Omaze
 | |
| Industry | Online Charity Auctions |
|---|---|
| Founded | July 2012 |
| Founders | Ryan Cummins & Matthew Pohlson |
| Headquarters | Culver City, California, United States |
Key people | Ryan Cummins & Matthew Pohlson, Co-CEOs. Chief, Spiritual Guide |
| Slogan | Take a chance. Make a difference. |
| Website |
omaze |
Omaze is a privately owned internet company based in California, United States. The company raises funds for nonprofit organizations through online auctions, conducted similarly to raffles, with celebrities and brands.
History
Omaze's first raffle, featuring Peter Diamandis,[1] began on August 21, 2011, and the company was founded by Ryan Cummins and Matthew Pohlson in July 2012.[2][3][4] They got the idea for the website after Cummins and Pohlson, while in graduate school, attended a benefit hosted by Magic Johnson for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. During the benefit, a dinner with Johnson was auctioned off for US$15,000. The two could not afford to bid, and got the idea to website with luxury prizes but with low-cost raffle style entry tickets.[4][5][6][7]
The website won third prize at Startup Weekend LA in August 2011.[1][2]
Omaze raised $9 million in Series A funding led by FirstMark Capital and including The Tornante Company.[7][8]
Online raffles
The company's website hosts auctions, operated in a manner similar to raffles, with celebrities and brands designed to raise money for nonprofit organizations by selling a large quantity of tickets at a low-cost.[2][3][4][6] As of July 2015, the company has offered more than 150 raffles benefitting over 100 charities with dontions sent from over 160 countries.[7]
The company has worked with brands and celebrities such as:
- Ben Affleck[8]
- Andre Agassi[6]
- Breaking Bad[8]
- George Clooney[8]
- Stephen Colbert[9]
- Matt Damon[8]
- Robert Downey, Jr.[8]
- Vicente Fox[6]
- Steffi Graf[6]
- Peter Guber[3]
- It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia[3][4]
- Magic Johnson[6]
- Jennifer Lawrence[8]
- John Legend[8]
- Modern Family[2]
- Arnold Schwarzenegger[7]
- Star Trek Beyond[7][10]
- Star Wars[8]
- Jon Stewart[11]
The company's raffles have benefited nonprofits such as:
Business model
The company collects 20% of the revenue from each raffle, and donates 80% of the revenues to the designated nonprofit organization.[3][4][6]
See also
References
- 1 2 Zuckerman, Adam (August 22, 2011). "Look.io Takes Top Honors at Startup Weekend LA". Tech.Co. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 Jansen, Monika (August 22, 2011). "Win Once-in-a-Lifetime Experiences that Raise Money for Charity at Omaze". Tech.Co. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Milzoff, Rebecca (February 14, 2013). "Celebrity Charity Auctions: Six Winners' Stories". Businessweek.com (Bloomberg Businessweek). Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Shontell, Alyson (July 23, 2012). "Omaze Raises $1 Million So Regular People Can Experience Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunities For $5". Business Insider. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- ↑ "Our Story". Omaze. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Kozlowski, Lori (January 7, 2013). "A Startup Creating Contests For Good". Forbes. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Crook, Jordan (July 15, 2015). "Omaze, The Democratized Fundraising Platform, Picks Up $9 Million In Series A". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Omaze Announces $9M in Funding Led by FirstMark Capital". VentureBeat (Press release). July 15, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- 1 2 "Stephen Colbert's Omaze Raffle: Mocks Jeb Bush for Raffling Off 'Late Show' Premiere Ticket". The Hollywood Reporter. September 2, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- ↑ "Simon Pegg Shares Omaze Outtakes + New Alien? | TREKNEWS.NET". treknews.net. September 1, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- 1 2 Gibbs, Alexandra (August 12, 2015). "Jon Stewart’s last show raised $2.2M for autism". CNBC. Retrieved September 6, 2015.