ActionSprout
, which helps non-profit organizations better engage with supporters on Facebook, has raised $1.7 million from Oregon Angel Fund, Bellingham Angel Fund, Portland Seed Fund and others.
In addition, the company announced that SurveyMonkey co-founder Chris Finley has joined the board. ActionSprout CEO Drew Bernard said in a statement that the money will be used to get the company’s tools into the hands of more non-profits.
“Some ninety percent of nonprofits use Facebook today with the goal of building support and deepening relationships with donors and volunteers,” said Bernard. “For the past two years our team has worked to develop tools and techniques to take the mystery out of how to make Facebook work for nonprofits, helping them achieve these very goal(s).”
The company’s customers include Sierra Club, Unicef, and Greepeace, with pricing of the service ranging from $15 per month to $73 per month, depending on how many people typically engage with an organization’s Facebook page.
Non-profits and political organizations use the service to engage with supporters on Facebook on various levels, from signing petitions to donating to subscribing to email newsletters. The company says that its tools convert five percent to 20 percent of the people who with engage with a Facebook post.
For example, if a non-profit organization has 100 people like, share or comment on a Facebook post, the ActionSprout tools will help obtain five to 20 email addresses.
“This is a large benefit for ActionSprout customers as the median value of an email address in 2013 was $13 in terms of donations,” said spokeswoman Kim Blomgren.
She added that other Facebook apps sell marketing services to non-profits, but many of those are focused on coupons or sweepstakes.
ActionSprout, which employs 10 people, has raised $1.7 million to date. It has offices in Portland and Bellingham.
ActionSprout’s Bernard, who previously founded OBJX and worked as a strategist at Groundwire Labs, lives in Portland, while co-founder and former Microsoft manager Shawn Kemp resides in Bellingham. Both previously founded BellPort Ventures, an organization that helps entrepreneurs turn ideas into businesses.
