Groundswell
Groundswell is an enterprise SaaS company that delivers an all-in-one Corporate Social Responsibility platform built on donor-advised fund infrastructure, enabling companies to provide employees with personal, portable, tax-advantaged giving accounts, volunteering programs, grants management, and relief funds under a single login.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersLos Angeles, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Groundswell does
Groundswell, operating through Groundswell Giving, Inc. and its affiliated California 501(c)(3) sponsor Groundswell Charitable Foundation, has built an all-in-one Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) SaaS platform branded as Philanthropy-as-a-Service (PaaS). The platform is architected on top of donor-advised fund (DAF) infrastructure, allowing every employee of a customer company to hold their own personal, portable, tax-advantaged giving account that remains with them across employers, analogous to a 401(k) for charitable giving. The product suite unifies Employee Giving, Employee Volunteering, Grants Management, Employee Assistance Fund (EAF), Corporate DAF, and Enterprise Reporting under a single login with consolidated tax receipts, real-time analytics, and SOC 2 Type II compliant security. Funds are delivered to nonprofits within 24 hours, compared with a 30–120-day legacy industry standard, and distribution fees are 1% domestic / 3% international (waived on recurring donations). The technology stack integrates with Plaid for bank connectivity, Stripe and JP Morgan Chase/Increase Bank for payment rails, and Donate Stock for securities-based contributions.
The company sells primarily to large enterprises through a direct field-sales motion with dedicated account managers and 'Book a Demo' CTAs, while supporting self-serve onboarding (under 60 seconds, $1 minimum to open a DAF) for SMBs and individuals through the web and native iOS/Android mobile apps. Revenue is generated via enterprise subscription/platform fees layered with transaction-based distribution fees, the latter often absorbed by employers on behalf of their employees. Named enterprise customers include Under Armour, Shipt, PGE, BNY, Liquid, Travel + Leisure, Duolingo, HPS Partners, CJ, Starcom, OneDigital, Ingredion, US Venture, Mixbook, and People Magazine, spanning financial services, retail, utilities, education technology, CPG, marketing, and HR/benefits verticals.
The company was founded in 2021 by Jacob (Jake) Wood, who serves as CEO, with Dick Fickling as CTO. Headquartered in El Segundo, California, Groundswell has raised $15M in seed funding led by GV (Google Ventures) in November 2021 with Core Innovation Capital, Felicis, Human Ventures, Moonshots Capital, and Quiet Capital participating, plus a 2023 follow-on from Equable Capital. Strategic channel partners include Pledge 1% and CAF America (for international NGO reach), and the platform achieved a 5.0-star G2 rating in 2024 with multiple category-leader badges plus a Candid/GuideStar Platinum Transparency rating.
Groundswell firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Groundswell
- Legal name
- Groundswell Giving, Inc.
- Website
- https://groundswell.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Groundswell is an enterprise SaaS company that delivers an all-in-one Corporate Social Responsibility platform built on donor-advised fund infrastructure, enabling companies to provide employees with personal, portable, tax-advantaged giving accounts, volunteering programs, grants management, and relief funds under a single login.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Groundswell industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Software
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Sponsors (BPAGAKAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Enterprise PaaS (App Runtime & Managed Application Platforms) (HDAEAKAB), Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)
Keywords
Where Groundswell is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Los Angeles
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Groundswell business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription/Platform Fees: Enterprise SaaS platform fees charged to companies for access to the CSR platform, employee giving programs, volunteering tools, grants management, and reporting capabilities. Pricing appears to be per-seat or enterprise tier-based.
- Transaction/Distribution Fees: 1% distribution fee for domestic donations and 3% for international donations. Many companies choose to cover these costs for employees. Recurring donations are not subject to transaction fees.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Donor Account Access |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Transaction Fees - Domestic |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Transaction Fees - International |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Minimum Donation Amount |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Groundswell product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Groundswell offers a Philanthropy-as-a-Service (PaaS) SaaS platform that integrates employee giving, volunteering, corporate grants management, and employee assistance funds into a single unified CSR system. Built on donor-advised fund (DAF) infrastructure, it gives every employee a personal, portable DAF account and delivers donated funds to nonprofits within 24 hours, replacing legacy CSR tools.
Product overview
Groundswell offers an all-in-one CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) platform built as a unified system integrating Employee Giving, Employee Volunteering, Grants Management, Employee Assistance Fund, Corporate DAF, and Enterprise Reporting into a single seamless experience. The platform is powered by a donor-advised fund (DAF) infrastructure that enables companies to provide employees with personal giving accounts that are portable and tax-advantaged. The architecture combines these modules under one login with real-time reporting, replacing disconnected tools and legacy corporate giving platforms.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Employee Giving Enables companies to run workplace giving programs where each employee has a personal, portable donor-advised fund for tax-advantaged charitable donations and matching gifts.
- Employee Volunteering Allows companies to create, manage, and track employee volunteer events and convert volunteer hours into community impact and charitable bonuses.
- Grants Management Simplifies and streamlines the corporate grants management process for organizations distributing charitable grants to nonprofits.
- Employee Assistance Fund Provides an employee relief fund that companies can offer to support employees through financial hardships and life challenges.
