Wildcard is proud to be working with Softgiving and we’re excited for you to work with them, too! We sat down and spoke with Laura Brower of Softgiving and asked her a few questions about the company and their plans with entered the Esports and Streaming community. Check out what she had to say below!
Wildcard is excited to be working with Softgiving. We can’t wait to introduce this platform to our Stream Team- We know they’ll love this just as much as we do. For our friends, family, fans, and followers who may not be familiar with Softgiving, can tell us about the company and its history?
Softgiving makes it easy for influencers to fundraise for their favorite causes in a fast, convenient, lifestyle-based way. We’ve built innovative fundraising solutions for some of the largest nonprofits in the world, and have recently expanded into the streaming space. Softgiving is focused on being innovative and taking risks, so the nonprofit doesn’t have to. We believe that nonprofits should spend more time on their mission than on fundraising. Every dollar and minute that nonprofits spend on fundraising is a dollar and minute not spent on conducting critical research, providing disaster relief, fighting hunger, or sheltering animals, among other important missions.
What was the inspiration to create Softgiving? Was there anything notable that led to its creation?
Softgiving’s Founder and CEO, Matt Pfaltzgraf, didn’t have the easiest childhood. Matt and his family relied heavily on nonprofits while his single mom did everything she could to make ends meet for her kids. Although Matt faced obstacles during his upbringing, this didn’t stop him from later on serving as the director of a large payment association. Through this leadership role, Matt was at the forefront of innovation for financial payment technology. During this time, Matt also served on a number of nonprofit boards and began to feel frustrated that there weren’t effective fundraising options that spoke to his generation. Matt understood how financial technology could provide a critical bridge to the next generation of donors. So he founded Softgiving to combine financial software and giving back to the nonprofit space that had influenced him so strongly in his childhood.
Everyone has a busy life and from what I’ve seen it looks like Softgiving makes donating to your favorite nonprofit easy, reliable, and most importantly for me– Trustworthy. What do you think sets Softgiving apart from all other fundraising platforms? What are some of Softgiving’s benefits compared to other platforms?
Getting set up through our platform is quick and seamless, and we provide you with all of the assets, a fully loaded incentive menu, best practices for success, and campaign performance data. Our platform has the largest amount of nonprofits to choose from. Users can search through 1.5 million nonprofits to support — be it large, small, local, or international. This is a feature we’re really excited about as it democratizes fundraising. Meaning, Streamers can support small/ local nonprofits that haven’t been able to heavily participate in the past. And single donations can be made conveniently and securely using digital wallets like Venmo, PayPal, credit/debit, and more. Softgiving is partnered with the Givinga Foundation and is currently in the process of integrating with the PayPal Giving Fund. So donors can rest easy knowing their donation is securely transferred to the nonprofit.
How does Softgiving help Streamers on platforms like Twitch raise money for their favorite nonprofits?
Softgiving makes raising money for your favorite charitable organizations super easy and fun! We provide Streamers with customer support and all the right tools (detailed above) to succeed in raising money for their favorite nonprofits. Everything the Streamer needs is built into our platform and there’s no need to rely on additional tools. Our platform also focuses on gamifying the giving experience so that it’s fun and impactful and more money is raised for causes. We believe Streamers of all sizes, small or large, have the ability to make a difference. That’s why we make it a priority to provide world-class customer service and continuously listen to Streamer feedback in order to optimize our platform and enhance user experience.
What do you feel are key components in running a successful campaign, especially for Influencers and Streamers?
We feel that there are two key components. The first and most important step is finding a cause that you’re passionate about, and everything else naturally falls into place. Your drive and connection to your chosen nonprofit’s mission will inspire your viewers to support your campaign, and before you know it, you all have made a lasting impact together, which is a super cool thing to experience as a community. Secondly, make it fun and add your own style to the charity stream! Provide creative and engaging incentives that you know your viewers will love, whether the incentive is based on an inside joke or you’d like to send postcards with a handwritten note.
Where do you see Softgiving’s relationship with Esports and the gaming community in the future?
As you know, Softgiving has traditionally been in the direct-to-nonprofit space and has recently expanded into Esports and gaming. It’s been an exciting time witnessing the drive and generosity that the community dedicates to fundraising. We’re thrilled to continue growing with our partnerships in this space and collaborating on new, innovative ideas to raise more money for nonprofits of all sizes.
