Introducing Public Good: The New Face of Fundraising

CHICAGO, Sept. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Technology startup veterans Jason Kunesh and Dan Ratner are announcing the national launch of Public Good, the new online donation platform and social network that brings awareness to countless causes to elicit activism. After operating on a local level with Chicago/Illinois based not-for-profits in its hometown, Public Good now houses over one million charities under one online roof, creating a new digital category.

Kunesh and Ratner, the CEO and Executive Chairman respectively, were both leaders of the technology team who revolutionized grassroots online giving for Obama for America in 2012. They were also members of the founding teams of business successes including Orbitz, SitterCity and Groupon. Public Good has been funded by notable investors including WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg, OpenTable founder Chuck Templeton and former Orbitz COO Mike Sands.

Public Good aims to be the leading social network for philanthropy. Through the development of its innovative and unparalleled "Take Action" button which, unlike Facebook's "Donate Now," extends beyond its own website and is being embedded in articles and videos, in addition to ads. When a reader is inspired by an article or news story about a charity, tragedy or disaster, "Take Action" empowers him/her to truly connect with that charity and other charities making a difference, rather than just "Like" or "Tweet" the story.

"This is the third social network," said Ratner. "There's Facebook for your social life, LinkedIn for your professional life, and we have created Public Good for your civic life."

Public Good, a benefit corporation, empowers a person or business to easily "Take Action" by contributing to a cause about which they are passionate -- anything from violence prevention to hunger and nutrition to cancer support to STEM. In the process they can discover great local nonprofits working on these causes. All of the nonprofits are verified by Public Good and are 501(c)(3)s registered with the IRS.

"With so many causes that need our support today, we want to make it easy for people to take action, vet and connect with great local organizations working on the causes they care about – we want to make it easy for people to motivate and make their communities better," said Jason Kunesh, co-founder and CEO of Public Good. "Organizations can't sustain themselves looking for a social marketing gimmick or the next ice bucket challenge. They need to build lasting relationships with committed supporters, who in turn need to feel respected and engaged."

American citizens donate around $300 billion per year to charities and 6.5 percent of this amount is donated online. According to a report released jointly by The Giving USA Foundation and The Center on Philanthropy, this percentage is expected to rise to 10 to 20 percent within the next five years.

"The question is, how do you give so it will matter most? How do you find organizations that match your values? And how do you participate in ways other than donations, like volunteering or spreading the word? Giving has changed and continues to evolve.  Let's raise awareness for organizations you might not know about but that are doing something about what you care most," explained Ratner.

It's free for both donors and organizations to join Public Good. In addition to registering on the site for free, within their own profile users can favorite a charity and donate to it, ultimately seeing the history of their donations in one portal; they can also download receipts at tax time. Soon, while they are on the site, they will be able to watch a video, sign a petition, learn more about a cause, take some type of action related to advocacy or call a member of congress, to name a few, and selectively share their activities with others.

Public Good Empowers Readers to "Take Action"

Since people seldom hit "like" on hard news stories about tragedies or disasters, they can now simply hit the "Take Action" button instead from any screen, noted Kunesh. "That message fits in with this mode you're in. The goal is to start a connection."

That connection begins by being directed to the Public Good page to learn about a specific nonprofit, subject or article/news story, discover charities supporting that specific issue, learn about many ways to actively participate in the cause and/or donate to the charity on the spot.

Following a successful beta campaign with the Sun Times Media and The Chicago Reader, Public Good has plans to launch "Take Action" with other media partners in the coming months.

Kunesh added, "We not only want to raise awareness. We really want to make an impact. "

A Better Alternative to Donation Pages

Using Public Good as the Civic Social Network also has many benefits to not-for-profits, who are suffering from lack of increased donor spending and slashed government funding.

Public Good offers a more directed experience than "crowdfunding" or social fundraising. People using Public Good are actively there to find organizations working on the causes they care about and build substantial relationships. They aren't just giving a few dollars to a friend's birthday or charity run. Also, using a common platform has many other benefits including stored payment information to make donations easy and donor insights and campaign recommendations to make the fundraiser's job easier.

"Public Good has been a wonderful partner for the Chicago Literacy Alliance. They have created a platform that allows others to come to know our cause and follow our organization," commented the organization's executive director Mike Ban. "Additionally, we have linked our website to the Public Good site allowing people from around the country to make donations in support of our work."

About Public Good Software
Public Good Software is a benefit corporation dedicated to revolutionizing how people engage with causes and charities online by making the experience simple, rewarding and empowering. The company was founded in 2013 by veterans of some of Chicago's biggest tech successes including Obama for America, Sittercity.com, Orbitz and Groupon. It's cause centric charity marketplace, PublicGood.com, launched  locally in Chicago in September 2014 and nationally in July 2015 with over 1 million charities as members of its online marketplace.

To learn more about Public Good, visit PublicGood.com.
To download a press kit, visit PublicGood.com/Press.

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