- Corporate DAF Provides flexible, tax-efficient corporate giving through a donor-advised fund structure without the overhead of traditional corporate giving programs.
- Enterprise Reporting Delivers comprehensive CSR impact tracking, measurement, and real-time analytics capabilities for enterprise clients.
- Groundswell Mobile App iOS and Android applications that allow employees to donate, volunteer, and track impact from mobile devices.
- Enterprise CSR Platform All-in-one corporate social responsibility platform integrating employee giving, volunteering, grants management, employee assistance funds, and reporting into one enterprise system.
Quantifiable outcome
- Funds delivered in 24 hours instead of 30-120 days typical with legacy CSR platforms
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Groundswell
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Groundswell technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability2 records
Feature5 records
Groundswell partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- PlaidcoreFinancial connectivity partner allowing end-users to securely connect their bank account information with the platform without Groundswell storing user account or financial info on its servers.
- StripecorePayment processor for handling transactions, transfers of funds in connection with Contributions and Distributions, and related authorization services.
- JP Morgan ChasecorePayment processor for handling fund transfers and banking services related to Contributions and Distributions.
- Increase BankcoreBanking partner for payment processing and fund transfer services.
- Pledge 1%coreStrategic partnership enabling companies committed to Pledge 1% philanthropy to easily implement and manage programs through Groundswell platform.
- CAF AmericacorePartnership allowing clients to include international NGOs through CAF America's network, enabling expansion to India-based associates and international employees.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Groundswell competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Benevity: Benevity is the market-leading enterprise CSR and employee giving platform serving many of the same Fortune 500 customers. Groundswell explicitly compares itself to Benevity on its website, and both compete for the same HR/CSR buyer with giving, volunteering, and grants modules.
- CyberGrants (now Bonterra): CyberGrants is a legacy CSR, matching-gifts, and grants-management platform cited directly by Groundswell in its comparison pages. Both target the same enterprise CSR/HR buyer with overlapping giving and grants workflows.
- YourCause (Blackbaud): YourCause, owned by Blackbaud, is an enterprise CSR platform for employee giving, volunteering, and corporate grants—named by Groundswell as a direct competitor. The companies compete head-to-head for Fortune 500 CSR budgets.
- Deed: Deed is a corporate giving and volunteering platform explicitly compared against Groundswell. Both target SMB and mid-market employers with modern giving experiences, although Deed leans consumer-employee-led and lacks the DAF-anchored infrastructure.
- Bright Funds: Bright Funds is a workplace giving and volunteering platform built on donor-advised fund infrastructure, making it the closest architectural analog to Groundswell. Both compete for mid-market and enterprise CSR programs with DAF-enabled giving.
- Bonterra (formerly Network for Good): Bonterra's CSR/ESG suite (formed by rolling up Network for Good, CyberGrants, and Social Solutions) is a broad incumbent in the same enterprise giving-and-grants category. It competes for the same HR/CSR/Finance buyer as Groundswell but across a wider, less integrated product portfolio.
Emerging players
- Submittable: Submittable is a grants-management and application-review platform named by Groundswell in its competitive comparisons. While Submittable overlaps on grants management, it lacks the integrated DAF and giving workflows.
- Millie: Millie is an emerging employee-giving and volunteering platform targeted at modern mid-market employers. It overlaps with Groundswell on giving UX and volunteering but does not yet offer the integrated DAF infrastructure that anchors Groundswell's differentiation.
Broad incumbents
- Schwab Charitable: Schwab Charitable is one of the largest DAF sponsors in the US and a structural competitor for the DAF-asset layer underpinning Groundswell's Corporate DAF offering. While it focuses on individual HNW donors, its scale and brand pressure DAF economics across the market.
- Fidelity Charitable: Fidelity Charitable is the largest US DAF sponsor by assets and a benchmark for DAF economics and sponsor operations. Its scale anchors the legacy DAF infrastructure Groundswell is positioning to disrupt at the employer-funded, employee-portable layer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Groundswell social profiles
Digital presenceGroundswell compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Groundswell financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Groundswell leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Groundswell funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Groundswell M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Groundswell
What does Groundswell do?
Groundswell offers a Philanthropy-as-a-Service (PaaS) SaaS platform that integrates employee giving, volunteering, corporate grants management, and employee assistance funds into a single unified CSR system. Built on donor-advised fund (DAF) infrastructure, it gives every employee a personal, portable DAF account and delivers donated funds to nonprofits within 24 hours, replacing legacy CSR tools.
Is Groundswell a public or private company?
Groundswell is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Groundswell founded?
Groundswell was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Groundswell based?
Groundswell is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States, in the North America region.
How does Groundswell make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Subscription/Platform Fees are the primary driver. The others are transaction/Distribution Fees.
Who are Groundswell's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Benevity, CyberGrants (now Bonterra), YourCause (Blackbaud), Deed, Bright Funds and Bonterra (formerly Network for Good). Emerging players are Submittable and Millie. Broad incumbents are Schwab Charitable and Fidelity Charitable.
Does Groundswell have an API?
No public API is recorded for Groundswell.
What industry is Groundswell in?
Groundswell's product category is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAF, Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Sponsors, with a secondary code of HDAEAKAB, Enterprise PaaS (App Runtime & Managed Application Platforms). Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 7372.