business, its future plans, and recent funding round, which brings the company’s total funding raised to $82M.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We secured a $70M growth capital investment. The Series B round was led by Summit Partners, with participation from existing investor Telescope Partners.
Tell us about the product or service that Fundraise Up offers.
As the best-in-class AI-powered donation platform, Fundraise Up helps nonprofits grow revenue by increasing donor conversion rates, providing access to modern payment methods and personalizing the giving experience for every donor.
While industry average conversion is now reported at 12%, across our customer base we see an average of 28% conversion.
What inspired the start of Fundraise Up?
The inspiration for Fundraise Up came from a deeply relatable experience shared by many donors. I vividly recall trying to make a donation to support a breast cancer walk. It should have been a straightforward, positive experience, but instead, it became a frustrating ordeal. My first attempt at filling out the online form failed. I tried again. And again. By the fourth time, I was exasperated — the very opposite of how a donor should feel.
Unfortunately, this scenario is all too common and it leaves potential donors confused. The nonprofit’s messaging is about affecting change, making a difference, and being a hero, but when a would-be donor arrives at the donation form, the experience is a complete 180. They don’t feel empowered, they feel frustrated. The result? That dissonance negatively impacts the donor’s desire to give again.
Most donation forms are unintuitive, forcing donors through unnecessary mental gymnastics. Our view is that donors who can order a pizza or a rideshare with a single click shouldn’t face friction when supporting causes they care about. We hypothesized that the same user-centric technologies driving success in the private sector could be adapted to revolutionize nonprofit giving. It was the right call. We introduced nonprofits to the checkout, a technology typically used on e-commerce websites to increase sales conversion.
On a base level, each and every person is impacted by nonprofits. Whether it’s housing, disaster relief, medical research, food insecurity, the arts, education, and beyond. So nonprofits, these pillars of society, deserve better technology, and we are delivering on that, recognizing that the rapid pace of technological advancement and evolving donor expectations make the digital landscape particularly challenging and critical for nonprofits to master.
Our platform — the first to use predictive AI in donor experiences — is designed to remove donor friction and alleviate the burden shouldered by nonprofits. Not only does Fundraise Up bring new technology to the nonprofit space, but our pricing model is truly disruptive. We’ve structured our organization to invest in nonprofit success without requiring substantial upfront investments or locking them into long-term agreements. This approach ensures our revenue relies on remaining accountable not just for acquiring customers, but for retaining them through consistent performance. At the end of the day, we only win when the nonprofits win.
How is Fundraise Up different?
Fundraise Up is the first donor platform to use predictive AI, underpinned by a vast dataset unique to the nonprofit industry and collected over the last seven years. While competitors are now waking up to the transformational power of AI, our models and data set give us a great advantage over those who incorporate AI at a later stage.
Secondly, Fundraise Up is the only donation platform that uses a transaction-based only pricing model. We believe this approach is critical for nonprofits to grow and thrive over the long term, as it requires no contracts, fixed fees, or hidden costs for anything ranging from donor migrations, training, and technical support, to additional functionality and features.
Moreover, 86% of donors cover the transaction fee, which includes credit card fees. This is how the Canadian Red Cross saved nearly $1M in fees after using us for nine months.
The problem with lock-in contracts — the go-to model for legacy providers — is that nonprofits are paying up-front for a service before seeing any result. If they have a challenging year, they still have to pay the fees. For us, we do not see a penny until we deliver. This means we do not charge for onboarding, migrations, training, support, etc…100% transactional, with zero surprises.
What market does Fundraise Up target and how big is it?
We serve the nonprofit sector, which is a huge part of the global economy, with $1T in global giving today. 10% of donations are being made online, and online giving is expected to grow to 30% in the next decade, driven by demographic shifts and preferences. This yields a $10B global market opportunity by 2034.
What’s your business model?
Our best-in-class donation experience is differentiated in the market by our transaction-based-only pricing model — requiring no contracts, fixed fees, or additional expenses for things like technical support, migrations, or additional functionality and features. This model has helped us achieve significant adoption across the nonprofit sector, including organizations such as UNICEF USA, The Salvation Army UK, the Canadian Red Cross, American Heart Association, and many more. We charge no setup fees. There is a 4% fee per donation, plus Stripe or PayPal fee. Volume discounts can apply.
How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?
In harder economic times, we’re even more valuable to our customers. This is because nonprofits raise more money with our platform and avoid expensive legacy software contracts that require them to pay full fees even when donations are slow. For example, the Canadian Red Cross experienced a 48% increase in donations, 64% increase in revenue and a 10% increase in the average gift and saved nearly $1M in credit card fees within nine months of using our platform. The Community FoodBank of New Jersey increased annual revenue by 71% with optimized donation checkout, and International Justice Mission UK attained a 140% increase in the value of new monthly givers.
This reality — our model and innovative platform — is what drives our growth and that of nonprofits globally as they realize the benefits of our solution. And the data supports this: In seven years of operation, we have never had an enterprise-level nonprofit leave the platform.
What was the funding process like?
We prepared for almost two years. That was not our original intent, but we didn’t need the cash so it kept making sense to postpone the process. Finally we decided in order for us to see meaningful growth in 2026, we needed to act.
We had a very meticulous data room and paid to have two audits over those two years, which helped the process move unusually quickly. We formally started our process on October 20 and closed on December 24.
We were fortunate to have a lot of inbound interest from quality firms. We started with 30 firms, quickly narrowed them down to fifteen, then got seven term sheets, narrowed that down to four, then two, then chose Summit Partners.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
What I wish we had done differently would be to get a CFO in the seat sooner. We landed a fantastic CFO a month before our closing. I would also warn that project management of that many firms is a real thing. We are very operational and even though we excel at that, it was a challenge.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Our investors perceived the demand — and the opportunity — for better, more personalized digital solutions in the nonprofit sector. They understood that our intuitive technology, rich feature set and early adoption of AI deliver unique customer value and give us a strong competitive advantage.
Our investors perceived the demand — and the opportunity — for better, more personalized digital solutions in the nonprofit sector. They understood that our intuitive technology, rich feature set and early adoption of AI deliver unique customer value and give us a strong competitive advantage.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
In the near term, we’re focused on market-share expansion, specifically in global territories and new verticals, and continued digital innovation with product development.
We’re also working to grow our team, and expect our workforce to grow by approximately 50% over the course of the 2025 calendar year.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
You can’t go wrong being cash-efficient. For us, it is in our DNA. If you can get good growth at break-even (or better yet some profit), this will make you much more attractive.
What’s your favorite winter destination in and around the city?
Superfine in DUMBO. It was there before DUMBO was “DUMBO,” back when it was abandoned dark streets. The food is always great; the atmosphere is welcoming, cozy, and funky. The owners are three women who renovated the space themselves, and the sunken bar originally was a loading dock. They have local artists on the walls and have creative performances, cabaret, even retro burlesque on New Year’s Eve. It’s a great find.