CharityStars

What CharityStars does

CharityStars is a private online charity auction marketplace founded in 2013 that connects celebrities, athletes, brands, and private collectors with buyers through auction and Buy Now sales of memorabilia and exclusive experiences. The platform serves two primary customer segments: high-net-worth collectors seeking authenticated sports, music, and celebrity memorabilia, and charitable organizations seeking innovative fundraising channels. The company also serves celebrities/athletes donating items and brands executing CSR campaigns. All listings carry a minimum 5% charity donation, with sellers able to allocate higher percentages (up to 80-87% on certain items).

The technology stack is a standard e-commerce/auction platform supporting real-time bidding, secure payment processing across major card networks and digital wallets, and social-login authentication. The product surface has expanded beyond the core auction marketplace to include Live Bidding for in-person gala events, Concierge for custom experience curation, Sweepstakes for prize-based fundraising, and Memberships subscription tiers, alongside vertical-specific catalogs covering football, basketball, F1, tennis, music, collectibles, and experiences.

CharityStars monetizes primarily through transaction-based fees: seller-side service fees of 12-15% on auction sales plus buyer premiums ranging from €8.40 to €175 depending on item value. The company operates as a global direct-to-consumer marketplace with a partner onboarding program for charities and private sellers. Cumulative platform impact includes $35M raised for 1,000+ charities across 30,000 auctions since inception, supported by partnerships with major NGOs (UNICEF, WWF, Save the Children, Feeding America), football clubs (Manchester City, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Barcelona), and athlete foundations (Novak Djokovic, Cannavaro Ferrara). The company has raised approximately $3.86M in equity funding across multiple rounds between 2013 and 2017, with no subsequent disclosed rounds.

Name

CharityStars

Legal name

CharityStars

Website

https://charitystars.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Charity Auction Marketplace

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support) (MPAKAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sponsorship Activation & Experiential Marketing (THAHAGAC)

Keywords

• Online charity auctions
• Memorabilia auctions
• Celebrity charity marketplace
• Sports memorabilia bidding
• Charity fundraising platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Auction Transaction Fees: CharityStars charges service fees on auction sales, typically ranging from 12-15% of the final sale price. These fees cover sourcing, quality control, storage, sale execution, and customer support. The platform also facilitates the charity donation portion from each sale.
2. Buyer Premium: Buyers pay a service fee on top of their winning bid, with fees varying by item (e.g., €175 for high-value items like Ronaldo's shirt, €75 for vintage items like Baresi's shirt)

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CharityStars operates an online auction and Buy Now marketplace where celebrities, athletes, brands, and private collectors sell signed memorabilia, match-worn items, and exclusive experiences. The platform requires a minimum 5% charity donation from each sale, with charity portions on certain items reaching up to 80-87%. CharityStars handles secure payment processing, auction execution, quality control, storage, and fulfillment on behalf of sellers, earning revenue through service fees of 12-15% of sale price plus variable buyer premiums.

Product overview

CharityStars is a charity auction marketplace platform that operates through its core CharityStars Marketplace, enabling online auctions and Buy Now fixed-price sales of memorabilia and experiences. The platform is structured around a unified marketplace architecture with multiple product categories and auction types. The core offering includes football memorabilia (signed shirts, match-worn items), sports collectibles (Formula 1, basketball, tennis), music memorabilia (signed vinyl, instruments), collectibles (fashion, movie memorabilia), and experiences (travel, events). Additional services include Live Bidding for gala events, Concierge for custom experience curation, Sweepstakes for prize-based fundraising, and Membership tiers for exclusive access. The platform supports charities, private sellers, and companies through a partner program with a minimum 5% donation requirement per auction. Payment processing integrates with major card networks and digital wallets, with social login options for user authentication.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CharityStars Marketplace
• Live Bidding
• Concierge
• Sweepstakes
• Memberships Subscription tier offering exclusive benefits to platform members, including early access to auctions, special pricing, and premium features for engaged bidders.

