Bright Funds, the workplace charitable giving platform, announced today that the workplace donations made through the Bright Funds platform more than doubled with an increase of 129% compared to March of the previous year. The increase in charitable giving has been driven by generous employer and employee response to the global COVID-19 crisis.

Bright Funds and their customers have created over 60 Funds specifically focused on COVID-19 response.  Similar to the mutual fund model, Funds are a collection of nonprofits addressing a specific cause area. The COVID-19 Funds have raised over $1.3 million to date.  While monetary support has increased, volunteer hours tracked in Bright Funds fell by 58% over the same period the previous year. The impact of sheltering-in-place is credited for the drop in volunteerism. Bright Funds is facilitating volunteer activities in these new circumstances by helping employers and individuals organize or search for virtual and/or skilled volunteering opportunities.

Bright Funds works closely with thousands of domestic and global nonprofits. The message from many of them is grim. According to Thara Jinadasa, Head of Nonprofit Operations at Bright Funds, “We are hearing from many nonprofit partners who are concerned about the devastating repercussions of COVID-19 on their capacity to meet fundraising goals and continue operations. Many are seeing an acute increase in demand for their services, while simultaneously seeing an abrupt decline in funding and volunteer support.”

While the outlook for the nonprofit community seems dire, there is cause for hope and optimism among nonprofit leaders, funders, everyday donors, volunteers, and employers. This is clear by the outpouring of generosity from many employers and donors on the Bright Funds platform. Many employers have made more matching gifts available to employees to amplify their support to their nonprofits of choice, such as offering two for one matching or doubling (or more) their matching limits. Many employers have rapidly deployed customized campaigns or launched innovative programs to increase support for nonprofits and communities in crisis.  Rachel Nersesian, Head of Client Success at Bright Funds shared, “It is inspiring to see the commitment shown by our clients to their employees, communities, and nonprofit partners during this unprecedented time. The thoughtful and creative campaigns, initiatives, and ideas all have the ability to make a unique and significant impact to those in need right now.

At this time of global crisis, Bright Funds is making considerable investment in their platform and services to urgently support nonprofits, donors, and employers. To support the high demand for their services, Bright Funds has streamlined the process to rollout a program, enabling employers to launch a workplace giving program in as little as one day. To help address cashflow concerns from nonprofits, Bright Funds is expediting the distribution of funds to nonprofits from monthly to as often as weekly. Bright Funds CEO Srinagesh Vitthanala, “We are at a unique time and place. While my heart goes out to all those affected, I am personally humbled to be part of our clients’ global effort to support nonprofit partners.  Bright Funds is committed to continue to improve the platform and our services to enable employees to make a difference and to get resources into the hands of nonprofits as quickly as possible.”

Through this time of crisis, Bright Funds will continue to be the workplace giving platform of choice and deliver innovative ways to support employees to make a difference, employers to deliver on their philanthropic goals, and nonprofits to deliver their services.

For more details, visit https://www.brightfunds.org/ or email info@brightfunds.org.

About Bright Funds

Bright Funds, founded in 2012, is a workplace philanthropy company headquartered in Oakland, California. Bright Funds partners with companies to provide a secure, global technology platform that supports employee giving, volunteerism, and grants management. Bright Funds is proud to power programs for employers of all sizes that value giving back to their communities. 

For more information, please contact:

Srinagesh Vitthanala CEO
Phone: 650-862-6409

Rachel Nersesian Head of Client Strategy & Success
Phone: 415-851-3334

Bright Funds

Bright Funds

Bright Funds is built for a new generation of donors to bring delight and strategy to individual giving as well as workplace giving and matching programs.

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