Left: Givelify Co-Founder and CEO Wale Mafolasire. Right: Mafolasire and his team at the Stevie Awards. [Photos: Givelify]
Could passing the offering basket become a thing of the past in places of worship? Can nonprofits rely on a third-party app to handle fundraising with one click? Givelify, a leading online and mobile giving platform, is doing its best to realize both. And it says that Dallas-Fort Worth alone has now surpassed $300 million in donations by using its services.
Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Givelify is led by Dallas-based co-founder and CEO Wale Mafolasire, a Nigerian immigrant who moved from Indiana to Dallas in 2017. While the company previously had a physical office in Dallas, today 20% of Givelify’s team now works remotely from the Dallas area, a spokesperson told Dallas Innovates.
Givelify says it has a global community of nearly two million people who use its app to support their favorite churches, places of worship, nonprofits, and causes. Since the company’s launch in 2014, it reports that over $6 billion has been donated through its platform globally, with more than two million donors supporting 75,000 nonprofits and places of worship. Givelify said it leads all giving apps on the App Store and Google Play Store, with more than 104,000 verified, authentic reviews with an average 4.9 out of 5-star rating.
Why Dallas-Fort Worth is a key hub for Givelify
Givelify said Dallas has become a key hub for its growth and impact, thanks to “its large faith communities, thriving tech corridor, rich talent pipeline, and entrepreneurial spirit.” More than 1,500 places of worship and nonprofits in the DFW metro area can receive donations through its platform, the company said.
That $300 million DFW figure noted above? It was contributed via 2.8 million gifts from 80,000 donors since Givelify’s founding.
“We could have gone to San Francisco or Austin,” CEO Mafolasire said in a statement about his company’s particular focus on DFW, and his own move to Dallas eight years ago. “But Dallas offered something different: more diversity, and more opportunity to build a company that truly reflects the people we serve. Dallas has secured its spot as an innovation hub with a rich talent pool and a vibrant startup community.”
Dallas-Fort Worth ranks among Givelify’s top five U.S. markets by giving volume, with local organizations receiving more than nearly every other city nationwide, just behind Washington, D.C. ($350 million), Atlanta ($332 million), and New York City ($310 million). In addition, DFW is No. 2 nationwide in the number of gifts and donors supporting local organizations, second only to Atlanta, the company said.
“Choosing Dallas was intentional,” he added, “and as we continue to double down on diversity, equity, and inclusion, we’re proud that one of the most impactful giving platforms in the world is thriving right here.”
CEO bootstrapped the company after having no cash at a service offering
Mafolasire was inspired to launch Givelify by his own experience of wanting to give at church when he didn’t have any cash on hand. He bootstrapped the company—at one point even selling his car to raise funds—and eventually turned Givelify into one of America’s leading giving platforms for places of worship and nonprofits.
This isn’t the co-founder’s first entrepreneurial story. Writing on LinkedIn, he notes that as a college student, he always needed tutoring outside of class. “So I created varsitylounge.com, an online learning/collaboration platform.”
“I find opportunities where they don’t seem to exist and deliver solutions,” he adds. “Somewhere along the line, I became fascinated with servers and corporate networks and how they impact bottom lines, so I created Control-Z and delivered best-of-class IT consulting services to the Indianapolis area. I hooked up with Didgebridge a few years ago to deliver the world’s first patent-pending Video ROI analytics platform.”
And after forgetting to honor his pledges to a few non-profits and missing out on tithes and offerings at his church, he co-founded Givelify.
To help shape how the platform worked, Mafolasire says he visited hundreds of churches across the U.S., observing how congregations respond during calls for offerings.
Powerered by AI, with tiered badges and haptic feedback
Givelify said its latest tech innovation, Champions of Good, helps donors grow in faith and become consistent givers. Powered by AI, the solution “delivers a joyful and inspiring giving experience through personalized insights, recognition, tiered badges (from Silver to Diamond), streaks, and haptic feedback,” the company said. The program has already doubled the number of consistent givers from 18% to 37%, enhancing impact in Dallas and beyond, Givelify added. The technology recently won a Gold Stevie Award for Best User Experience. (The Steve Awards is a leading business awards program created in 2002 to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and working professionals worldwide.)
“This is about more than technology. It’s about people and our communities,” Mafolasire said. “We built Givelify to help people give to the causes that matter most to them and to cultivate consistent giving habits that bring lasting impact. Our platform lets you experience the joy of giving the moment your heart is moved. DFW shows us what’s possible when generosity becomes a way of life, shining through all year and even more so during giving season.”
And Mafolasire says “what’s possible” goes beyond mere numbers.
“When you look at the numbers, what’s remarkable isn’t just how much is given, but how deeply Dallas gives,” Mafolasire said. “The city is growing fast, but its generosity is growing even faster. Dallas is a city with a big heart, and that spirit shines through every day on Givelify.”
Quincy Preston contributed to this report.
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