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Money Helps MobileCause Find Funders

Now that his startup MobileCause Inc. has secured $18.5 million to launch its next phase of growth, Chief Executive Sean MacNeill is looking forward to getting back to work. “My job is to run the company and raise money,” he said. “Now that I’m done raising money, I can just focus on the fun stuff, which is building and scaling our business.” The Calabasas software company helps nonprofits raise money online with a package of services that includes e-mail campaigns and crowdfunding. On Jan. 9 the company announced the close of a $15 million Series B funding round facilitated by Level Equity in New York. MobileCause completed a $3.5 million Series A in early December; to date, the firm has raised $21.4 million, according to business database CrunchBase Inc. The investment comes at a time of uncertainty for MobileCause’s target market, which could face significant changes under President Donald Trump. On one hand, nonprofits benefitting from federal entitlement programs might be forced to reduce staff and services if such funding is scrapped. But then again, MacNeill noted, the tax cuts promised by the incoming administration could prove a boon for philanthropy if individuals have more money for charitable causes. “If there are lower taxes, will that enable people to donate more? We don’t know yet,” he said. Either scenario will likely be good for business at MobileCause, which has holds national contracts with 44 of the largest 200 nonprofit organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and United Way. Groups that lose government support could look to the company to help ramp up citizen-focused fundraising, while a flood of individual contributions made possible by tax breaks might push charities to find streamlined solutions for managing donations. The latest round of financing will enable MobileCause’s expansion, MacNeill said. The firm doubled in size and revenues in 2016 and plans to do so again this year. “We’re looking to grow our breadth of services and hire 70 or 80 people in Calabasas,” MacNeill said. – Helen Floersh

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