Causes (company)
| Formation | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | United States |
| Matt Mahan | |
| James Windon | |
Vice President, Design | Jason Putorti |
Vice President, Product | Miche Capone |
Staff | 40 (as of February 2014) |
| Website |
www |
Causes.com is an online campaigning platform. Causes platform enables people who support a common social cause and to take action together. Causes is primarily used for grassroots campaigns, and to organize awareness campaigns. In June 2014 it was announced that Brigade Media acquired a controlling stake of the company behind causes.com, Philotic, Inc.[1]
Mission
Causes' stated mission is "to empower people to create change in the world through online organizing. Causes connects people who share a common vision and build the tools they need to make an impact.[2]
Any user can create a campaign on Causes, whether they work for a nonprofit or are an activist, interested in a certain issue. Nonprofits with smaller resources or extensive grassroots networks have been leveraging those resources to build online communities of supporters.[3] Users can publicize their activity to their personal network and use social pressure to engage friends and get more people involved.[4]
Causes is a for-profit business.[5] Investors include Sean Parker, Founders Fund, the Case Foundation and NEA.
History
Facebook Application
Causes launched in 2007 as the first social advocacy application and one of the first 10 Facebook apps. Users could create, join or browse causes focused on cause-related issues. Causes was used as a vehicle for community building, education, awareness, advocacy and fundraising.
Causes was co-founded by Sean Parker and Joe Green. Parker had previously worked with Napster, Facebook, and co-founded Plaxo and Green worked in grassroots organizing, including campaigns on the city, state, and presidential levels. With Causes, Parker and Green combined their knowledge of offline organizing, online social networking and product design to help people make a social impact.[6]
Causes.com
In 2012, Causes launched Causes.com[7] and appointed Matt Mahan as CEO.
Votizen Acquisition
The company acquired Votizen, a political campaigning service in 2013.[6]
The Supporter Network
The platform launched the Supporter Network on September 23, 2013, during a presentation by Mahan on stage at the 2013 Social Good Summit. The Supporter Network intends to connect like-minded citizen organizers, non-profits and celebrities. Three main new features launched that day: revamped user profiles; campaign pages and personal campaigns; and supporter insights, which offer free analytics to brands and non-profits about their campaigns.[8]
References
- ↑ http://tech.co/brigade-acquires-votizen-and-causes-2014-06
- ↑ http://www.causes.com/about
- ↑ Hello? Arkansas? Yeah, It's Facebook, The NonProfit Times, June 2009.
- ↑ Clicking for a Cause, The New York Times, November 2009. Although they work with non-profit groups, Causes is a for-profit company with a business model based on trimming up to 4% off of each charitable donation.
- ↑ Stephanie Strom (December 19, 2010). "Social Networks Meant for Social Good, but at a Price". New York Times.
- 1 2 Constine, Josh (January 10, 2013). "Causes Acquires Votizen To Democratize Democracy". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ↑ Eldon, Eric (January 23, 2012). "Early Facebook App Causes Is Being Reborn As A Polished Web Site For Good". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ↑ Fox, Zoe (September 24, 2013). "'Causes' Relaunches as Social Network for Civically Engaged". Mashable. Retrieved January 23, 2014.