Omaze, a social impact fundraising startup based in Los Angeles, has announced the completion of a Series C funding round at $85 million to continue supporting global charities
Louis Bacon’s Moore Strategic Ventures (MSV) led the round, which also counted with the participation of Telstra Ventures, Causeway Media Partners, Mockingbird Ventures, Pegasus Tech Ventures, BDMI, Wndrco, and FirstMark. Longtime partners Tom Brady, Kerry Washington, Alexis Ohanian, and Bono also joined.
Launched in 2012, Omaze is currently the leading social impact fundraising platform. It allows participants to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences and other prizes while supporting nonprofit organizations across the world.
The platform has been well-known around the world as it offers participants the chance to have celebrity experiences such as the chance to be in a Star Wars movie or win a Lamborghini and receive the keys from Pope Francis. Most recently the startup has offered people the chance to go to space, which was the result of a partnership with Richard Branson. Matt Pohlson, CEO and Co-Founder of Omaze, referred to the startup’s mission by saying:
“A big part of what drives us at Omaze is fighting inequality of opportunity. By offering everyone the opportunity to win a $5M house or go to space, we can fund the causes creating opportunities for the underserved,”
With the latest round of funding coming after a $30M Series B that closed in March 2020, the startup has seen a growth of 100% over 3 consecutive years. The startup believes this success is the result of the expansion of the experiences it offers as part of its fundraising, which includes one-of-a-kind cars and travel experiences starting in 2019.
During its first nine years of existence, Omaze has issued over $150 million in grants. At this time, the fundraising startup expects to support charities with more than $300 million over the next two years, a reflection of its increasing commitment and success.