Quantifiable outcome

• $35M raised for charity since 2013
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• EMERGENCYcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEMERGENCY is an independent Italian humanitarian organization receiving support through charity auctions. Art experiences donated by artists like Riccardo Torti and Ennio Bufi at Caparezza concerts support this charity.
• Avril Lavigne FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity partner receiving donations from memorabilia auctions on the platform
• Feeding AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor US hunger relief organization supported through charity auctions
• Save the ChildrencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal charity organization benefiting from platform auctions
• UNICEFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnited Nations children's agency supported through charity auctions
• WWFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental conservation organization receiving support from platform auctions
• War ChildcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity supporting children affected by conflict, partnered with platform
• Susan G. KomencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBreast cancer research organization supported through charity auctions
• Ricky Martin FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity foundation supported through platform auctions
• Novak Djokovic FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTennis star's foundation benefiting from sports memorabilia auctions
• City in the CommunitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerManchester City FC's charitable foundation supported through football memorabilia
• Fondazione MilancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAC Milan's charitable foundation supported through club memorabilia auctions
• Fondazione Cannavaro FerraracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFootball legend Fabio Cannavaro's charitable foundation supported through auctions
• Jude Harvey FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK heart health charity for young people, supported through music memorabilia auctions featuring items signed by artists like Mick Fleetwood

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Christie's: Christie's runs high-profile charity and celebrity-partnered auctions, including memorabilia sales, at the top of the HNW collectibles market; competes for premium celebrity-signed inventory and the same buyer demographic CharityStars targets.
• Bonhams: Bonhams operates across memorabilia, luxury, and charity-partnered auctions with a global HNW audience; competes for signed memorabilia and exclusive charity events at the upper price tier.
• Heritage Auctions: Heritage Auctions is a major US-headquartered auction house covering sports memorabilia, entertainment, and collectibles; overlaps on memorabilia categories and HNW bidder audience, with broader catalog and live-auction infrastructure.
• EBay for Charity: EBay's charity-integrated marketplace is the largest general competitor, enabling sellers to donate proceeds to nonprofits across a vastly broader catalog; directly competes with CharityStars for charity-conscious buyers, but at much larger scale and without a celebrity/athlete curation focus.
• Sotheby's: Sotheby's is a global auction house spanning collectibles, memorabilia, and luxury; intersects with CharityStars on signed celebrity items and charity partnership auctions (e.g., celebrity charity sales), but at far larger scale and price tier.

Direct peers

• PWCC Marketplace: PWCC Marketplace is a leading online sports trading card and memorabilia auction platform; competes directly for sports memorabilia buyers and authentication credibility, though without a charity-integrated positioning.
• Goldin: Goldin is a leading sports memorabilia auction house with strong athlete/celebrity supply, similar authenticated-item model, and similar collector buyer base; CharityStars competes most directly on signed and match-worn sports inventory, but Goldin is memorabilia-pure without the charity overlay.
• LiveAuctioneers: LiveAuctioneers is an online auction aggregation platform that, like CharityStars, runs time-based auctions of memorabilia, art, and collectibles reaching global HNW collectors; comparable mechanics (online timed auctions, buyer premiums) though broader category mix and no charity mandate.
• Omaze: Omaze runs celebrity-experience sweepstakes and charity fundraising with major celebrity partnerships (e.g., Star Wars experiences with Disney); the most analogous peer in terms of "money-can't-buy experience + charity" positioning, though using sweepstakes mechanics rather than auctions.
• Rally (Collective Jump): Rally is a fractional-investment platform for sports memorabilia and collectibles that has pivoted into direct auctions; targets the same authenticated-memorabilia HNW buyer and competes for sports celebrity-signed supply.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CharityStars
• Facebookfacebook.com/charitystars
• Instagraminstagram.com/charitystars
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/charitystars

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CharityStars